After loading Blue Sky and playing music for 200 hours, i found that Blue Sky is another big leap forward. The sound is now so very realistic, natural, musical, detailed and spatial with beautiful bass and highs. I suspect that @tedsmith has done a major update to the reconstruction filters, because the sound is now so very real, fluent and analog (tape) like. Thank you very much Ted and Paul for this wonderful present !
I think at this level the source (DAC) is just as important as the loudspeakers to achieve such a wonderful sound.
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Been running the new firmware since launch. The improvement iāve heard had faded a bit, but something, mainly the āanalognessā of sound, sticked. This is significant. Compared to other āgazilionā of tweaks Iāve played withā¦
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Iāve got about 100 hours on my system since installing Blue Sky, and I agree with the comments praising it. What Iāve noticed the most is an easily discernible increase in clarity of the upper midrange. (Iām running a Roon Nucleus, AirLens, GHK preamp, M1200 monoblocs, and FR10s.)
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I recently purchased my MkII unit with the Blue Sky code (3.2.1) installed. I have approximately 250 hours of break-in time on the unit and the quality of the playback has definitely improved markedly. I listen to a wide variety of formats DSD, PCM, DXD, and at different resolutions. One problem Iāve experienced regularly is having random drops (less than a second) when playing back DSD256 (via DoP) content. I only experience this with this format and resolution. Everything else plays back with no issues.
Has anyone experienced this specific problem?
Thanks.
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Welcome!
Not sure that I can help, but what streamer are you using and how is it connected to the DSD Mk2? I suspect it will come down to the processor and buffering capacity of the hardware you are streaming from, and the capacity of the cable/medium transmitting the signals.
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With me I cannot stream 256 via Roon and do room correction. It skips. As the person above stated itās probably the streamer skipping.
Iām using an Aurender N20 as my music server connected to my Mk2. Itās specād to support up to DSD256 (DoP or Native) via USB.
Looks like youāre not alone, then.
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Yes, i agreeā¦ itās a major improvement in realism and naturalness. Iām liking it a lot. Thanks PSA
TK
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Anyone know how to check the firmware of the airlens? I tried to update a month ago but ran into issues and I canāt recall if I did it successfully or not.
See page 9 of the AirLens manual. (If you donāt have one, you can download it from the Support area of the website.) Or maybe you typed āAirLensā by mistake instead of DS Mk2, the topic of this thread; the answer will also be in that manual although on a different page.
What are you working on these days?
I got on board with the Directstream DAC some 10 years ago, on version 1.2.1, buying into the core design principles of a native PDM DAC written in software, linearity, low noise, low jitter (pattern recognition), and a simple low-pass filter output ā of course thereās a lot more to building a good DAC. Another promise was the potential to drive the amplifier directly from the DAC, simplifying the chain. Iāve climbed the all the mountain tops since and enjoyed the ascent. Blue Sky tops out as the clear leader and delivers that sweet spot of clarity and musicality that has been the goal since the beginning. The Mk2 hardware delivers in other ways ā power supplies, input/output isolation, output level settings (RCA and XLR) to match amplifier gain, and itās dead quiet. The improvement of Blue Sky over Massive and all previous versions is tangible and compelling across the board ā detail, resolution, tonality, timbre, balance, soundstage, noise. A 10-year journey has, in effect, paid off and delivered something special.
Delivering that sweet spot of clarity and musicality in a digital system proved elusive. My sense over the years, although it improved with each version, was of a residual tendency in the DSDAC towards dryness (despite a system which edged towards warmth). An improvement in clarity was often accompanied by a corresponding digital edginess, while attempting to soften the hash resulted in a blurring of resolution. The sound was still excellent ā but veering towards admirable rather than enjoyable at times.
Digital hash seemed baked-in and upstream changes in streamers, software, bridges, switches, cables, linear power supplies, batteries, etc. all had downstream effects on the DSDAC. Introducing more digital boxes to clean up the ones already in situ leads to a kind of digital arms race and diminishing returns. No surprise the preference of some for pre-amps or an analogue-only chain.
Blue Sky, although markedly better than what went before, still edged marginally towards dryness. Iād long grown to suspect a source of high-frequency digital hash was along mains cables, from one digital component to another. Looking at specs for mains filters showed how variable they are, and I couldnāt be sure how they would interact with mains filters already installed in equipment ā a rabbit-hole in the making.
Although my system was already on a dedicated mains spur, another approach, easily tested, was to isolate the digital components still further from each other by powering them with long mains cables. There is considerable attenuation of high frequencies on mains cables, if they are long enough. I made up a 20m. mains extension cable (3 core) to power the DSDAC.
