Hi Paul,
I installed 2.08 last night and have been listening all morning. No problems, another veil has been lifted to bring the music a tad
closer to what one would hear in a live performance. Discs worked flawlessly until I put in Leonard Cohen’s The Future. Each track is playing properly, however the screen is showing 1, the numbers do not change following the track to track playing. Is this possibly just a quirk of this particular cd? or something else?
Thanks,
Herb
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Dirk, sorry to hear about your misfortunes. That should not happen at all, especially for all the money you’ve paid for the units. I’m glad everything is working out OK now.
If I may, there are a few questions I’d like to ask to see what can be done better. The front panel with the wrong label is a no-brainer–the assemblers put on the wrong one.
As far as the damage goes, the panel could have been damaged 1) before it left the factory in Boulder, 2) In transit to the UK, or 3) by mishandling if the box was opened up for customs inspection either at a US or UK port.
If you still have the packing materials, is there any evidence of damage from an outside source that could have punched through the shipping container and damaged the faceplate? If not, that narrows the damage to option 1) or 3).
If it was damaged during a customs inspection (which could explain why the other pieces were missing) there’s not a lot Paul can do, unfortunately.
But if it was damaged before it left the factory, yeah, someone wasn’t minding the store.
As an aside, when I got my BHK pramp I noticed the plastic bag protecting the unit in the shipping box was torn around the volume knob. Upon close inspection to the shipping box it was clear the box had been dropped anywhere from 3 to 5 feet, landing on a corner and causing damage to the membrane support that was supposed to keep the unit from coming in contact with the outside box. The membrane could no longer support the unit, so it could then flex within the shipping box. The first thing that would support force was the volume knob, so after the box was dropped all shipping loads pretty much went through the volume knob. Anyway, I took photos and sent them to Paul, and hopefully that was fixed in subsequent deliveries.
So if there is any evidence of shipping container damage, please take photos if you still have the box and pass them along.
Again, sorry for the bad experiences. You should be enjoying your system(s), not repairing them. Best of luck and I hope everything smooths out from now on.
–SSW
Problem solved. And its cause was embarrassing enough so that I’m not going to explain it! The only thing I’ll say in self-justification is that no one at PS Audio thought of it either; following several failed tries and a number of back-and-forths I asked a question casually, virtually as an afterthought, and the answer provided a Eureka!-like solution to the problem. And the thing now sounds great. I tried the old (but amazing-sounding) Stravinsky-led performance of “Dumbarton Oaks” in the Sony box, and while it’s always sounded good, it now sounds better than ever.
The UK distributor asked the same questions. The main box, polythene bag was intact with no scuff marks / rips to the bag and taped securely. The box hadn’t been opened passing through customs. Both the steel bands and the wrap-around strengthening right-angled pieces were locked in place. I have been lucky in that regard with only 2 pieces of equipment opened by customs. This was my 4th BHK amplifier so I know how open the box - releasing the flaps with the plastic locking devices… The panel had to be damaged during the build and it looked liked the amp was upended onto the front panel… This is what has upset me the most ! How can the amplifier PASS as fit for sale when the panel is so obviously damaged… Going out just now but I will see if I can find the photos I sent to my dealer and forward them…
Thanks.
Come on!! Inquiring minds want to know. Was the SD card in upside down?
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Paul,
I am in the UK and have also had quality problems with similarities to Dirk’s.
I am now on my third DMP this year. The first wouldn’t play SACDs properly despite this being pretty much its main selling point; the second arrived damaged with a chipped glass top (both QC sheets were initialled); the third one does seem to be behaving well other than for the firmware issues which I know you are working on. I have installed the interim 2.08 version and would like to say thanks for letting us have that release ahead of the full 3.xx version.
I too have received a BHK 250, serial 0468, so only two away from Dirk’s, with a damaged front panel (and again, both QC sheets were initialled).
Jeremy had photos of the damaged DMP and responded very quickly together with our UK importer in getting the current replacement unit to me straight off the production line. He has photos of the amp panel too.
I’m still waiting for a new front panel for the BHK 250 to arrive, but I am sure that will be here shortly. I am a bit apprehensive about replacing it myself though after reading Dirk’s post. I had thought there were only six hex screws to remove; I didn’t know about the screws underneath the feet. It is a bit galling having to carry this out on a new piece of kit costing £8000 here in the UK.
I will say that the Jeremy and the importer have been very good to date in helping overcome my issues, but they shouldn’t have to be correcting quality control oversights. In both cases of damage duplicate QC sheets had been initialled at the factory. Somebody wasn’t paying attention.
However, despite disappointment and frustration I am hanging in, because the kit does sound so very very good.
I initially bought a DS Junior a year ago in an act of faith after temptation from my dealer who is several hundred miles away so I had no opportunity to hear it before purchase. I was so impressed with the sound quality of the Junior, that I looked more closely at your other products. Long story short: I now have a DSJunior, a BHK preamp, a BHK 250 amp, a DS Memory Player, and a P10 Power Regenerator, a bunch of your power cables, and all the latest firmware. No small investment; just shy of £30,000. What made me dive in so deep to PS Audio kit was a combination of your personal commitment and sincerity, this excellent forum and the willingness of staff to engage here with customers, and the contributions from all the other users who chime in here with their experiences and advice. And not least of course, the excellent sound quality this kit can produce.
I do hope you can get on top of the production quality control. Thanks for otherwise great products.
