Directstream Mk 2 observations

Audio Components DACs
3198

Thanks, that did the trick. I had hit that dim button on the remote. Got to press all the buttons right?

1 Like
3199

The ON button on the remote will take it out of DIM.

4 Likes
3200

Good to know. Seems like these things should be covered in the manual.

3201

My brother just told me he is jumping on this opportunity to get the $3500 credit to trade in his stock unmodified MK1. He couldnā€™t resist this deal, especially after he heard how my Massive updated MK2 obliterated his MK1. Night and day difference!

4 Likes
3202

This is a killer deal at $4500. And Iā€™m a tightwad. My cheapman DNA wouldnā€™t allow me to spend $8000 on any DAC, even this wonderful one.

1 Like
3203

FedEx dropped off my new DAC, I unboxed it, set it up in place of the former MK1 DAC, let it warm up to room temperature and immediately it was immediately evident that this was a better DAC compared to my MK1 (which Iā€™ve loved for several years now). It extracts more detail than the MK1, the soundstage is improved, the sounds of the instruments and voices are more natural, the bass is tighter and the extreme highs sound smoother and more accurate, and the timbre is improved. Iā€™ve loaded up several hours of music to break this baby in; I can only imagine how good this will sound when itā€™s broken in.

I also have a PST and P15 from PS Audio.

12 Likes
3204

Your description matches exactly what I heard when I upgraded to the MK2. Yes, it will get better with time; but you have gotten the basic measure of your new piece of gear. Enjoy!

1 Like
3205

@ejr1953, You can do what I did to accelerate the break-in process.

When I wasnā€™t listening to my system, I shut everything down except my network streamer and put a pink-noise track on a repeat loop feeding into the MKII.

Each evening when I went to listen to the system, I shut off the pink noise and was amazed at the difference i heard from one day to the next.

It only took about 3-4 days to get to 100% broken in.

1 Like
3206

Where do you go to get a pink noise track? Would it be available on Qobuz?

3207

Yes. You can find pink noise tracks on Qobuz.

3208

I also found it on the Stereophile Test CD 3, track 20 Burn-In Noise

3209

Correct- this is not pink noise. It instead is various noises drums, cow bells, tambourines etc

3210

I donā€™t remember where I downloaded it from, but if you google free pink noise wav, you should be able to find something to use.

3211

Found it on Qobuz, thanks. Got it on repeat right now. So far I havenā€™t heard a lot of change day to day. Iā€™ll let it play and check back tomorrow.

1 Like
3212

John,
Iā€™ll try that, thanks for the tip!

1 Like
3213

Alright Damnit! I have been polite and patientā€¦ everyone has received and are breaking in their new dac. While mine is still being held hostage by Fedex. If it does not arrive on monday I am going to beat the crap out of someone, I dont even care who. God help me if a fedex driver comes down my road and does not have my dac. I am going to call that poor guy an ambulance before i even start pummeling the crap out of him! Do you guys want me to record the screams and whimpers he makes so all you lucky guys can play it back on your new dacs?
Lee

2 Likes
3214

My experiment of streaming pink noise over Qobuz last night was both a failure and a rousing success. Fourteen hours after starting the stream the screen on the DAC was displaying 44.1/16 as it should and the pink noise track was still displaying on the Eversolo app but when I turned the rest of the system on there was no sound! Obviously something had timed out. So I donā€™t know how long the track played. However, I definitely finally got to the end of the rainbow. For three days the DAC had been delivering ho-hum sound. I was beginning to think that maybe my ears had become acclimated to the initially great sound and that was all I was going to get. But no, today Iā€™m hearing a HUGE jump in sound quality. On day three a changed out the stock power cord for my aftermarket one and the sound quality took a significant jump forward. Todays jump was even more impressive. Stunning!

4 Likes
3215

Patience grasshopper

3216

Fortunately, the MK2 DAC has an undocumented feature that it makes the listener more relaxed and less likely to pummel others who drive trucks and wear uniforms. :slight_smile:

3217

I wonder if Qobuz didnā€™t like you playing the same file over and over again.

I downloaded the pink noise file to my server, played it from there, and never had a problem. It was still going each time I checked.

Which after-market power cable are you using?