My PST arrived! I was told the lead time was about 8-9 days and I wasn’t expected it until late next week. Nothing broken but the outer box was torn. Good thing that PSA double boxed this. I just hooked it up and played CDs to be sure. No problem with a couple of CDs so far. I am delighted how much better PST sounds with CDs than the Bridge II. Haven’t had a chance to compare SACD yet.
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Welcome @ccyun051 !
Great to hear! Hope you get some good time with it this week!
Got a lovely surprise yesterday! My new PST arrived earlier than expected. Out of the box, it sounds good. No surprises.
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Very nice.
Be certain to report back when you have had some time with the critter.
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I read through a few different threads about the PST and didn’t see where someone compared listening to an SACD through the PST and also listened to a DSD rip of the same disc. I realize that playback of the DSD is going to vary from user to user. We all have our own snowflakes. I’m the most interested in playing the DSD through a DS.
Has anyone done this? I ask because I rip all of my SACD to DSD and am questioning my “need” for a PST.
If it has been done and discussed, please point me to the thread, I’d appreciate it.
Thanks!
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I spent a little time yesterday doing a quick comparison between the SACD through the PST versus a DSD rip through the DS. Initial quick impression was that the PST sounded a bit relaxed and cleaner. Keep in mind though that this is streaming a local DSD rip through an Auralic Aries mini to the DS.
Maybe some more extended and critical listening comparisons are in order. However, the PST is here to stay. Not going back. 
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My replacement unit is waiting for me to pick it up.
Hmmmmm.
Its gonna be a long night!
Did you pounce on that lonely Dragon that reared its head?
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I have compared several ripped SACDs playing via Bridge II and PST this weekend. Every SACD sounded more dynamic and musical. The biggest difference I heard was Keith Jarret’s Koln Concert where each stroke of the piano keyboard sounded more live on PST. My concern is not whether PST sounds better than streaming but how often would I spin discs. If I return the PST, would I be happy with DSD streaming every album? Definitely! But I will always look back how great PST sounded.
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I think that’s exactly where I am leaning. The convenience of Roon has spoiled me.
Along with being Roon lazy, I currently don’t have any disc storage near my main rig, and looking around my prospects for finding a spot are slim.
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I did. It’s on its way.
I’ll have two unused RAL cables.
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The only hard part of that is knowing that the Qobuz version is the exact same as the SACD. I’ve always been underwhelmed and frustrated with Qobuz for this very identification reason. More examples, I have several handfuls of both AP, MoFi, SHM, and other releases, but don’t think they are the same as what Qobuz might offer. It’s just hard to tell for sure. I’ll see what I can do in the near future.
Finally, I love physical media even though I’m pretty nerdy with a sophisticated hifi streaming set-up. The reason is that I’m more inclined to play the whole album, and even select an album more carefully when it’s physical. It’s also fun to search stacks instead of “the phone”…which we all do plenty of these days
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My sentiments exactly.
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As Qobuz and Tidal get their content through national and regional distribution deals with both the labels and independent distributors it is highly unlikely that you will find many if any releases from MoFi, AP or any of the other “Audiophile” labels. Not sure if these labels would be interested or if they are even big enough for Qobuz to deal with directly.
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I concur completely. Why would they do that?!
I ripped a copy of SACD (CCR Green River) and playing “Green River, Bad Moon Rising, and Lodi”, I could tell little if any difference playing SACD or the file thru the PST’s USB input. But when I played the same file thru the Esoteric streamer, I heard the difference almost right away. The Esoteric images sound a bit denser and you hear more micro detail which leads to better textures and dimensionality. The quality of the transport or streamer is the key.
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Can’t wait to hear from you what you think about between this Dragon and RAL cables.
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I just don’t maintain much of a NAS (haha…so much I didn’t even think of it). I’ll rip and try to see if my 45 year old ears hear the diff.
Edit: We know Darko thinks discs sound better. Lots do.
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