Gotcha. I suspect shipping damage is the cause. I imagine shipping to Hawaii involves a lot of transfers (loading and unloading). Man I hate that this happened to you but you seem to have a good attitude. Let us know how it all works out.
My Stealth Dream V18 UNI 2M power cord was delivered today. Out of the box I replaced my SR Galileo SX 5’ power cord from my Playback Designs Dream MPD8 Dac and the Stealth didn’t sound like I had expected. I thought it would sound more on the warm detailed and lush side but nothing is further from the truth. This cord had speed and resolution that even surpassed the Galileo. Images are so live and present. Background details are brought out in stark relieve. But it is not overdone. Everything is still very natural, only more real. The Galileo is more at ease sounding but also had enormous resolution. I haven’t played around with the tuning feature on the Stealth yet as that may also alter the sound. Truth is both power cords had very engaging sound, only different. It’s all a matter of taste and preference and the type of recordings which power cord you might prefer.
Tomorrow, the sound will change again. My Esoteric Grandioso C1 preamp is expected from a Fed Ex delivery, and will replaced my C-02. The tonal balance should not change much as both preamps is from Esoteric. I will have to wait and see.
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We all feel for you, man. I suppose they won’t ship out the replacement until they receive the damaged unit and then you have to wait for the new one to work its way all the way back to you again. I assume it comes via ship and that takes more time to.
yes, living on a tropical island has a few disadvantages… but tbh PS Audio always gives the best customer service, and does make the best bang for the buck equipment, imo (in my budget), so am mostly just trying to be patient and am sure the wait will be worth it….
Just be extra glad that it’s not coming to you via UPS!
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yah, that flight was bound for here
I still marvel at how much better this DAC is than the DSD Mk1. I mean, ridiculously better.
— Chris
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I think it would be great if the PMG 512 DAC ditched the KHz and replaced it with the bit depth, as in:
44.1 16 or 96 24
instead of:
44.1 KHz or 96 KHz
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Okay, I pulled the trigger yesterday and PS Audio has already shipped and I’m looking at receiving the 512 this Saturday! Now that’s service. Most places or dealers it’s wait, wait, and more waiting! My only concern is I’m not too technically inclined! I’m old and used to playing vinyl and CDs. Still, looking forward to it. May need some help setting up. I appreciate all who replied to my post. Seems like a good community of guys here. Even Mr. Paul chimed in. Impressive!
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This is indeed a great forum, and people will help if you need it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your new DAC!
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people on this forum were super helpful upon my re-entry into hifi and transition away from analogue to digital - even with non PS Audio stuff (Innuos Streamers, Switches etc)
PS Audio service is amazing and I have been wowed over and over by their products (DAC, Amp, P10) - so wowed I pre-ordered the PMG DAC and can’t wait to hear it!
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Not sure why you care as I would think it would need to be an odd setup where you could read either format from your listening position. Conversely, the ring display of volume level makes the large number display about useless or at least mostly redundant usage of limited display space. Here, at least the option to pick which to display in large type would be nice. And anyway, doesn’t Paul tell us to set the DAC’s output to 100 when we have the option to control volume with a preamp? A bit off the subject: ROON users. Do you know about the TV : REMOTE Extension? I have it running on an Apple TV and can show what’s playing on a TV (sorry, Paul, my TV’s are between my FR20’s).
Ok, it is Apple 2 and you’re right. We could have either one and it seems 1 is actually lossless. What’cha think?
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The UI folks in Boulder have already decided to show us the sampling rate, so why not make it more useful to those of us who use the information to ensure that the music that makes it to the DAC is in fact recorded or interpreted as claimed, or simply out of curiosity while a playlist is streaming? Though I dearly wish I didn’t have to, I’m willing to hoist myself out of my chair and amble up to the DAC to check, if it’s important to me.
I agree that the volume ring around the circumference is, for me as well, not useful and only serves to make the small display even smaller. I’d prefer the display to be larger and rectangular so relevant information wouldn’t have to be a circular eye chart. And, yes, being able to select what information to display across the diameter of the display would be ideal—say, a button on the remote that would allow toggling between volume/digital format/input, maybe dropping back to volume after a few seconds–or not. And, for me, when interacting directly with the display my fingers seem inordinately fat because of the teensy buttons. There are any number of different UI choices that might have been or could be made, all of them constrained by the nautically artistic design decision of a faceplate porthole.
But none of this detracts from the sonic wonderfulness of this DAC, so I’m willing to put up with the funky UI and screen even as I wish I didn’t have to.
— Chris
Thanks so much Paul for double-checking. I’d certainly prefer “actually lossless” of the original Airplay 1… Like for many of us, compressed lossy audio is a complete non-starter.
Fwiw, dCS Bartok and Rockna Wavedream both do Airplay 1 (I’m cross-shopping both) as do Eversolo and MiniDSP at the lower end—if I recall correctly. Interestingly dCS’s newer Lina DAC does Airplay 2, which they acknowledged to be less than ideal, in correspondence with me on the matter.
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What’s the typical break-in time?
Agree totally including fat fingers! and the quality sound. In some ways reminds me of my 69 MGB GT-all the parts found falling off this car are of the finest British craftsmanship. And like the PMG DAC it was so much fun to drive
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Do not forget Lucas, the prince of darkness
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I had a BHK pre show up with a screw rattling around the inside. Sent it back and it was fixed but then it hummed…sent that back and they gave me a new one but I, too, thought about the quality control stuff. All that being said the customer service was great!
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