It’s interesting that most here will say you must hear for yourself, with your ears and your system, when it comes to making decisions. Other folks, like @kzk, really depend on others to do this for them, and may even make sweeping changes based on other’s opinions. Some are/were stoking fires that are really just words and experiences in beta.
I think the public beta has been terrifically successful and certainly a no brainer if you’re PS Audio. As lovers of good gear, it may have frayed people who expected more than a beta experience — Including people who weren’t even testers! People here were lined up around the block to work for free and “deal” to have the new, sweet gear, that needed a few final releases! Haha! Amazing!
Edit to only clean up typos. Call this 1.01 if you will.
Gross misrepresentation of what I said. I’m happy to go into details about what I mean, but I don’t think you want me to go there, and will take the high road.
We can agree to disagree. You’re “begging” for comparisons and quick to harshly judge everything that has taken place here. Look, I have no horse in the race. It’s just my honest opinion.
377 burn-in hours on 173/178. Unit 016168. This unit has not had any issues.
SACD reference ‘Exotic Dances from the Operas’ DSD64.
Sounds very good but it’s like listening to the orchestra play down a long tunnel. You can see the orchestra play at a distance but no dynamic range. I know that 178 had its limitations but I spent weeks getting used to it.
Just switched over to 179, oh my GOD!!! It brought tears to my eyes I could not believe that it was possible to have so much more dynamic range and clarity. Now I feel like I’m sitting with the orchestra, what an explosion of dynamic range and clarity, the tunnel has completely disappeared. I’m really speech-less.
Thank you @tedsmith for this incredible sound, Wow. Thank you @aaronm@Paul / PSA for giving me the opportunity to be a beta tester.
Next steps for me is to go through the different USB resolutions.
My only other reference was the PWD MK2 and PWT which sounded very good but no way near the MK2.
Exciting weekend! I wanted to clear up some of the confusion there may have been on the forum over the weekend.
Here’s where the DSD MK2 Beta/Production stands as of 12/19/2022 (today).
We have only shipped beta units domestically and internationally. All units that are in the wild are from the beta batch. We are currently waiting on parts for our production units which should arrive today! (fingers crossed)
We are currently working on the hardware revisions of the beta units that were experiencing issues. The issues do not persist in most of the beta units. It was difficult to say, “this problem was a part of serial number range X to X” I hate that I have to use the word intermittent, like when you take your car to the shop and the weird noise suddenly stops. That’s why if you are experiencing issues reach out to us and we will of course take care of you! Also, all units going forward will have the hardware reworks that addressed these issues.
MK2 reworks are priority #1 for our tech team. I went down and checked, and they were working on them as we speak!
While I wish I could explain exactly what they are doing for the reworks, I’ll see if I can get someone who is a bit more technical than I to list out the reworks. Stay tuned for that.
At PS Audio we are all about transparency and keeping everyone in the loop as much as possible. Always feel free to reach out to myself or the team and we will do our best to help you out!
Ok, you would have to pry this MKII from my cold dark hands to let this thing go. I’m not going to use any analogue comparisons because it’s better than that In my humble opinion. I’ve be an audiophile ( if you call it that) for almost 60 years and this is the best sonics I’ve ever heard. Waiting for the incoming now. I could talk about soundstage and micro dynamics, noise floor, blah, blah, blah. But this unit is worth every penny. I don’t think you need mega cables to make it sound great. It just lets the music in, I’m a happy camper.
But as good as this DAC is, it can sound even better with better cables and tweaks believe it or not. But don’t take my words for it, experiment yourself and see what I’m taking about. You might as well try to get the best sound you can out of this magnificent DAC.
That bench shot is interesting. For a second I thought the blue-handle tool was an old wire-wrap hand tool, but I can’t imagine what use that would have for that board, so it must not be. But it sure looks like one. Now just one question: where are the empty cans of Mountain Dew? : )
What I was afraid of and hence my caution to Luca. Hope dealer was not trying to turnover his Beta unit at this point. Time line couldn’t have possibly worked out.
I could not believe that it was possible to have so much more dynamic range and clarity. Now I feel like I’m sitting with the orchestra, what an explosion of dynamic range and clarity, the tunnel has completely disappeared. I’m really speech-less. 
