Sure, that makes sense. That’s pretty much what I think a lot of people do. You have an existing DAC, you want to upgrade, you sell/trade the current DAC and apply to the new DAC.
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Some would want to know what demand looks like as well.
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I don’t think that would be a problem. They would love to have a ton of buyers lined up. I wonder what Darren thought of the MK2 sound? Maybe he could do a review now that he is no longer working for PS Audio.
Are you saying that it’s good enough for paying customers but not reviewers without updated software?
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I imagine as the issue has cropped up they want it solved as much as we do, and before it goes for review.
Way off topic but I was suggesting a friend get usb Dac instead of using a headphone output of her laptop. I suggested a cheap one off Amazon for $45. I was totally embarrassed to disclose I had just bought a device that did the exact same thing, at close to 200 times the price!
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Oh, welcome to the club. Try explaining a $19K amp. I think I have given people eyestrain from the resulting eye rolls when I explain the cost of some of my rig.
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to expand on my remark, I also would guess most looking at an $8000 DAC have at least something around to get at least a $1000 trade-in…I would certainly pay $7000 for a new one with warranty rather than a used one at $6500…
His used one is only a couple months old with almost a full 3 years warranty.
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I didn’t realize PS warranty extends to second owner…I just know I have a few things around, not being used, that PS would give me more on trade-in than I could otherwise sell it for…it’s a tough spot at that price area considering the PS trade policy…
At a minimum, it probably tells us that there isn’t huge demand for the mk2 right now, and that prospects for PSA selling many at $8k right now probably aren’t good, at least based on the fact that yours has dangled for so long without a buyer at $1.5k off msrp on a fresh new product, something that would never happen if there was huge demand for a new product.
On why no reviews, the most logical explanation is that there are still enough “issues” with the dac that it still isn’t ready for prime time. It’s not that they don’t want to be overwhelmed with orders - that’s funny - because they were heavily advertising here the trade-in deal on Mk1’s, remember? They wanted everyone with an Mk1 to trade it by the end of that month (January or whenever it was).
I think it’s possible that people are leery of beta units, whether that is a well-founded or ill-founded reason. I think that Ted has acknowledged that some hardware changes were made and are almost always made throughout a product’s lifetime.
Lastly, some brands are known for holding their value well, and others for the reverse.
These are just my guesses as to your question of what does that tell us.
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Early adopters are all in already.
New buyers would rather be sure to get latest and greatest from the factory (and are waiting on updates?).
Modifying the MK I is a compelling value proposition.
My $.02…
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My guess is the DSD Mk I trade in offer is undermining your sale. Of course there could be other explanations.
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Existing owners would trade in theirs for sure, and for most audiophiles who are looking for a $8k DAC would have some not-worth-resale gear to trade in. I do not think the newbies will start with a DAC like MK2 because they don’t have other gears to match.
I am an example of an audiophile getting into the PSA door. I knew PSA makes great products, and I could trade in anything remotely related to audio (lousy cables and sonys, sold my good stuff online). So, I bought a few gears a couple of years ago with a combination of trade-in and discount.
It is a terrific way to attract new and existing buyers, but it is terrible for resales. I am very much stuck with PSA products because I own most of theirs and can get higher value from trade-in than resale, but I am fine with it.
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Agree with the first sentence, but not the second.
It’s not that they only give trade-in credit for PSA stuff; anything will do as a trade-in, including the absolute worst audio gear for holding its value (whatever that is).
So you are only more incentivized to go back to PSA to the extent that PSA gear holds its value less than average, or if you truly mean “stuck,” to extent that PSA holds its value worse than almost anything, if that makes sense (because you could alternatively trade in audio junk and still get full price for it in trade, or buy on used market such discounted audio junk for express purpose of flipping to PS on trade)
That is right! If I have more “junk” audio stuff I will trade in them first for sure. You give a more “detail” explanation of 
how the trade-in value works.
In existing DS owners’ case, the higher trade-in for MK2 is a great deal. Selling used gear is a headache. If I could trade in an existing PSA gear, even if I can sell it a bit more after all associated cost, I will trade in if the new one is an improvement (aways true with PSA so far).
Haha, now that I reread my argument, it’s a little off (I initially thought you meant you were stuck selling your old PSA gear to PSA). I think your point was really that nobody gives near the trade in value as PSA, which could be true (idk).
Then it comes down to is what you can get that way better than the performance you get selling on market at less than full price and putting proceeds towards something else. Individual decision obviously.
But the first sentence of your post undoubtedly true - great way to attract buyers but kills resale
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I edited mine too, a bit more in line with yours.
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Could be many factors, bank failures, crypto monsters, who knows.
But One thing I suspect, is outside of the PS audio paying fan base, the asking 2nd hand price is too high for what the real market seen as “probably too beta”. Hopefully, when the big magazines and big tubers starting to get their hands on one, things would turn.
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Vince, if something isnt selling - price is too high. You are selling for @ $1,000 more than buying brand new, direct from PS Audio with a trade in. PS Audio is very fair with trade ins and returns!
I am surprised how active you are on these MK II forums for someone who is selling his and has moved on…
good luck!
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Not only is price a deterrent, the brand is sort of a deterrent outside this forum as well. This is literally the only place where I see people speak highly of the directstream DAC. Many other forums and discords find it too smooth or not resolving enough. The earlier firmwares of the directstream really hurt its reputation imo. It’s very hard to get someone to consider a $6.5k DAC when they don’t really care for the MK1. Just what I’ve seen around my circles.
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