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OK, so between you and Foxtrot something happened between the time it was inspected and boxed up for shipment. Could be anything from moving it out or the production area to the shipping department or something as minor as the tooling used to put the bag around the amp. (They are very heavy, so one would have to hold them up somehow to get the bag around it. Maybe the felt pad wore through. I dunno, just speculating)
Sorry it happened, sorry I can’t help any more. (Paul, this one’s on you to look into)
Best of luck, guys. I hope the music is worth the effort, and I hope they get it sorted out soon so it doesn’t happen again.
–SSW
Yes. I’m blushing as I confirm. But with DAC firmware the card went in the other way, so perhaps this isn’t quite as humiliating as it currently feels.
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We have all done things which appear dumb, but only after figuring it out. It happens to me most often when working on cars and motorcycles.
The fact that the card goes in differently in different applications makes it even more understandable that it occurred.
What matters is you are up and running!
Attached ( hopefully ! first attempt on this new Forum ) a couple of photos of the damaged front panel. How come that amount of damage wasn’t spotted ? Passed QC: Initialled by 4 members of the PSA team, packed at the warehouse and then shipped out the door ? Unbelievable !! DSCF3482|666x500
My black P3 arrived all scratched up. I know it didn’t leave the factory like that. It was opened en-route for inspection and when it went back in the box they put the top piece of packing in upside down. So instead of being tightly sandwiched between the 2 plastic layers the P3 was free to bounce around and rub-a-dub-dub against the prongs of the power cable. And that’s how a brand new P3 got all scratched up. The shipper offered me $600 compensation.
My new Dectet arrived without any screws fastening the IEC power inlet to the chassis. Explain me how that escaped notice in QC because it was blatantly obvious when plugging it in the first time that something was wrong.
Humbuster 3 wired backwards between input and output (L and N crossed).
Statement XLR cable wired with connector at one end upside down (meaning hot and cold were being crossed between input and output).
DMP arrived DOA. The unit would power on, but only the tray open/close on the touchscreen worked, it wouldn’t play anything, and it wouldn’t respond to any commands from the remote (even the tray open/close button). Blamed on a corrupted firmware. Perhaps there is an engineering explanation how a firmware can get corrupted during shipping?
DSJ arrived with 2 screws not fastened to a corner casting. I heard them rattling inside the unit when I lifted it out of the box. Got the OK from PS Support to open it up and check for what was rattling and that is what I found.
New PowerDirector 4.7 arrived DOA. As in, completely kaput.
So yeah, the above theory that some customers - no doubt a very small number from a big number of total customers - seem to be magnets for lemon products. Some instances are explained by shipping damage…I guess the further it has to travel, through more and more transit load/offload points, the more opportunities for shipping misadventure. What is standing out to me from the above comments are these customers all seem to be in export markets. I’m wondering if export products go through a different QC channel at the factory?
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A tad out of focus, but it looks like I see the scuffing on the right side next to the (incorrect) model name. from what I remember of the factory tour that damage could have been caused either when it was put on the cart to transport it to shipping or if at the shipping station it was placed on the front panel to facilitate getting the polystyrene bag around it. I would think some foam pads on the transport cart, extra padding at the shipping station, and a protective wrap on the faceplate (or all 3) would prevent that from happening again.
BUT: Does it work? No loose screws floating around anywhere or crushed cables?
Yes, I agree that is frustrating. Hopefully the bugs will be ironed out soon and you can get back to enjoying the music.
–SSW
With a bit more time in on 2.08…I’m hearing a veiling of detail and loss of prat that I have now took notice of. It could be why the new OS to my ears seems smoother and a bit lifeless.
Also…listening today…the play,stop,pause,fast forward,fast reverse,next track and eject buttons on the remote would not respond when playing a disk. I shut off power from the rear apron and all returned to normal. Will report further when deemed necessary.
Oh yes it works a treat. I am very happy with the performance and the amplifier is getting better by the day as it continues to burn -in. No: there isn’t any trapped wires or loose screws, just the cosmetic issues. It was just that I had to dismantle my brand-new amplifier simply down to complacency / negligence at PSA, that’s what riled me, along with the initialled as “Passed QC” in duplicate sheets - it wasn’t a true / honest representation…! But I must say the internal layout is very tidy and well thought out. I’ve owned amplifiers in the past that cost much more which had a mass of wires strewn all over the place…
The internals of that amplifier are a work of art, thanks for sharing!
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What makes you think we did not take immediate action to prevent this from happening again? I think you’re jumping to the conclusion we did nothing more than apologize when nothing could be further from the truth.
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I am sure foxtrot will be equally glad to hear this too. I will hold you to your word if my next PSA product should arrive less than perfect … But at the end of the day we are only the customers !!
Meanwhile, 2.08 DMP firmware is quite an upgrade.
Any operational idiosyncrasies are meaningless to me when it sounds this good.
I think that what Paul was trying to say (before he had his morning cup of coffee, but I can’t read his mind so this is only conjecture) was that 1) PSAudio is sorry you had this experience, 2) because of your experience steps are being changed to protect the units after inspection through shipping to ensure they’re not damaged, and 3) customers are very valuable and PSAudio appreciates your patronage because, in the end, without the customers we could have all the passion in the world to make great products but it would fall on deaf ears, so to speak.
So PSA strives to make things as perfect as possible. We know your experience was not ideal, but your feedback was valuable to us to allow us to take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.