Jay's "review" of PMG DAC

I spoke to PS Audio sales staff on Friday and was told they were just finishing final tweaking and would be sending out the first few in a couple of weeks. Jay mentioned $8499 price so hard to tell what unit he had.

The Jay’s review left me with a few impressions, but the important viewpoints will come from those who put it in their systems and judge the merits and value for themselves. Some points that rang “true” for me were:

  • formats are important - but not as critical as how well the recording is made, manipulated, and stored.

  • DSD is here to stay - and might be the most “honest” approach to the source

  • Upsampling is good - higher the better, but it is not a panacea

  • Build quality does matter - looks, feel, and weight adds to perceived value, and

  • Old rules still apply - especially, get your noise lower and you will hear more. One bit conversion allows you to put the noise out of human hearing. And, I would add, that the PMGD enhances the quiet by full unit RF shielding, advanced power supply, and galvanic isolation.

The “proof of the pudding” will soon be here.

Amen.

did someone say pudding

got to get chocolate

I’m looking forward to hearing how the PMG DAC compares to PS Audio’s last two DAC’s and other DAC’s. Also interested in hearing how good the preamp section is. Will it sound better than using the BHK pre?

Agreed. I’m still using the Mk1. Would love to A/B with Mk1 (and Cary for that matter)

I’m still a big fan of the “vintage" Jr/Sr dacs and BHK stuff.

And I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts.

I’m sitting here as I type this post listening to my PS Audio PST / DSD MkI jkRichards upgraded DAC and BHK pre and 250, and I’m thinking I should have my head examined for even considering wanting something better.

But that’s a mental illness I’m happy to live with.

Agreed. I would love to try it as a one box. See how well it does as a streamer/dac/pre direct into my Classe.

I am curious about the new pm signature dac compared to the DSD MkI upgraded by JK Richards.

I now the signature have streaming abilities but i own already a airlens..,

Its funny watching that video and actually seeing all the things Ted went through in the first year in the life of the MKII. Did PSA just package all that up into their proprietary chip/module? I may have over simplified it, but it seems they took what they learned in the Airlens, the MKI and especially MKII and bundled it all up nicely in single package. Is that better than what I had with the Rose 130 and APS MKII??? I am beginning to wonder. I certainly hope so. I know the APS added alot, but I think the advantages of having an all in one might be better. And I hope the DAC part is an upgrade as well.

Jay also mentioned about firmware upgrades. Will this thing allow for firm upgrades? to what parts? Streamer, Up-sampling module, DAC - ALL??? @Paul can you fill us in on that?

undoubtedly there will be upgrades, including by members in this forum

How many Jay’s are in this hobby?

don’t bogart

Answer. At least one too many.

Yes, absolutely, it’s upgradeable over the network or OTA as we like to say (Over the Air). As we make tweaks, change this and that, upgrade this and that, it’ll all just happen automagically.

thanks..I thought so but wanted to make sure

Paul, could you clarify a bit? In the Directstream FPGA designs, almost everything including the D/A conversion algorithm could be modified. Is the same true for the PMG? Is there anything that can’t be download upgraded, by comparison to the DS?

Not in the same way as the DirectStream. PMG has a FPGA too, but it is not the core of the conversion process.

No more mountain tops! :disappointed_face: