I like that he continues to experiment.  I find the dynamics of the high end audio marketplace to be fascinating.

Also, I will look seriously at buying any amp (tube or SS) that delivers:

-      Surreal, 3D, holographic, imaging
-      Room width, depth, and height defying soundstage
-      Musical, yet neutral presentation of recorded material
-      Accurate and pleasing instrumental timbre
-      Low or no listening fatigue
-      Listening volume in the 80-100db range (in a 13 X 17 room)
-      Under $1,500

These are table stakes for me going forward.  My budget may increase someday, but for now this is it.

This is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, are there amps out there like this?  At whatprice point?

I haven't been closely following his amp build, exactly for the reason's Lon mentioned above (who with a good Decware amp would really); this is also why I was trying to get him to spend a few minutes with me and the Mystery Amp at Axpona, but he's pretty booked up that weekend of course.

I'm betting something like the ZMA would at least rattle his cage about a full on tube amp.

I had to bite my tongue in that thread as well "oh the noes! It's got sockets, and requires occasional maintenance, and does stuff to the sound!"

Too many math guys talking about building amps, and not enough artists actually building them.

Well, I escaped taxes far better than I anticipated. I shouldn't, but I placed an order for the DirectStream kit, installed at the factory. Not sure yet when my shipping and installation will be scheduled, and I can be patient (the sound I am getting right now is simply amazing!) But I think this will be a worthy upgrade for me, better to improve my digital front end than take a risk on the Mystery Amp (especially without a treble cut circuit) when the Torii is such a magical beast in my system. And this upgrade is half the price of the Mystery Amp.

You will hear my impressions, but it is not likely to be too soon, I think 100 assembled units are tested and shipped, then the kits will start to be distributed and installed, and I'm #41.

Interestingly, I thought it would be hard to figure out which PWD Mk II to send in to be "transformed" into a DirectStream DAC. I thought probably the oldest one right, several years older than the second, new one, why not keep the newest one as a PWD Mk II. Well. . . I put that new one in place in my main system and it really does NOT sound like the old one. Clearly the older one is far more seasoned and "mellow" and far more to my taste.* The other sounded fine in my second system which is a bit less resolving than the main one. So I'll be sending the newer one back for conversion to the DirectStream and keeping the original one (which started out as a PWD (Mk I)) for my second system.

* The same happens comparing my original Torii Mk III with my newest Torii Mk III. The older clearly sounds better, seasoned and mellowed and refined.

Doh. Yeah, that's probably a contributing factor, and hadn't thought of it. To be honest, I have not updated the firmware on the first nor the second, it's possible they are running the same firmware, also possible they are not.

Though some of the difference does seem to be "seasoning" related.

To be honest, I think the two were built about the same time and I think they could share the same firmware.

Seasoning is very real in my experience.

Paul's latest musings are on building a simple music server using a Mac mini.  I use a mini as a server with Audirvana.  I started with Audirvana because it was free, but liked the sound and upgraded to the plus version.  

Yesterday he mentioned his choice for software is BitPerfect.  At $9.95 I decided to give it a go.  I found the sound to be significantly different than Audirvana.  Less aggressive, more smooth.  

Better?  I don't know which one I like better yet.  But I am now rolling Mac software which is kinda weird.  Audirvana for rock, Bitperfect for jazz/anything softer.

I have seen those tests before and think they are fascinating but I don't think they register how the sound is received by a human, in a room, for a specific recording, on a specific system.  They typically measure the properties of the electrical signal.  

You don't hear an electrical signal, you hear a sound, which is produced by a chain of interacting components (room included).

The only way that I have been able to *prove* that there are differences is to record the same song playing through my system using the same recording device and then line them up in a computer editor so that they are exactly sync'd, then randomly remove a portion of the A or B track for the entire length of the song.  Then I output the entire hybrid song and then listen to it and see if I can determine when the recording goes from the A track to the B track.  In most instances I can.