The effect was as surprising as it was unexpected ā improvement in everything including timing, background, nuances of tone and timbre, but most of all a shifting of the tonal balance downwards that enabled Blue Sky to hit that sweet spot of musicality. There was no loss of clarity, in fact clarity was enhanced while, at the same time, a warmth of tone crept in that had been missing.
It was great return for $25 and shows, on the one hand, that digital hash on mains cables can render a good system sterile, and that DSDAC Mk2/Blue Sky is a really great DAC. Iāve experimented with extension cables for the other digital components and my plan is to adapt the mains supply to provide separate spurs for each component in the system.
A further implication of the above is, if digital hash on mains cabling is affecting a system, then it has to be tackled as a root cause of digital noise. Once eliminated, then system tuning can go ahead as usual.
Iām impressed at the level of micro-detail I hear, even or especially, on old recordings. It shows just how good microphones and tape have always been - replay is the problem. The DSDAC is able to match sources and extract such a level of micro-detail that I donāt believe there is much, if any, left. Blue Sky delivers the musicality as well as the clarity.
Hats off to Ted, Paul, and all at PS Audio.
PS Audio FR10, Modwright KWA 99 Monoblocks, PS Audio DSDAC Mk2/Blue Sky, Audiobyte I2S/LAN Bridge, Innuos PhoenixNet Switch, Innuos Pulse Streamer. Cables: Iconoclast TPC Gen II, Nordost Blue Heaven I/C (flatline), Ricable I2S/HDMI, Cat 7 Ethernet. Qobuz.
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Recently I upgraded to Silversmith Fidelium XLR ICs. It really told me how great the DS MK ll can sound hooked directly to my power amp. I have a Schiit Loki equalizer that I like to use. I bought a second pair of Fidelium ICs to allow me to add the Loki to the chain. Sounded nice and transparent to me and I was happy with the two together. On a lark I listened to a piece and then repeated with the Loki out of the chain. Unfortunately it was apparent that the Loki was indeed degrading the sound slightly. In comparison,though the degradation was small, I just felt that the direct route was definitely on another level and the way to go. The only way I can see me leaving the Loki connected all the time would be to invest in a next level preamp with a built in processor loop. I donāt see that in the immediate future. Besides, there isnāt any guarantee that it wouldnāt adversely affect the outcome. Bottom line is the MK ll is mighty fine acting as its own digital preamp.
Very nice!
Going to read about your Audiobyte I2S/LAN Bridgeā¦
Enjoy.
Do you have the SUPERHUB?
Besides the dedicated mains do you have any kind of power conditioner to clean up the noise on the mains? I have two 20 amp isolated ground AC connections with with 6 audiophile grade receptacles. I also have PS Audio Stellar P3 and a Nordost QB8 MkII connected to a Nordost QRT QX2 field generator for power conditioning for the mains.
I have the Audiobyte Hydra Hub/Zap combination.
I started with the Audiobyte Hydra Z I2S/USB bridge and spent a couple of years playing around with a PC front-end, Windows optimisation, USB cards and cables, JPLAY, Bubble/UPNP, linear power supplies, etc. All at relatively little cost, but a good education.
I became convinced that the optimal front-end would be low power, low clock speed, linear power supply, stripped-down operating system, running one application ā a UPNP renderer. I also decided to eliminate USB from the system ā not designed for audio, too much processing, prone to noise from power, ground and backplane.
When Audiobyte launched the Hydra Hub/ZAP, I had little hesitation in going for it. The Hub has I2S out, FPGA up-sampling/signal conversion, low power SOC processor (system-on-chip) running optimised Linux O/S, UPNP compatibility and ethernet/LAN input. The ZAP powers the Hub from a super-capacitor based power supply, providing a high level of mains isolation. Output music formats are native PCM, or can be up-sampled to DoP/DSD256 over I2S, to drive the DSDAC Mk2 in its native mode. It all works seamlessly. The sound is further enhanced by clean ethernet signal from the Innuos PhoenixNet switch. The Innuos Pulse provides internet streaming and really good control app/library management software (which the Hub doesnāt provide).
Iāve found Audiobyte good to deal with. They replaced the Hydra Z foc/delivery and also dialled in at one point to make some software changes on the Hub.
Iāve wondered about the Superhub, which was launched last year. I suspect it incorporates a lot of the Hub/ZAP tech and should be at least as good. One difference is LPS rather than super-cap power supply.
Irrespective of changes I make, my system is always better with the Hub/ZAP in rather than out (the same was also true of the Hydra Z). Itās a keeper.
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Mount Blue Sky was easy to install. For break-in, I turned the preamp off but let music play for days. Kinda forgot about it for a week.
Mount Blue Sky is a great update. I need more time with it. Much better detail in midrange, as in surprisingly better detail. Sounds great. I need more playing time to comment further (more than five songs). Smile on my face.
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