Oh, man - funny you should mention this, as there was just this shameless plug of a video from two very experienced, accomplished, talented, well-known and well-respected recording engineers about a new audio plugin. Read the comments.
Many of you will be relieved to read that pro recording gear/SW users know about level matching when doing comparisons.
Agreed. All equipment needs to not only be broken in but warmed up as well. Even my all PS audio system that remains in standby when not in use, sounds better 30 minutes later after playing music.
No one is arguing this point here, Gary.
It may go without saying, but the nature of this sort of thread is that itāll involve mostly people who are not experienced reviewers. Sometimes people are going to get excited. So - sue them or ignore them. It aināt hard, and is not worth arguing about. (he said, continuing to argueš)
I am at ~420 hours of burn-in. In my opinion the MKII is a worthy upgrade from a stock MKI. Itās closer when you compare it to a modded MKI, but the MKII is still better. Better being is subjective. Iām not going down the path of reviewer superlatives that some crave. Better is dependent on your system, your ears, your room, the quality of your source material, etcā¦
In my system, the MKII sounds closer to what my memory recalls instruments sound like whether live or studio. Thatās my definition of ābetterā. YMMV.
Letās face it, none of you are really going to know until you listen to one. But isnāt that always the case no matter the component?
What did I miss? 30 plus posts on MK2 initial impression again. Wow!
I am in a unique position to experience initial impression twice. The first time I listened to MK2 was over three weeks ago, I was impressed because it did sound good, but the presentation was a little closed-in. It sounded better than DS out of box for sure.
After the fix, the second āfirst impressionā was worse. The MK2 sounded flat and unfocused. I did not think it was better than DS, but within a brief time it became a lot better (It is probably becuase only a small hardware fix was new). So, it is likely the latest MK2 may not sound good at the beginning.
My Mk2 has 572 hours on it. It arrived on the 12th of November and has been running 24 hours a day since. It sounds wonderful it is clearly beyond the original Directstream and I could recognize the difference right out of the box! Donāt kid yourself into believing it is a matter of taste. What sounds more real is the right choice and the mk2 sounds more like real instruments and voices.
When first setting mine up (cold), I was fiddling with the PST and a thumb drive with a pink noise break-in track as well as some other music files. I was located off-axis to the far left of the speakers with my back turned and a low volume level. Even so, I could tell with the first few bars of music that fun times were ahead.
I am late to the forum, having just received my MkII dac on Friday, Dec 2nd. So it has been running about 48 hours. It replaces a MkI dac that had an output transformer upgrade I personally did a year back. I also recently installed shorting plugs on the USB and I2S #2 inputs on the Mark I, after reading details in the forum. The shorting plugs, to my astonishment, improved the sonics through I2S input 1. The transformer upgrade improved the sonics significantly. So now you know what Iām comparing the new dac with.
My audio system uses a perfectwave sacd transport, and a Lumin U1 streamer that is used with a Matrix USB to I2S converter. The system uses a fully restored Yamaha C-1 preamp and B-2 amplifier, both Vfet designs from yesteryear. The speakers are Alta FRM-2 full range bookshelf. A contradiction I know, ( full range bookshelf) but tis true.
I filled as many inputs to the Mark II as I could with outputs from the sacd transport and streamer. I also loaded the 2.3.3 FW and 178 FPGA FW immediately. After reading some Ted posts, I turned off the digital VC on the Lumin streamer, and I can now play 128 and 256 dsd without conversion to 354. (thanks Ted ) I connected the Lumin to the Mark II via the Matrix box to I2S. I have had zero glitches or misbehaving of the new dac! No dropouts or problems when I switch inputs quickly, back and forth.
What I hear with the Mark II, compared to the Mark I, is a significantly more listenable, enjoyable, resolving, and 3D sound. Two days in. If it continues to improve over the first few weeks, better yet. I am a tapehead with a good setup, and the Mark II sound is more tape-like, with an ease of listening, but with outstanding resolution and lack of āshoutiness,ā if you get my meaning. Just for Sās and Gās, I pulled out a Judy Garland āLiveā CD, which has always been mostly unlistenable on my system. It always sounded edgy and had me reaching to turn down the volume. Through the Mark II, it was enjoyable, sounding much like what I imagine the original tape may have sounded like.