I don't think you can measure soundstage or imaging with this technique, but you can definitely hear differences in things like bass response, treble, definition and decay.  

Maybe I am just being fooled again by the recording in the same way that I am being fooled when I listen to a track, make a change and then listen to it again.  But I can't always remember where in the hybrid recording I switched tracks, yet I know when the switch occurs - just by listening.

A lot going on with that ear-brain connection we can't measure with machines.  I think the only way to get at it would be some kind of deep brain stimulation monitoring.

"Notice the red areas lighting up as LR listens to the ZMA.  These are the auditory pleasure zones."

You and I could do some single blinds that would probably prove or disprove the point for me.

Glad I have two PS Audio PerfectWave transports, and don't have to do computer audio. It's all more than I want to figure out or spend time I don't have downloading or ripping, and on top of that there's then all kinds of firmware rolling in the picture!

I've actually started selling off my physical media and started buying some DSD from Blue Coast and Linn. I've already sold a few MFSL CDs that I purchased in the late '90s for $12.50 each, and have raked in over $400. I'm hoping if I sell enough off, I might have a down payment on the DirectStream...just don't tell Brianne.  :)

I met Paul McGowan and attended the PS Audio DSD DAC discussion/demonstration at the San Diego Audio Guild meeting at Stereo Unlimited last night.  Paul is very down to earth and also pretty funny.  His talk was interesting and there were some math/engineering guys posing some tough questions in which he did some fairly good explaining ... although I feel like some were there just to give him a hard time and seemed that they were not too keen with Paul's new found interest in USB cables making a difference (or his power cable/regeneration philosophy either), but he kept his wits about.

Stereo Unlimited is a cool store, with a cool sales staff, that sells audio gear at all price points.  It also has a great little vinly section in the back of the store and is one of the only places I know that you can buy a record and (if they aren't too busy) they will play it for you on one of their $100,000 rigs which is always fun!

We had a beer while Paul talked about the new DAC and did Q&A for about an hour, then moved next door to a well treated and dedicated audio room for a listen.  I'm glad it took place there as I am familiar with the room and all the high end pieces in there as I visit them often.

So we heard the PS Audio DSD DAC with a Mac Mini server (he has been talking about lately) on behemoth Rogue Audio 250 watt Apollo Mono Block amps, behemoth Vandersteen Model 5a Carbon speakers and an Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 preamp (I think that was the model but not absolutely sure)

and here's a little piece of irony ...

the Stereo Unlimited guys are huge Shunyata freaks so all power and cabling was top of the line Shunyata Hydra Triton/Typhon, fire hose sized ΞTRON Anaconda Power, Signal and I think speaker cables (but again not 100% sure of the speaker cables).

Yeah, WTF Beowulf! You talk about the shop, but not about the DirectStream!  >:(

I'm kinda glad the math/engineering guys put some pressure on Paul. I'm really hoping he and Ted can maybe figure out a scientific way to document some of their cable claims. I mean, I don't want this to distract him from making a great product, but I'd like for it to sit in the back of their minds so that maybe an idea of how to measure will germinate.

I kinda gave him similar questioning on his forums, but haven't really had a chance to follow up and see what he said.

Thanks for the great writeup.  We'll hopefully get some time with it in a few weeks at Axpona and can compare notes.

@ Lon ...

I think the bit depth of a hi-res file just has much more room to be processed (totally unscientifical assumption ), but I remember Paul saying something to the effect of truncating data within 16/44 compared to 24/96 and up there was just way more room to work with and if Sony had just waited a couple more years that it would be a different world (musically speaking of course).

It's been my observation that the bit depth means more than the resolution.  I cannot tell the difference between 96/176/192, but where things get past a fair margin are between 16 and 24 .bits ... there's no doubt to me that there is a difference for the better between those bit depths as I just find myself hearing a fuller and more detailed sound and into the micro details much better.  A lot of guys pointed this out last night as well.

