An Unpopular Opinion ( My Journey) - Directstream MK1

Audio Components DACs
1

Just to show how weird this pursuit of “ultimate sound” is… Its hopefully point for discussion of how subjective perception of best SQ is.

I have MK1 for about 2 years. I had transformers upgrade and some major internal upgrades in UK ( not affiliated):

System:

Roon/PC
P5
BHK PRE
BHK300
KEF reference 207
KEF PSW4000 subs (4) - very large living room.

I really appreciated all that PS audio does ( hence components). I have tried everything to get that “analogue sound”, inc tube rolling etc.

I used I2S and matrix/other DDC’s , stupidly expensive cables.

Yes, I could achieve everything resolution wise, jaw dropping detail, dynamics etc.

I avoided using USB as everyone advised against it in favour of I2S.

Anyhow with time I acquired Sonore Signature Rendu SE after I found Airlens to be thin sounding no better than PC asio.

After using Sonore with DDC, I was still not there, sound was better but…

Anyhow after discussing with Sonore they advised to use DAC USB input, BUT with Fiber interface ( Zero Noise). No need/use for galvanic insulation.

And it was great improvement, everything started coming together.

Finally I started “rolling back” dac firmware. Windom sounded better to me than Sunlight, Snowmass was again little bit better. Then I installed Redcloud and I could not believe, everything just came together.

Instead of chasing detail I finally got “my” analogue sound. Rich, mature and just right. No more chasing this and that , it was just music pouring out & nothing more or less.

So now I finally enjoy my setup. This hi-fi game is not easy.

I just wanted to share my experience and of course yours will be different. Thank you for reading.

None of this would be possible without Ted/Paul, which made DAC that can change system character in under 5 min. Congrats PS Audio!

6 Likes
2

In my experience, popular opinions are usually subpar

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3

Forgive my confusion. You can install the Massive update in a MKI?

4

yes, thanks.

5

sorry, I meant Windom. I have now corrected. Thanks for pointing out.

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6

This entire story sounds like a huge win to me.
Do you also have tasty ice cream? If so, I think you are done!

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Well, I hope so.

But I only came up with Redcloud/USB solution after reading PS forum archive.

If you were/are “analogue era” guy, you will also recall the coherent sound of LP’s and even well recorded tapes.

It may not have been 8K/16K resolution however audio is inherently analogue in the first place,

I am really happy now to just listen to music and eat my favourite ice-cream ( B&J strawberry cheesecake) !

Thanks for reading / reaching out…