My current system consists of the Directstream DAC PST PWT BHK Preamp BHK 250 Amp NPC VPI HW 19 mk2 with Souther TriQuartz Linear Tonearm with Ortofon Super OM30 cartridge powered by a VPI SDS utilizing a Stand Alone Motor Assembly connected via custom Petersen Emerald interconnects. The system is powerd by a P15 Power Plant. My speakers are B&W 800 Matrix. My interconnects other than the turntable are Kimber Kable Hero XLR. My speakers are connected Quad wired via Kimber Kable 8TC and 4TC. I use a Wyred 4 Sound Recovery to connect my laptop for use with thousands of files via JRiver Media Center. I enjoy many kinds of music mostly on CD And SACD. My system recreates a wide deep soundstage free from and behind the speakers. My equipment racks stand on a block foundation with a slate top isolated from the room floor. My dedicated room has cathedral ceiling and is L shaped with a bar to the right rear of the listening room and an open loft bedroom above the bar.
Yet another very nice system sixpack1, well suited to beta testing the to be released DSD DAC Mk II. I speak for the group in saying we all eagerly look forward to your comments and observations regarding the new DSD DAC Mk II.
Wonderful!
It will be great fun to read your reports.
Thank you. I will do my best.
John, looking forward to reading your reports. Enjoy!
I havenāt followed the millions (slight exaggeration but only slight, ha) of posts on DS Mk2 across threads super closely, but I thought I recently recall reading that someone indicated Ted had said that on DS Mk2 the USB input should sound just as good as any other input. Is that right? Or did I imagine it?
More generally, assuming equal quality of device feeding the various inputs, will there be a noticeable difference in sound quality output from the dac depending on input?
Darren just asked me āI am really surprised with the fact that I cannot tell differences between digital cables with this DAC. Any clue why that would be?ā
While Iād like that to be true across the board, nothing is perfect, but that was one of my goals in building the Mk II. (Darren may not have been talking about USB at the time either.)
I donāt think I explicitly said that USB should sound just as good as any other input with no other qualifications, but I think that might be the case for many systems. The USB is galvanically isolated from the rest of the system everywhere (at its input, its power and its communication with the FPGA.) It also uses a different USB processing chip which draws less power which means that it doesnāt radiate as much noise, etc.
But in the abstract (and in a handwaving sense), interconnects, power cords, etc. are RFI radiators and receivers and, in some cases, even a perfect DAC canāt fix all things that are happening outside itself.
Ted, would you expect, that with the Airlens and a MkI, the differences of I2S cabling are also reduced due to the isolation of the Airlens? Or is this just a question of DAC isolation?
I donāt know the implementation of the Airlens, but Iām sure it lowers the differences between different I2S cables for many systems. Every groundloop broken is a win.
I do not have any USB cables, but I have four sets of AQ I2S which includes Vodka, Coffee, Firebird, and Dragon. With DS I could tell obvious differences with them. It will be interesting If their differences are smaller when testing MK2. Yes, I will be in Beta test teams.
Since most of you never heard of the speakers I own, here is a picture of my system:
The speakers are Silverline Monte Cristal 6-way speakers. There are a set of super-tweeters and a set of 10" sub-woofers built-in in the back of them too. Designer Alan only made 5 pairs and two of them are in Asia, I may have the only pair in West Coast. I love the sound and my wife loves the look. If PSA allows trade-in on FR30 I may ādownsizeā mine to them eventually because they are getting too heavy for me 
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The rest of my system is all PSA gear, and I have a Euphony Summus 2 streamer. My cables are two sets of Iconoclasts XLR UPOCC, two sets of Fidelium speaker cables. My PCs include AQ Dragon HC and Source, Stealth V10 Power, Zavfino Silver Darts, and Silnote Orion M-1 Reference.
It is an honor to be selected, and I will give my honest review.
I just got a call from the 303 area code. Excited, I answered.
No, I do not want an extended warranty on my Volvo.
Great to know Donald! Congrats, Iām so happy you are a lucky beta tester and canāt wait to your thoughts for obvious reasons.
Wonderful set up and room!
Please call my phone number from US, just to feel the thrill! Nighttime or daytime, doesnāt matter.
Hey PS guys, if you need a Beta tester for schuko EU modelā¦ here I am. Let me dream, it costs nothing.
Give us the number of your wife, so that ours can talk to her when we plan our next 7ft tall speaker purchase 
Very true! While not a direct apples to apples comparison, this happened with the DMP after PS Audio had the sale on the PST. I got my PST late due to supply chain issues and by that time there were lots of DMP on the market. Resale value tanked about $1K over a few months. I got even less since I sold it to TMR ā¦
This is where we need a ādislikeā or ābroken heartā button.
The yearly PSA sales donāt help either. Itās great on the purchase side if your timing is good. But the sales really hurt if you bought full retail and want to sell, especially during the sale.
I think the area code you are hoping for is ā720ā.
Well, well congratulations dchang05 on being selected as a DSD DAC Mk II beta tester. The group is getting larger and I truly look forward to you sharing your experience with the Mk II with the group. Incredible system BTW!
Those in the know plan purchases around those sales, once the product has ālegsā they tend to come up on the semiannual āsaleā.
I will go out on a limb here and guess that those āin the knowā are far out numbered by those ānot in the knowā. When a sale occurs the ānot in the knowā canāt be happy to see their resale value plummet. Why not simply lower the prices by 25-33% permanently?
Rant over.