However, what I'm not saying is that you need to get into DSD if you buy this DAC ... even if not wanting to get into those types of files, the DSD DAC has a great effect for the better (IMO) on lower res Redbook from what we heard.  And a few Redbook guys really liked what they were hearing.  So either way I know you aren't going to be disappointed and I'm jealous of your purchase ... I also can't wait to hear your impressions after living with it a few weeks!

For those on the DSD fence though I was merely making an observation that if anyone was thinking about DSD you should defintely hear it through this DAC as it sounds excellent.

@ Palomino ...

It will be interesting to hear your observations from a room that is setup by Paul and the PS Audio crew at Axpona.

IMO I don't think the gear in this room favored the DSD DAC to it's best.  First of all, I find Shunyata stuff to be a little forward or on the cold side of nuetral in comparison to PS Audio's Power stuff (which depending on one's system could be a good or bad thing).  Secondly although I like Rogue Audio's stuff, I have never warmed up to those mono blocks and find them more analytical than musical in comparison to Decware or even their own Cronus Magnum which I find to be a nice balance of power/price and musicality ~ but still not in the same class of Decware.  Thirdly, the Vandersteen's need a preamp due to the woofer setup and Paul even mentioned that he generally likes to go straight to amp with this DAC.  Fourthly, since living with the Omega Single Driver speakers I find myself noticing that the different frequency ranges are not as coherent in multi-driver setups such as those ... I will often find myself picking out the tweeter location in comparison to the midrange and it sort of bothers me to a certain extent so even though those amps and speakers can throw a freaking huge soundstage, I feel they miss some of the finer nuances that are associated with my Decware/Omega combo.

@ LR

Yes, the talk about the USB controversy was interesting.  While Paul was going over the features I asked him about his preference point of input.  He told us that up until a few weeks ago it was (1) Networked through the PS Audio Bridge/Digital Lens, then (2) by I2S, then (3) AES, and finally (4) USB.  Now emphatically USB has moved to the front of the line.  He said he was using a USB cable from a Chinese designer JCat (sp?) anyways he said it was better than any other input on the DAC and that also the Light Harmonic cable was pretty decent as well.  Both Paul and Ted are currently trying to figure out WTF is going on and why its happening.  Oh, I almost forgot ... there was a guy there who asked about the mental processing of sound and if he had any reasoning as to why he thought the power cables and conditioning made a difference ... that was a tough one and he didn't really have an answer to it ... he said something to the effect that we don't know why it sounds better, it just does to us ... I would love to know why for some it seems to make huge differences and others (myself included) it's not that big of a deal.

@beowulf

I found your comments about noticing anamolies in multi driver speakers intriguing.

Since I've switched to single driver Omegas, it's (sound from multi driver setups) something that really jumps out at me now and I find it really distracting.  The amazing thing is, I NEVER had issues with multi driver sound until I'd lived with the Omegas for awhile.

I've got two systems set up, one is multi driver and I find that if I listen exclusively to the multi driver system for a few days, it stops bothering me and I don't notice it anymore.  The ear adjusts, but then after I go back to the Omegas, the re-adjustment period starts again.

I'm still undecided and skeptical about a lot of hirez stuff.  though I heard clear improvement at decfest when we played higher sample rate music through the teac dac and the ZMA.

So DSD is on my "wait and see" list.  I've read some people think is a passing fad.  A lot of others say it's the cats meow.

Just as I give a huge benefit of doubt to decware products after having my skepticism proven wrong with so many of their products...
I'm also give a huge benefit of doubt to Schiit products because of the bifrost Dac I have, that Stoddard and Moffat run that company, Maddog07's testimony of Moffat's Theta Dac (some of the earliest), and other people's choosing Schiit gungnir dac after sampling and reviewing tons of other dacs....  Just as I find no one who doesnt' like decware gear (people who have actually heard it)... I haven't found people who don't like schiit.  I follow a lot of Stoddard posts and these guys seemingly speak straight up truth.

