The door is open.
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The BartĆ³k was a new type of product for dCS (integrating streaming, DAC, pre and headphone amp), so no history for the product line, but the component history goes back to the 1980s. They seem to do hardware upgrades every 10 to 12 years, software upgrades in between. I would be far more worried about a product reliant upon one person for upgrades. Lots of products have modular upgrades, the PSA DSD had a relatively short lifespan, but a good trade-in policy for USA customers. My experience with PSA in the UK was a poor resale value, one unit I had to sell in Germany.
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I received that as well. I was hoping the offer would last another year, at least until my CPA gives me the bad new on my tax situation and the ever increasing costs of my daughterās August wedding are locked down. 
With great respect to PS Audio, the economy is dynamic and pricing is fluid. Clues are growing that a MAJOR recession is on the horizon, which could change how companies price their offerings (in addition to, sadly for those adversely impacted, a lot of new listings appearing on Audiogon). Never say never, so I am not totally convinced that this is āthe best pricingā that will ever be offered and it will go away as the clock strikes 12 on 1/31/2023. Right now the deal seems roughly equivalent to selling a Mk1 in the used market, but the used price will probably go down as many of the Mk1 units are turned in.
I recall when the highly touted PowerBase was released. I bought three right away at an introductory price, only feel a little betrayed when very shortly after the price was lowered below the introductory price, and more betrayed when the product was dropped altogether. I guess all the hype was just hype.
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This could be said for anything (especially electronics) that we buy. Inflation has stopped this and in fact made it go the other way. But historically electronics go belly up in a few years, if not sooner.
Right now, this deal is way better than selling used. Not even close. They have been selling for 2400 or so for a while. I got mine almost 2 years ago for 2800. They did not care and gave me the same trade in deal. 3500 plus all that credit. Amazing if you ask me. Only way I could afford a new one. This product has been out there and high regarded for 8 years now. There have been many listing on all the sites since its been around for that long. Audiophiles love to rotate. This one is designed with extended life in mind, thatās why I like it. But I do get it, it was still a $4000 nugget to swallow for the upgrade and most are happy with their modded MKIās so I can see some passing. I was able to swing it with some funds I had squirrelled awayā¦but it was tough paying the CCard bill when it came.
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This deal is one of the best in the industry. Considering the supply chain issues, I feel PS Audio is more than fair with the price of the unit. Giving a trade in value like this is awesome.
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I agree with Brianās points above.
To be honest, I shouldnāt have, but I gave in and ordered a MK2 today. The truth is it was now or later, Iād like to think my financial situation might be a little better later, but thatās just wishful thinking probably. The deal is monumental! Even not taking in the ācredit forwardā aspect as noted this is still the best price one can get for a used Mk1.
I have a Decware SEWE300B amp that I was telling myself Iāll get and break in first. . . but the wait (probably six more months) is starting to hurt and this arriving next month will stop the pain for a while. 
I have a few Decware items to sell to assuage the financial situation and this is good motivation for me also to continue clearing out my audio excessāI have a box of good interconnects I can finally start to sell.
One thing I know: I love the PS Audio digital sound, and Iām going to love the Mk2 and be very happy.
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Paul, itās great that you have enthusiasm for these products, and it is contagious (though as Iām so enthusiastic about the Mk1 I just have to be so intrigued by the Mk2 regardless).
Anyway, it is a big decision, you prompted me to think about it even more doggedly. . . and I went for it.
It IS exciting to see the launch and take off of this great DAC.
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Iād like to think when considering a Decware 300B versus a PSA DSD MK II, the latter may be the best choice. Mainly a ābird in the handā situation and at a fine price too boot. Regarding the Decware 300B, I spoke with Sarah recently regarding it and her comment was a 2 year wait, followed by a chuckle. Lifeās too short for that kind of wait, especially with no confidence in actual delivery at 2 years out. Having heard it at the mothership it was a fine amp, but al tricked out and possibly not representative of the marketed version. Pulled a trigger on a Pass XA-25, and may sell both of my Decware amps, one is new with maybe 100 hours on it. The Pass Labs XA-25 is just that good in my system.
