New PS Audio software update coming tomorrow...

[knghifi]

Unlike some others here I don't get upset about anything related to consumer electronics so now worries. I am not a PS audio dealer and had in fact been laying low on things audio due to lack of time. I got an email announcing the new firmware, installed it and was floored by the level of improvement. I stand by my assertion that it is essentially a new, higher caliber DAC sonically. that is all there is to it. It would be interesting to put it up against current models of the ultra expensive boys. No doubt someone will at some point.

I don't do DSD because I convert to pcm for Dirac DRC, so,I can't comment on that. I guess this fact alone makes me unqualified to weight in on SOTA sound systems. Worse, I don't own a TT.

edorr, you don't owe anyone explanation for your enthusiasm on the firmware upgrade. Some just needs to get a life and go outside for fresh air.

 

[wisnon]

edorr, you don't owe anyone explanation for your enthusiasm on the firmware upgrade. Some just needs to get a life and go outside for fresh air.

Perhaps you should take your own advice.
I have seen similar hubris for every FW upgrade...at least in this case Edorr clarified his position and it was accepted for what it is and the matter closed.

 

[knghifi]

Perhaps you should take your own advice.
I have seen similar hubris for every FW upgrade...at least in this case Edorr clarified his position and it was accepted for what it is and the matter closed.

Why is your business someone is enthusiastic on an upgrade? Thank You for accepting his explanation. Who the hell are you??

 

[edorr]

When confronted with existential firmware related questions in life, I always come back to the wisdom of the great master Lao Tzu; "yielding is the way of the tao". I play some Indian raga deploying the aforementioned firmware and the world is at peace again.

 

[wisnon]

Why is your business someone is enthusiastic on an upgrade? Thank You for accepting his explanation. Who the hell are you??

I am me...who the hell are YOU? What frightens you so?

Hype is not the same as truth...now people can judge for themselves. Every ...single...time... there is a FW upgrade on this Dac the response is hyperbolic. At least Edorr gave his explanation and seems sincere...and the DSP explanation makes sense as once that is introduced, it is nigh impossible to isolate the inherent quality of the Dac. Its also why he cant comment on the DSD of this DSD based Dac!

My own experience is what has gone bad in the morning, cannot come good in the evening. One has to wheel and come again. PSA crippled the design from jump...all who heard the breadboard Dac know this. A word to the wise is sufficient.

My last post on the matter...I leave the floor and the last word to you.

 

[edorr]

Let me weight in. I mentioned I have gone through various FW upgrades and none was even remotely the level upgrade of this one. Some were in fact lateral moves.

Second, it appears you are suggesting the DS is a flawed design and a crappy DAC. That is in and off itself a hyperbolic subjective statement. There are many many people (users and reviewers) that love this DAC, and at least some of these folks are presumably not tone deaf.

Final comment. You say that .......and the DSP explanation makes sense as once that is introduced, it is nigh impossible to isolate the inherent quality of the Dac..... This is factually incorrect. I have rotated through many DACs using DSP, and the inherent qualities of the DAC are clear as day with or without DSP.

 

[knghifi]

I am me...who the hell are YOU? What frightens you so?

To the contrary my friend, to the contrary. Based on your picture at Suncoast Audio, you ONLY got ~200 lbs or 90 kgs on me. LOL!!!

edorr, congratulations your explanation was excepted and case closed. I know I know, it's been a tough couple days, can't eat, can't sleep ... rumor Robert Bueller taking the case stacking staff with Lampi and MSB personnels. Just think, do it all over again next DSD firmware release.

 

[lordcloud]

People wax poetic about their recent umpteen thousand dollar DAC upgrade..... everyone applauds them for their choice, taste, manhood, good manners, and audio penis size.....

Someone waxes poetic about their six thousand dollar DAC, and all of a sudden the hyperbole needs to be kept in check. Lol

 

[Mike Lavigne]

People wax poetic about their recent umpteen thousand dollar DAC upgrade..... everyone applauds them for their choice, taste, manhood, good manners, and audio penis size.....

Someone waxes poetic about their six thousand dollar DAC, and all of a sudden the hyperbole needs to be kept in check. Lol

I think PS Audio's hyperbolic marketing rhetoric, like Harley's or JV's 'World's Best' this or that, gets the reaction it deserves. OTOH user's/owner's personal enthusiastic reactions deserve support and congrats. there is a distinction. but comparative claims are fair game.

it's what we do here. eliminate that and there is not much left. and sure, there is a 'mine's bigger' aspect to it. so what? it's a hobby for god's sake. avoid comparative claims, and avoid the challenges. pats on the back are good, but the forum is more than that.

taking stuff personal is an issue, but comes with the territory. it is personal.

just my 2 cents.

have a nice evening.

 

[lordcloud]

I think PS Audio's hyperbolic marketing rhetoric, like Harley's or JV's 'World's Best' this or that, gets the reaction it deserves. OTOH user's/owner's personal enthusiastic reactions deserve support and congrats. there is a distinction. but comparative claims are fair game.

it's what we do here. eliminate that and there is not much left. and sure, there is a 'mine's bigger' aspect to it. so what? it's a hobby for god's sake. avoid comparative claims, and avoid the challenges. pats on the back are good, but the forum is more than that.

taking stuff personal is an issue, but comes with the territory. it is personal.

just my 2 cents.

have a nice evening.