So, as I await the eventual release of your future yggdrasil dac, I was just reading the faq about their $150 DSD dac.  it says some interesting things about manufacturers having to compromise to decode DSD vs PCM.  food for the brain.

http://schiit.com/products/loki  (click the FAQ tab)

DirectStream manual:

http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/DirectStream-manual.pdf

Thanks for the little bit of info.

Well said, I think you again covered that very well.

Yeah, the DirectStream is a great sounding DAC, but in that environment I couldn't put my stamp of approval on it and throw $6k at it. The guy demoing (I'll leave names and brands out) was either confused, or flat out misleading, and that don't fly well with me...it really put me off. In fact, I started tearing down what I was hearing and what was told to me with some logic...maybe bordering on bitching, and Palomino's like..um, Eric, behind you. I look and there's Paul, I think he caught the tail end of a sharp barb from me. I had to stop for a second and replay what I had just said in my head, because I did mention Paul in this sharp barb (which the pointy end wasn't pointed at him, just a "Paul said").

So then Paul sits down with us and he's really listening to my concerns about the demo we heard, and immediately points out that I was right, a remastered DSD file isn't a good Apples to Apples to an original PCM. Honestly, Paul was great; he handled all my questions with great but gentle directness, he was very humble and honest, and was honestly just a great guy to hang out with. He really gave us some quality one on one time that showed he cared about what we thought, and he even apologized for not being able to give me a proper PCM to DSD converted PCM test for a proper Apples to Apples comparison of the "lift" we'd get with the DirectStream.

Again, I'm not yet sold on the DS, but Paul for sure won me over, and because of that I'll give his gear another chance in the future. I hope to have some quality one on one time with a DS sometime soon, and I *will* put it through the ringer. But till then, I'll just be happy with my Oppo at about 5X less with at least 90% the sound quality (if not more).

More power to both of you for giving the Emerald Physics room multiple chances in order to try and make conclusions on the DirectStream.  My buddy and I gave up on the room on Friday and didn’t look back the rest of the weekend (yes, we did end up going all 3 days).

Yes, the Direct Stream was the front end for Emerald Physics CS3 speakers.  I am not sure who was running the room.  There were a couple guys in there when we were there (including Paul for a little bit).  Palomino's summary of the room was spot on.   The DSP did ok to account for the REL sub they had cranking in the corner but only if you were in the sweet spot.  Otherwise, the bass was so overwhelmingly bad it literally had people shaking their heads.  I don't know why I expected Paul to have his own room to show off the DirectStream, but he didn't.  I don't think it worked out very well for him.

Here you are trying to a/b tracks and show off a new DAC and yet everything is heavily EQ'ed through the DSP/Digital Crossover of the speakers anyway.

I don't think I would have been able to make any strong conclusions (just like LR/Pal said) on the DS in this setup.  Overall, I didn't like the sound in the room, and my system is much more revealing vs. the EP one.

I don’t have a lot of experience with DSP and wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  The EP room was the worst example of DSP we encountered at the show. Both the Legacy Aeris (DSP built into the speaker) and the McIntosh/Martin Logan room were using DSP and both sounded excellent, even if you weren’t in the sweet spot.  So, I think DSP done right could reduce or eliminate the need for room treatments (which my wife would appreciate, although maybe not for the price of say the McIntosh unit, $4.5K) w/o totally messing up the sound in the rest of the room.  If I was running the EP room, I would have told people what to expect when not in the sweet spot, and might have gone so far as to only have 1 listening chair in the room.  Unfortunately that wouldn’t stop people from standing around and getting the same impressions we did.

It sounds like the room you guys were in pretty much sucked except for a small sweet spot.  The room that I heard the DS DAC demo in was with the Vandersteen, Rogue Audio and Electocompanient, so a mix of tubes and transistors.  And even though I don't really care for Rogue's Apollo Monoblocks ... the room itself was treated very nicely and no EQ/DSP was used during the demo.

I like his very down to earth descriptions - much how I try to do it. And he's saying exactly what I was hoping to hear from the first reviews.

I'm looking forward to more reviews (and maybe even hearing one for myself).