Hi
Is there anyway to fix the Directstream from needing to be restarted every month or so for best sound. Some people claim that they never need to restart their Directstream but I need to restart mine every month or two for best sound. Is this normal or is it something that can be fixed? I love the sound of my mk1 and I have had it fully modded with APS transformers, vocm mod and external power supply to analog power board in the Directstream. I like my dac but I wonder if anything could be done to fix the need to restart it every month or two.
Thanks
Mitch
Remove all mods 
1 Like
The mods are actually incredible. They bring the dac to a higher level. The dac liked to be restarted before the mods. I love my dac.
2 Likes
I was joking.
My Dac is also modded apart from the APS.
I donāt recognise the problem.
Can you describe what you hear then?
Is a toggle of power enough?
1 Like
A toggle of power once in a while cures the problem completely. It opens up the sound stage. I just toggle the power from time to time.
1 Like
Wijnand describes a similar problem, but in streaming (switch).
The sound goes dark after a certain time.
And can be fixed with a power toggle.
Which input of the Dac are you using?
I2S for PST and AES/EBU for Aries G2.1 streamer
I do not see this as something which needs to be āfixedā. Nothing is wrong with the unit.
Do you have a power plant? If so, have you used clean wave?
I donāt have a power plant but restarting the Directstream fixes the problem.
I restarted the Directstream last night after 3 weeks play and the sound is much better now for the restart.
Which is great.
Various pieces of kit in differing systems sound better after restart, warmed up, degaussed, etc. This does not mean something is wrong, rather you have discovered a way to make your system sound its best.
Could it be that there is small dc current running through the transformer causing it to go into saturation?
I donāt know but it sounds good for a while after restart.
I have noticed that ever since I separated my PST and DSD Mk1 with footers that I no longer require to reboot the DSD. Is it possible that the PST and DSD reacted badly by sitting directly one on top of the other? I notice problem solved when the PST and DSD are separated with footers.
Wow! I am glad that this ābehaviorā has ended.
I notice now that my dac enjoys a reboot once every 24 hours for the very best sound. Apparently it has to do with the FPGA module and that thereās nothing wrong with the dac. It just sounds best with daily reboot. I very much enjoy my APS modded mk1 and will keep it for some time to come. I would love a PMG 512 dac but funds are not yet permitting and I would wait for the bugs to be sorted first before committing to a $9k US dac. Perhaps one day but for now Iām enjoying the Mk1.
3 Likes
Iāve discovered that my dac likes to be left to warm up and Not be rebooted daily. Iāve come to realize that when the sound is off or flat that it is the result of crap on the ac grid and thereās nothing I can do for that but wait it out.
My dac only lasted 2 days before a necessary reboot. Is this normal?
Some subscribe to the reboot regularly discipline.
I have never been able to identify a specific degradation of sound over time or detected a benefit from regular hard restarts.
YMMV.
1 Like
I wonder if my dac is faulty? It has been this way for a long time.