I see your point, you just need a different analogy.
Many restaurants here are perfectly fine with this. They simply charge a “corkage” fee when you bring your own bottles, it’s a well established policy.
Perhaps bringing your own pizza to a pizzeria and just ordering a coke would be a good analogy.
I always brought fine wine from my cellar when I dined in nice restaurants. I am willing to pay the $100 cork charge, but not the $1,000 markup for an equivalent wine. I am not sure how it is related to audio demo though. 
Actually I was in the Raliegh area for training related to my job. I enjoyed going into Audio Advice and also Advanced Audio that my friend Tom Hoffman owned and operated. I live in southern tier New York.
So I guess the website isn’t working. I’ll have to call or email tomorrow. But I received my MK2 last weekend and indeed it is a big improvement over MK1. Sound just explodes in all directions front back left right. Wow!! I have an issue which disappoints me however. I went all in on I2S via HDMI way back when and currently own a Tubulus Concentus for this purpose. However the Tubulus connector is large enough that I can’t get a good connection to the I2S input on the back of the MK2. There are huuuuuge screws on the back panel that block the cable’s connector body from full insertion. I can get a connection using I2S #2 but it is not a snug fit. I2S #1 I can’t get any sound from at all. Wonder if I can change to flathead screws.
You could always hit it with a Dremel grinder the HDMi connector add a bevel or the screw head. or little of both
Good ideas.Thanks
If it were me I’d do the following:
Contact Support, explaining what the issue is in detail etc…like you did here. They’ll enjoy getting this data.
Ask for the specs of the screws, if they have flathead replacements. If not, get some at any hardware store.
Replace one screw at a time. Doing so will minimize the chance of disconnecting anything on the other side.
Just talking about taking a Dremel to a brandy new piece, of anything for that matter, gives me the willies! Although I’m diggin the idea, just not on a new toy.
I suggest you replace the screws with these:
They are referred to as “Low Wafer Head Machine Screw”.
They come in philips, hex, star, and square drive. They may come in slotted, but I am opposed to slotted.
I will contact them tomorrow and ask about screw replacements. I did verify I2S #1 is working by replacing the Tubulus with a PSA i2s/10. Funny the Tubulus can connect to #2 but not #1. Must be a very weak connection.
PSA may be closed tomorrow. It’s Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday.
Wondering if I could swap screws with the MK1 which has not been boxed up yet. But I think it is best to wait and see what they say.
No matter what, it’s good feedback for PSA. This can’t be the only HDMI cable that’s going to have issues.
There is nothing disrepectful in bringing in a competitor’s product to a dealer for evaluation. Give them a call and ask if they have a problem with this. If they are “full service” dealor they can handle this without losing sleep.
Certainly they are not so naive to believe you only consider products they carry.
Or, as previously suggested, get a MK2 and then ask the dealer for a competing DAC for home evaluation.
Otherwise you are at the mercy of opinions of random people on the Internet. I would not make a decision on such poor information.
I once heard someone say: “…the customer is always right.”
I thought those that are watching this thread might enjoy a long conversation with designer Ted Smith. Ted and I just finished up a 45 minute video chat about the differences between MK1 and MK2.
Great stuff!
Just found this in my YouTube feed! Watching the video a second time - about all the menu choices available to turn isolation off or on.
Also Ted relays that there won’t be a firmware release every few months like the MK1, but closer to updates every year. I guess he has learned so much since the Mk1’s release, that there’s less simple little things to try and optimize.
Having had galvanic isolation feeding my bridge II via EtherRegen, I can attest to how much more natural and non fatiguing it made my DS. Can’t wait to hear isolation in many different areas.
Does anyone know what the trade-in credit for a DS JR is?
$3,000 credit with DirectStream Junior in January only. After that it’ll be 2,400.
How much is the trade in for the SR?
