@pmotz33@sbcglobal.net I understand but as Gordon suggests it’s all context. The word “con” to me suggests pulling the wool over someone’s eyes meaning we would hide the fact you pay up front and wait. I truly hope that is not the case and I want to be crystal clear about it.
There will only be 100 total DirectStreams available in April and nearly 2/3 of those are already spoken for. Many are promised to our dealers and distributors, more to people like yourself that are willing to pay up front and wait.
I just didn’t think it was fair to call it a con when I think we’ve been really up front with everyone. 
But thanks for responding, we do need open dialog.
@pmotz33@sbcglobal.net Jeez, that's a little harsh. "Cons"? I think we're pretty open about what we do. We take pre-orders from those that want to be first, charge their cards and then they wait. They get preferential treatment to be first in line and we take care of them. Does it help our cash flow? Yes, of course it does as well it helps us gauge what the demand will be.
Thanks Paul for being so open about it indeed. It doesn't take much to understand that it's not best business practice to produce an expensive product like this in much quantity without knowing how it will actually sell. And for the many on this forum that want/need to be the first adopters, you know who you are and most have admitted it, you willingly pay the price for it.
I'm with pmotz though about money being tight and holding off until supply/demand cool off a bit. I'm thrilled with my PWD Mk. II so am in no hurry to upgrade. I do have some questions about it but will post in another thread as it's not the topic of this one.
I will make a comment about pricing, understanding fully that you can price however you want or need in order to recoup R&D and make money, and we want you to make money so you can keep innovating and producing the products we admire and enjoy.
When I bought my PWD Mk. II and bridge, I didn't do my due diligence to explore pricing online before buying. A year and a half ago I actually paid full price for both, so I'm in $4800 plus for my PWD Mk. II. The shame is on me for not looking into online offerings as I could have saved thousands, although I hope the dealer I bought it from appreciates my business. But, if I were to order the DirectStream upgrade, I'd be in $7800 for an "upgraded PWD." Since the Directstream makes the second digital lens unnecessary, I won't need the bridge for optimal sound quality, I would only need to spend $6,000 for a brand new DirectStream unit. I'll give you the cost of the bridge, since I can use it for networking if I want, but it still seems like the upgrade should only be $2000 for current PWD owners, i.e. the difference between a PWD and the Directstream, rather than 3k. Just putting in my $0.2.
Paul, now I see where your concern was. I was using “con” in the sense of “pros” and “cons”, as in here are positives and negatives. I absolutely was not inferring a “con job”, as in swindling me out of my money. Unfortunate how words can have different meanings.
@pmotz33@sbcglobal.net ;
Oh, that explains it. I am so sorry, maybe had too much coffee this morning. Sorry sir, it’s my misunderstanding. Definitely not a plus!
No problem, it’s not the first time I’ve done that. Gotta think outside of the box when I write on these forums!
@admin
See below. I somehow posted twice. My bad
I'll give you the cost of the bridge, since I can use it for networking if I want, but it still seems like the upgrade should only be $2000 for current PWD owners, i.e. the difference between a PWD and the Directstream, rather than 3k. Just putting in my $0.2.
Yep understood but think of it this way. A PWD is made up of blocks (if you will) and those include the chassis, four main PCB's, a power transformer all the AC stuff and the packaging, remote, accessories etc. At $3,995 it's a really good deal (I know, I have to pay the bills for it). 3/4 of the expense is in the 3 boards we are replacing. The analog board itself is hugely expensive and once you take all that out, there's not much left.
We once calculated that we could sell a PerfectWave product with a touch screen all finished up in packaging for about $1,000. It wouldn't do anything and wouldn't have any functionality, but you'd get a nice chassis. That's just what it costs.
So, the $3K is what remains of replacing all the innards of a PWD and that's how it gets calculated. I agree, it would have been perfect to charge only the difference between the two, but alas, when you add the actual costs up it just doesn't noodle out that way.
@admin
When will the kits be available in europe?
(Aspera)
@nordicbob I trust that now the weekend's over they will get in touch with you. Sorry for the delay. We haven't added anyone to the list since Friday since the weekend is when they actually take a day off. :) Sorry you had to wait, my apologies.
No problem. Just got off the phone with Mayoura.
I can tell you that we won’t be recouping R/D anytime soon
@adimon Guy has ordered kits and he’ll get a couple in May. Contact Aspera and get your claim in on them as soon as you can. There won’t be many.
I can tell you that we won't be recouping R/D anytime soon :)
And he's not kidding. We're talking years to make that happen. Good thing we're all in this because we love it. :)
I'll give you the cost of the bridge, since I can use it for networking if I want, but it still seems like the upgrade should only be $2000 for current PWD owners, i.e. the difference between a PWD and the Directstream, rather than 3k. Just putting in my $0.2.
Yep understood but think of it this way. A PWD is made up of blocks (if you will) and those include the chassis, four main PCB's, a power transformer all the AC stuff and the packaging, remote, accessories etc. At $3,995 it's a really good deal (I know, I have to pay the bills for it). 3/4 of the expense is in the 3 boards we are replacing. The analog board itself is hugely expensive and once you take all that out, there's not much left.
We once calculated that we could sell a PerfectWave product with a touch screen all finished up in packaging for about $1,000. It wouldn't do anything and wouldn't have any functionality, but you'd get a nice chassis. That's just what it costs.
So, the $3K is what remains of replacing all the innards of a PWD and that's how it gets calculated. I agree, it would have been perfect to charge only the difference between the two, but alas, when you add the actual costs up it just doesn't noodle out that way.
That make sense. Thanks for taking the time to explain and answer so eloquently Paul.
One more thing on the “sell me a ‘renew’ chassis”. There are likely complicated issues here with respect to not undercutting the market for new / reburbished PWD’s and DS’s. So the pricing of the “bare chassis” (including display, display board, power, etc.) has to make sense in the entire product line and market (which means it might not be exactly the theoretical $1000 quoted above). PSA is super busy now trying to gauge and meet demand for the DS. But I wanted to put this idea in the hopper in the hopes that my PWD Mk II parts won’t be gathering dust after the DS swap. As good as the DS likely will sound, the PWD isn’t garbage. It will still sound just as wonderful after the DS arrives, just not as good. But the current generation deserves something better than becoming e-waste. Thanks for listening.
No problem. Just got off the phone with Mayoura. All done.
Hey! Mayoura was supposed to call me first! :-))
Just kidding.
No problem. Just got off the phone with Mayoura. All done.
Hey! Mayoura was supposed to call me first! :-))
Just kidding.
Ha! I have my ways ;;) I think that it is a busy day for Mayoura. Time for the boss to give her a raise!
BTW, did you score one? :D
Would you mind to give some technical specifications before ordering? The inputs are the same as on the previous pwd mkII?
The inputs are identical to the PWD. You can read the details we’re releasing right now here: http://www.psaudio.com/products/audio/media-players/perfectwave-directstream-dac/
Ha! I have my ways ;;) I think that it is a busy day for Mayoura. Time for the boss to give her a raise!
BTW, did you score one too? :D
:-" :-" ;)
I apologize if this has already been addressed. Will the DirectStream DAC be compatible with Amarra? Amarra doesn’t support DSD to the best of my knowledge, but since the DirectStream DAC converts PCM to DSD, I am not sure if this is an issue for Amarra or not.