All marketing rhetoric is hyperbolic, including (and especially) those in the high end. If PS Audio deserves flack for their marketing rhetoric, then my god so does Wilson Audio. Yet few here seem to mind it. Or maybe I'm just missing those posts.

In this thread there was an owner/user that took the time to post their feelings and experience about an upgrade...and was told to calm down on the happiness, cause that lowly lil thing couldn't possibly be as good as they or others have claimed...or something to that effect. It just seems a bit wacky to me, particularly when you can click on a thread at random and hear far more hyperbole about any given favourite item. Yes, they're fair game...but the game doesn't seem to be too fair.

Or maybe it's late and I've just read everything incorrectly.......

 

[edorr]

I think PS Audio's hyperbolic marketing rhetoric, like Harley's or JV's 'World's Best' this or that, gets the reaction it deserves. OTOH user's/owner's personal enthusiastic reactions deserve support and congrats. there is a distinction. but comparative claims are fair game.

it's what we do here. eliminate that and there is not much left. and sure, there is a 'mine's bigger' aspect to it. so what? it's a hobby for god's sake. avoid comparative claims, and avoid the challenges. pats on the back are good, but the forum is more than that.

taking stuff personal is an issue, but comes with the territory. it is personal.

just my 2 cents.

have a nice evening.

Wise words Mike. I a do agree Paul and crew goes a bit overboard with their claims, but that does not bother me one bit and we all know how to take stuff with a grain of salt. I will say though in my limited experience, PS audio is punching far above its weight and has become the poor man's utlra high end brand. The $6K preamp can go toe to toe with $15K pieces (I tried both), and ditto for the poweramps and DAC. I believe this is a natural outcome of their business model (make ultra high end affordable for the masses), which is the opposite of say MSB (price our stuff out of the stratosphere so only the rich can afford it). Now, does it mean PS audio is as good as stuff 5x the price? Probably not, but double blind shootouts would have to shed light on that question. Not pricetags or brand names.

But most importantly "it's a hobby for god's sake.". Why get worked up over consumer electronics.

 

[Lee]

First listening session with Red Cloud. Completely transformed the DAC. This is a massive upgrade, like trading in a $15K ultra high end piece for the $30K model, only difference is the DS is still $6K (list) and the upgrade is free. No hyperbole here. I have had other FW upgraded that were marginal at best, but this one is astounding.

This is a big statement but I think in this case it is accurate.

 

[Lee]

Wise words Mike. I a do agree Paul and crew goes a bit overboard with their claims, but that does not bother me one bit and we all know how to take stuff with a grain of salt. I will say though in my limited experience, PS audio is punching far above its weight and has become the poor man's utlra high end brand. The $6K preamp can go toe to toe with $15K pieces (I tried both), and ditto for the poweramps and DAC. I believe this is a natural outcome of their business model (make ultra high end affordable for the masses), which is the opposite of say MSB (price our stuff out of the stratosphere so only the rich can afford it). Now, does it mean PS audio is as good as stuff 5x the price? Probably not, but double blind shootouts would have to shed light on that question. Not pricetags or brand names.

But most importantly "it's a hobby for god's sake.". Why get worked up over consumer electronics.

I suspect the DS is close enough to the MSB that many would not guess properly on a blind test.

 

[Lee]

The hyperbole is killing me. I heard this dac in a day long shootout a few years ago with 4 different FWs. Decent on pcm...atrocious on dsd.

I cant imagine that it will be any giant killer as 2 giants squashed it that day.
I can buy "much improved" with redcloud, but more that that I cant take seriously.

One piece of logic, unless one never heard it with the new FW, why would you buy it or hold onto it?

Wisnon, you have to hear the latest updates. As Ted Smith has learned more, the FPGA has improved immensely since then. I first heard this DAC in early 2015. It's a completely different machine. I did not get seriously interested in it until Huron came out and my pal Mark Chaffin invited me over to have a listen.

 

[Lee]

I think observers of this thread should also keep in mind that (and perhaps some of you recognize this)...

The firmware update in the DirectStream is not a regular firmware update as we know it. The DS has essentially a software based FPGA chip so the updates give one a new DAC chip and new digital filters as a result.

It's like getting a new DAC when Ted does a major update (not all are major but this one certainly qualifies).

 

[Lee]

Someone asked about DSD. WIth the Memory Player, SACDs sound excellent. This is sort of a DSD dac anyway since PCM gets converted to DSD.

I have about 1,300 SACDs so I really wanted the Super Audio playback to be excellent which it is.

 

[Lee]

Got another boost in sound, primarily in bass and clarity, when I updated the transport software.

This machine is great.

 

[Lee]

They did another upgrade on the transport code and we are now at version 3.06. My friends and I are hearing more clarity all around.

It's pretty cool to have an "evergreen" DAC and transport that keeps getting better.

 

[microstrip]

Someone asked about DSD. WIth the Memory Player, SACDs sound excellent. This is sort of a DSD dac anyway since PCM gets converted to DSD.

I have about 1,300 SACDs so I really wanted the Super Audio playback to be excellent which it is.

Do you know who supplies the reading mechanism they are using in the Memory Player?

 

[audio.bill]

Do you know who supplies the reading mechanism they are using in the Memory Player?

Oppo, and they reportedly purchased a quantity of them to have available for service.