I recently upgraded from the SGCD to the DSJ. At first I thought the DSJ was better, but not so much better to be worth the price difference.
Now at nearly 300 hours of break in, the DSJ is in an entirely different orbit. Its an amazing listen, and continues to deliver new surprises.
I added one of these, combined with an external power supply for the switch (Ghent DC cable, and very nice aftermarket power cable), and this combo has really helped the ethernet signal for the Bridge II.
I also bought one of the new iFi AC Purifiers just for the DSJ, they’re a bargain at $99.
These inexpensive upgrades, along with the DSJ taking a really long time to break in, has led me to a stunning listening experience.
When I first lit up my DSD Sr, replacing a top of the line Cary unit, I was completely disappointed with how lifeless it was. But within 50 hours it was open and fabulous. After about 100 hours, it is superior in every way and I couldn’t be more satisfied.
Zu Audio burns in every speaker for a very long time (600 hours?) and they still need time to open up. Maybe PSA should do the same.
I’ve asked why they don’t and they said it’s a matter of real estate more than anything. Plus most people want the component as soon as possible. That said, I believe I saw in a video that the BHK 300 are run in for a couple days.
I wonder how many DS/DSJ have been returned do to lack of patience.
So when PS Audio sends out DACs to reviewers to test, do they burn them in prior to sending them out or do the reviewers get dead cold units just like us?
Reviewers very often say that they put something–a component or cable-- into their system and don’t listen critically for a couple weeks (while they’re burning in).
Depends. Mostly we listen test the unit, run it through a second battery of tests to make sure we didn’t miss anything and then send it out. I don’t think we’ve ever long-burned it in. Most reviewers we work with already know to burn it in before listening.
I guess I can understand the cost in both space and dormant inventory to burn in each and every unit… but can’t you build a rig to charge up say just a load of capacitors? Would help both for initial customer sound and finding the bad parts before they go in no?
Taking a bunch of anything (including caps) out of the tape and reel delivery systems and then putting them back later would be incredibly error prone and costly.
I don’t think there’s any particular evidence that caps are the biggest culprit in longer break-ins. If they were then the DS Jr would take quite a bit less time than the Sr since it runs hotter. There are some components in the DS and DS Jr that most audio equipment doesn’t have (there aren’t a lot of single bit DACs using FPGA’s, etc. out there) and we really don’t know how much any of them contribute to the long break-ins. The break-in times do sort of match the specs on how long various resistors take to stabilize their temperature coefficient. Also I think part of the break-in might be related to mechanical stresses leveling out and other post manufacturing issues.
Re caps - there are some aluminum electrolytic caps for energy storage in the top level power supplies and electrolytic caps are the least stable caps - but there is significant regulation beyond them and before the analog. Mostly the DS and DS Jr don’t rely on particular values of the caps so I wouldn’t expect the DS and Jr to be very sensitive to the break-in on caps.
I suspect that the majority of the break-in time comes from the components (and traces, etc.) in the analog signal path and I took great pains to make sure that those components run as cool as possible - which probably means they take a long time to break in.
I should have said that running the devices in a hot (but temperature controlled) room/space would probably accelerate break-in (and help with infant mortality issues, tho I don’t know how much of a problem this really is with the DS and the DS Jr.)
This is exactly what I did. I ran for a few weeks with a bathroom towel on top and monitored the temp with an IR thermometer. Temp on the surface reached and remained at 100 deg. I figured certainly the device could survive 100 F ambient probably indefinitely or we’d have lots of failures from any number of places in the Summer time.
I try to run-in in a small TV cabinet that can just hold the DSjr (with 1.5cm gaps on each side).
After one week, the plastic board on top just warped due to the heat.
Be careful with the hot room.
Ahhhh… that explains a lot for me… I just repiared the power supply in a 1980 Nikko Gamma V FM tuner ( a darn good unit) using a bag of caps I ordered from Digikey… That explains the tape thingy on their leads. I wondered about that…
BTW, the tuner fired right up!!! Now I can’t find anyone around Philly to do an FM alignment… I have the service manual… I guess looking for a tech with an oscilloscope and RF generator is like asking for a broom and parchment maker.
I realise that this is an old topic, so my reply may well not get noticed but, anyway, here we go… (I’m new here by the way).
A while ago I borrowed a Nuwave DSD and was, and continue to be, highly impressed with it. It sounds great. I have long aspired to owning a Directstream but, well, they are somewhat beyond my means. However, about 3 weeks ago I did purchase a DSJ secondhand (lovely condition etc). Its certainly a gorgeous thing to look at… but… it sounds nowhere near as good as the Nuwave DSD. I upgraded to Sunlight2 which did the character of the sound somewhat, but not a game-changer. It has been switched on now for a couple of weeks with no major improvement in sound quality - it still sounds rather ‘closed’ with limited soundstage and imaging and the lower frequencies - from lower mid through to the bass - sound as if there is a veil of mush in front of the sound, whereas with the Nuwave DSD there is none. I do not know the history of this DSJ - maybe it hasn’t been used for ages, maybe not much at all…?? Who knows? Just leaving it switched on doesn’t seem to be making much difference so I dug out a cheap old cd player, connected it up and have left it running on repeat…
Does anyone have any ideas? Could this DSJ be faulty, although its hard to see how…??
Any insight would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks
From what I remember, NuWave sounds similar to the PWD. I still use a PWD, and years ago I trialed a DSD and found the sound unsatisfying. Very similar to your experience with the Jr. Closed soundstage and a little muddy. Many claim you must burn in for a ton of hours. I probably had 200 hours on it which is plenty I would think, but some claim thousands of hours are needed. Many love the DSD but it was definitely not for me.
Close soundstage and muddy is what’s expected in the DS for the first couple of hundred hours. People argue about the break in time, but it’s probably longer than most people have ever experienced: 500hrs? more? It depends on who you ask.
