Well, I finally made the leap. I’m not what you would call an early adopter and I prefer to do my due diligence prior to making what I consider a major audio purchase.
Some of you may have contributed to this thread I started a while back while I was deep in the midst of compiling my research.
I got an email from Scott a couple of weeks ago informing me that there was still time to take advantage of the $3500 trade in credit on my MK1 towards a MK2. That was all it took and I placed my order that day.
My MK2 arrived yesterday and to say that I was gobsmacked by the improvement over my MK1 would be an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the sound of my MK1 but the MK2 is on a whole other level.
I was concerned too about moving from the big beautiful touchscreen to the smaller display but it is very intuitive and I’m not missing the larger one after all. A big thank you to Ted, Paul, Scott and all the members of this forum that helped push me over the edge.
I can’t wait to hear what’s in store for me once my MK2 is fully broken in.
I’m with you completely. Mailed in my trades a few days ago. Like you I waited for the right time to jump in. With the release of final version of Mt. Massive I was ready. I’ll be posting my thoughts soon.
I am wondering if that piece of plastic is part of a securing mechanism so that when the lid or bottom is on the vertical daughter card does not wiggle around. I am having flash backs to all the times that I had one of our Reliability Engineers tell me that we had a reliability concern on one of my projects. It’s the kind of thing that keeps you awake at night.
I am sure it is an intentional stabilization device. How well it works and installed are uphill challenges. This is consumer electronics. If my ten year old hifi piece got such a work around by my repair shop. One would like be happy and ignorant.
I am about to remove the Master fuse from the streamer to replace with the stock fuse to hear the difference. Lately streaming seems to lose a bit of magic compared to my faulty memory before the vacation. I do not know if Massive update on MK2 had anything to do with it. Or maybe I do not need the second switch (LHY SW-6). Strangely playing CD sounded better than I remembered
My brother got his MK2 yesterday and his reaction is the same as most others in this forum. He is one happy camper! First thing he notice is the soundstage, huge and deeper than his MK1 and Esoteric N-01XD. The clarity and resolution of the MK2 also impressed him greatly. He’s returning the MK1 for trade in and putting his Esoteric up for sale soon.
Just found this. Yes, I get the same ticking noise (reminiscent of LP surface noise) when playing SACDs on my DMP connected via I2S to the mk2. I have the PST as well but haven’t been able to try it yet.
My guess is that it’s a clocking issue that’s causing small gaps in the DSD bitstream. I doubt there will be a fix for it since the DMP is now discontinued. For the most part, it’s not noticeable when the music is playing.
Thanks for sharing, I asked PS audio if DMP and PST are different in terms of data pack and they suspects it is mk2. I tried everything I could before I returned mk2 but could not shake off that ticking sound. I was wondering if I had PST would it make difference. If you had a chance could you please try PST with mk2 playing SACD via I2S and see if that ticking sound will go away? If there is difference and PST is better match / solve this issue, then upgrading to PST is good option; Cheers
I just finished reading the latest TAS review of the DS MK II (Issue No. 346 -February 2024). I think this review has been mentioned before. But, if you are interested in the MK II or own it, you should give this a read if you have access to it.
At the risk of providing a spoiler, one thing about the review I really appreciated is that Mr. Cordesman (RIP) attests to the incremental (relevant but incremental) improvements offered by the MK II as compared to the DS Sr.
This is consistent with my Hi-Fi journey, in that I rarely experience the hyperbolically described upgrades/impacts others often report about new kit, tweaks etc.
If nothing else, read the review because it is probably one of the last (if not the last) published reviews by Mr. Cordesman.
also important to note, the review unit was the Massive Beta, not the current upgraded Massive…been a Cordesman fan for decades, and he sure has liked PS products, having the DSMKll and FR30’s in his reference system…