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Itās definitely a big decision and if you enjoy the mk1, then I think the mk2 makes sense if you are financially able. If not, waiting for mk1 prices to go down after the trade in offer is over is also a very good option. I canāt imagine mk1 selling for more than the 2.4k trade in after this month.
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Regarding the 300B: I am about 239 or so on the list as I had a previous order for a different component that I changed for the 300B. Probably just a six month, maybe less wait for me. I am getting it without tubes from Decware and have all the tubes I need bought and ready, and will probably get a few fuses for the amp soon.
Iām sorry to say that I have heard a few Pass amps and just prefer the Decware sound that I have lived with for 25 years and tweaked and tailored my system to so I wouldnāt go that route; weāre all different. Looking forward to the 300B, if it doesnāt trounce my beloved Monoblocks with the Anniversary Mods I know I can sell it (though I think my speakers will enjoy the bit of a bump in power). I already have it half paid off by making payments these last few months.
So personally I think they are both good choices and Iāll be set up for the rest of the decade I believe when those are both in hand and seasoned.
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Looking forward to perusing the inventory listā¦
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Hi @Ted,
In the very informative video on the DS MKII you mentioned you use approx. 20K taps (or multiplications for integers) in the digital filters.
Where do you see the most positive improvement opportunities in the coming years in the FPGA coding? The increase of 20K to letās say 100K or the number of coefficients required to perform these multiplies (or is #multiplies one 1:1 correlated to #coefficients)?
And are you still in favour of investigating the ābest of version alternativesā (selecting the best conversion sample) and the āadding ditherā (adding synthetic noise to lower actual noise) approaches?
Thanks
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Different sigma delta modulators are interesting. I spent some time when coding the Mk II working on different SDM algos and I intend to do more. Tho there are a lot of theoretical improvements to the SDM I keep finding that most are solving problems I donāt have (mostly by design.) For example I donāt need an SDM that can handle, say, a 0.9 modulation index - I āsimplyā have more analog headroom (higher voltage rails, etc.) That allows me to not have to worry about overloading the SDM as much. I recently saw Sabine Hossenfelder talking about controlling chaos which seems relevant to controlling the chaos in the SDM, so Iām thinking about that in the background.
I also still have the code for multiple SDMs running in parallel to try to find better SDM sequences. With the Mk II I have a lot more resources for parallel SDMs.
Longer filters are something I plan on doing. But Iām convinced that thereās a point of diminishing returns there.
Iām trying out another filter scheme right now, weāll see if it works before I talk a lot about it.
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Yes, regarding the wait list you are in a good spot with the 300B. When I picked up my SE84UFO25 I asked if I could move up on the list for the 300B considering I had just purchased a new amp. Steve just couldnāt accommodate it, and after hearing the Pass I think Iām better off. The SE84UFO25 midrange is a great match for my current speakers, but the Pass XA-25 provides for more detail, a more solid foundation, better dynamics, and a credible improvement in soundstage width, height and depth. All this with no significant trade-off in the midrange. Initially I liked the Decware amps a lot, but the Pass was a game changer with my speakers. Iād still recommend the Decware amps, and it was a fun experiment to try an SET amp with open baffle speakers.
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Such a coincidence that you also like Sabine Hossenfelderā¦ I follow her also, she is also a subject and thus subjective but somehow that not hinders her reasoningā¦
I was wondering: can your code base be structured using a hierarchical tree or classes, namespace & assemblies as included in C# (I am a beginner using VS Code)?
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Yeah, thereās a lot to like with Pass but I just didnāt hear the same things with my speakers. Iām good with either keeping my Monoblocks or the 300BāIām not going for the new amp because I dislike my current ones, but because I always wanted a 300B amp and just know Steveās will be a great one.
Having heard it, I thought it was a step up in the right direction compared to the SE84UFO25. Iām sure youāll like it.
The FPGA code is written in a hardware description language (HDL), namely Verilog. Itās another completely separate world from procedural languages, tho it can be similar to data flow languages.
If you are interested in what the FPGA code looks like you might want to wade into Introduction to Verilog
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Iām guessing around day 5 of listening youāll be glad you took the leap.
David Crosby died today so his music has been on non-stop for the past 4 hours. Sitting here listening to Take the Money and Run, the soundstage is ridiculous. If it gets any bigger it will be in my neighbors living room.
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I do love a good tease.
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