I can confirm the PMG DAC sounds better than the MKII in my opinion.
However, it requires a reboot several times a day to fix a glitching screen. Delia at PS Audio told me this is a known issue and that a future firmware update should fix it in two to three weeks. My unit is currently on firmware v2.5.4.
Other problems include unit locking up several times with all front panel controls unresponsive, occasionally rebooting on its own, and the trigger out will not waking up my BHK 250 amp.
Unfortunately, this is a pattern for me with PS Audio gear. My MKI DAC screen died and had to be replaced. My BHK 250 amplifier arrived with a broken XLR input connector. My Airlens wouldnât connect to Ethernet out of the box (confirmed by PS Audio tech support and replaced). And now the PMG DAC has a glitchy screen.
Iâm doing what they suggested and âsitting tightâ until the firmware update is released. PS Audio to their credit has always fixed my problems so Iâm sure they will again. But Iâm honestly disappointed to have spent this much money on a unit that feels half-baked and still in beta.
Is anyone else experiencing similar screen issues with the PMG DAC?
My screen would partially blank out, in red, on occasion. It was reported. It hasnât done it for a while. Several others have had the same. Iâm not suggesting yours will stabilize over time, or that firmware upgrades have fixed it. Just updating.
Yes, I have experienced ,exactly similar issues, half moon screens, frozen images and it has to be reset from rear. but it has gone now.
New SACD transport has its own issues. when I insert front USB drive to play 128K files and then insert a CD it freezes screen and I have to reset it again from RearâBummer. I had to return CD player until 2nd one exhibits same flaws, I am hoping for a firmware update..
How do you open and close SACD drawer/slot with a remote?
According to previous discussions about the missing eject function on the remote, Paul stated that they ran out of button capacity on the remote and the eject was removed because one has to be at the transport anyway in order to retrieve or insert the disk.
My screen has always twitched from day one. Then it pixelated around the time 2.7.2 became available. Upgrading to 2.7.2 appears to have solved the pixelation problem. Still looking for the twitching problem.
That is why it would help owners if each software release had its associated Release Notes stating what has changed in that particular release, then owners would have a better idea of what has been changed or not as the case may be.
Oh, for goodnessâ sake. Thatâs the refresh of the screen that is only visible in a video camera grabbing 24 still frames a second. Youâd never see that in real life.
BTW, thatâs our service desk and the units stacked there are sometimes problem units weâre trying to make fail so we can see problems. So, that wouldnât be abnormal if it were screwing up but it is not.
I donât believe this is simply a screen-refresh recording issue, as the bottom unitâs display doesnât show the same behavior. I saw this behavior on the PMG 512 display in my home.
Rather than being gaslit, Iâd prefer PS Audio to acknowledge the problem and explain how theyâre addressing it.
Hereâs a video demonstrating the display issue. One clip shows the vertical jitter, similar to the example in Paulâs video linked to above.
Thanks for sharing, and hopefully PS Audio gets this sorted out. IMO QC has never been a PS Audio strength. As the video reviewer mentions an unfortunate situation for a $9k DAC/Streamer.
Iâve experienced some of the odd display issues, like the peek-a-boo partial display shown at the beginning of your video, but not since the recent 2.7.2 DAC firmware offering and later streamer updates. The Technicolor⢠screens and brain-dead front button are certainly brokenness issues that shouldâve been caught during QC burn-in. The issues with software from day one, relating to both streamer and display function, are inexcusableâthough they are improving.
Iâm sure PS Audio would have shipped you a replacement unit if youâd have mentioned the display going all weirdly static, though, to be fair, I was so frustrated and angry (frangry?) at times during the first three weeks of my trial period that I came this close to shipping the damn thing back a few times, so Iâm pretty sure I know how you felt. Or maybe still feel.
I only hung on because the DAC sounded sooo goooood and I had a workaround using my external streamer, and my unfounded but natural optimism meant I expected the issues would be fixed in the near term. I guess that hasnât quite happened yet, but soon?âfor some flexible definition of soon, perhaps.
I sent in the video clips and spoke with technical support on the phone. Delia said if they sent me a replacement, it would most likely have the same display problems. She explained it was a known problem with the PMG 512.
Hmmm. Perhaps Delia was conflating your issues with the more common ones. In any case, Iâve never had the colored static issues (I received my 512 DAC at the end of October), so perhaps Iâve just been fortunate.
Iâm disturbed that PS Audio, and in particular Paul, has never publicly acknowledged responsibility for the awful state of the release software, nor apologized to the many 512 DAC owners who have been frustrated by its many problems. It wouldnât fix anything, but Iâd sure feel better that the head guy understands and appreciates what weâre going through.