I will continue to let the dac run 24 hrs/day. When I replaced the output transformers in the Mark I, the sound improved significantly during the first couple of weeks, and I suspect the sonic improvements in the Mark II are also related to the transformers getting burned in. I plan to connect the Lumin streamer to the Mark II via USB later this week. Deleting a piece of stuff ( the Matrix) from the system will be a welcome change if there is no sonic consequence.
I will continue to switch around inputs and play, but it appears that the dac sent to me has the bugs worked out. I am really pleased about that. Nice. I will be shipping my trade-in to Boulder this week, and if I do experience any glitches with the Mark II, you will hear about it. The sonic improvement, so far, justifies the expense of upgrading my Mark I dac. Thanks PS Audio for inviting me to the beta-round!
Dean
The more I think about it, I wonder if Audiophile superlatives are a by-product of reviewers need to fill white space in a magazine. How thin would TAS be if the review simply said:
Isnāt that ultimately our take-away when we read those articles? No matter what, how something soundsā¦depends.
Edit - that said, I do appreciate learning info about a components interface, how much heat it throws, if thereās fan noise, etcā¦
Iāve been listening to the two different fuses on the MKII. The fuse makes even more of a difference than on the MKI. The Audio Magic M1 sounds warmer but more closed in. The SR Purple really brings out the high frequencies and air. The difference are pretty dramatic! I prefer the Purple fuse with the MKII, it really open up and bring more excitement to the sound!
As to break in, my unit sound way better than the modified MKI right out of the box. Sounded very open with a large soundstage and much more substance than the MKI. My brother was here at the time and he said āWow, sounds much better than your old unitā. It did improve with further break in but what I really notice is warm up time. It made a more dramatic improvement in sound after many hours of playing than from cold start, maybe because the rest of my equipment also warmed up. My Esoteric amps do not have a stand by button, itās either on or off. I always turn them off when Iām not using them so they need a little time to warm up.
I have been waiting for someone to do this. Power cords are next!
Badbeef,
I appreciate your insight but at the end of the day itās how it sounds to you, me, person A, person B. We all have different systems some good some bad, for you or me. At 15 hours in Ive written down how it sounds to me with the same reference material that I will use at 50th, 100th and 300th hour. If Iām happy with the improvements thats all that matters at the end of the day. Itās hard to align oneās perception of sounds with others(different systems) All I know is that at 15 hours it sounds so open like Iām there in front of the stage than the PWD/PWT. I look forward to your and other regulars interpretations of how it sounds to you. Iām very happy to be chosen as a beta tester, thank you.
Mkpirulo
This is what Iāve been trying to get across. Thanks for stating it clearly.
And you actually have one, so thatās goodšš¼
I was planing to try the M1 fuse next, but your analogy makes sense. Darn, I donāt have a purple fuse anymore!
Maybe a DS2 Mods Thread?
Iāve been a subscriber to TAS since the late 70ās. You arenāt ever going to read #2 no matter how itās phrased.
After reverting back to FW V 2.3.0 and getting sound from the USB connection, Iāve let the MK 2 play on and off for the last day. After about 8 hours today on the USB connection, I switched to I2S from the PST to play an SACD. The MK 2 shows it is receiving the signal but no sound. So back to familiar territory.
Agreed. I was just sitting here trying to remember the last time I read a magazine review that was overtly negative.
Yeah. I think that item #2 was the province of J. Peter Moncreiff and the International Audio Review back in the day.
My MK II might be delivered tomorrow if FedEx delivers it by their second estimate. It was initially scheduled for delivery on Saturday, but as you can tell, it wasnāt delivered.
I plan to play pink or white noise when I am not listening to music through it.
For those who may not know, white and pink noise encompasses all frequencies audible to the human ear. However, white noise contains all frequencies with equal distribution, whereas pink noise has more power at lower frequencies and less at higher frequencies, making it deeper.
Iām seeking the groupās wisdom on this one, should I play pink or white noise, and why?