DirectStream DAC MKII Beta Tester Reviews

Still waiting on delivery of my beta unit. Was originally to be delivered tomorrow (Tuesday) but FEDEX updated to deliver two days early on Sunday. Well now it seems to be in limbo somewhere between New Jersey and here in CT. Very confusing and frustrating.

@DennyD be thankful its not going through USPS and hitting the giant black hole known as the Springfield MA Sorting hub. OMG, everything of mine headed to CT takes at least 2 days to get through that place. Last few things took 2 weeks. I had to complain and they were “found”

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Hello Folks:

I received my MKII Beta on Saturday, 12/3 and have been using it with stock FW 2.30 ever since. I’ve had no drop outs or glitches. I am using I2S from PST to MKII exclusively. I got a green light with USB. As reported here on these pages, SQ evaluation is personal and involves synergy with gear. I had some concerns comparing the MKII with the MKI right out of the box. But you can’t compare a cold unit to a completely burned in one. So I’ll hold my judgement until later.

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Wait, the developer is BB Tubes?! Hmmm

NEED Advice! Yesterday I left my unit with 2.3.0, however, I switched to FPGA 178. I then played an SACD using my PST and the I2S interface. 178 sounded even better than 173, HOWEVER, after about 45 minutes my unit muted and stopped playing. Is it even worth loading 2.3.3 on to see if it still mutes after 45 minutes of playing? Has anyone had 2.3.3 cure their muting problem?

It is an audio plugin by Waves, a big, longstanding maker of plugins. “BB” stands for Beauty and The Beast - the two big knobs on the UI - two flavors of tube-like saturation/distortion the plugin produces.

2.3.3 will help with muting caused by the FPGA on newer boards. It will mute older boards. It sounds like you have an older board and may need to contact PS Audio. They can help debug and possibly you’ll need to ship your unit back.

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I’m poking at the BB, the sometimes way of addressing you. :wink:

Not seriously at all.

What is an “experienced reviewer”.

Ahh - I get it now!

I feel your pain Brian as i live in Mass also. I dont know why but always shipments sit in CT for 2 days before moving again.

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Sorry to ruin it, but it wasn’t that good anyway.

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By that I meant someone who does reviews for a living, writes for the audio magazines, speaks in that generally agreed-upon language, is constrained by that ecosystem - vs. an end user who is putting their experience into their own words, and likely has no sort of political or economic motivation for what they’re writing and may or may not have a large comparison set for the product being discussed.

There is a big area in between of very experienced people who are only end users, with no interest in writing about it, or writers who understand the tech or do measurements, but do not have firsthand listening experience, etc. etc.

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You have given me a new business idea thoughđŸ€”

:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Hahahahahaha

@tedsmith I received my MK2 Nov22 would this unit be considered one with an older board? I realize it’s more related to serial number than when I received it. Will PSA be switching out older for newer on beta units? I currently have no issues after 40hrs of continuous play. I’m exclusively running the PST.
Thanks

Not all of the older units need work. Right now we’ll probably write some software to see if a mute is the hardware or the software and if it’s hardware have the unit shipped back. Plans might change, as always. They will also release software which works on all units :slight_smile:

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Great idea. I’ll do another long power cycle on my unit and, once it gets sound again, restrict it to the USB input for continued burn-in until the diagnostic software you mention is available.

Just tried calling you, because it’s consistent at about 45 min I’m betting Barry and the techs will want to look at it.

My MKII arrived on Saturday so this is my initial report.

My system is all PS Audio electronics (M1200 amps, Stellar Power Plant, PST and DSD Sr) paired with Rosso Fiorentino Elba2 speakers and two REL T9i subs. (The subs plug into a Shunyata Venom not the Power Plant.)

I’m at a disadvantage as I have no streamer other than the BridgeII in my MKI. I was advised by PS Audio to test the MKII by connecting my phone via an Apple Lighting to USB connector. I’m playing Tidal through that. Clearly that’s less desirable than a streamer.

This also means I can’t burn in the MKII as others have. My phone’s battery won’t allow for that kind of continuous 24/7 play. Another disadvantage is the MKII must – for now – sit on top of my amps. However there is zero buzz or hum of any kind.

Straight out of the box the sound immediately grabbed my attention. That was after I corrected the volume level. I did not understand there are not two DAC levels as there are on the MKI. A volume level of 60 was too loud. Adjusted down to 40 the sound was still gripping – in a more pleasant way.

I have a list of tracks I used for evaluating changes in my system. Most are small group jazz, with a few vocals as well as a few classic-type rock tracks. My primary impression is that the sound of individual instruments – and vocals – is more distinct than on the MKI. Perhaps for that reason the sound stage seems improved somewhat.

I’ve not yet connected the PST because I need a longer I2S connecting cable than I normally use. I will report on my impression of the PST and the MKII when I’ve solved that issue.

The main reason for the equipment placement issue is I don’t want to remove the MKI from my system. My next step after several listening sessions with the MKII is to go back and listen to the MKI to help determine if the difference is as great as my first impressions suggest.

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