I just thought because the original thread was many posts back……
I honestly think you are the best there is at doing this. I will pay you whatever you want for it. The big question is realistically(guesstiment) How far is this from market? I know things get going fast with you but at least a year? I certainly hope it does not get shelved due to price/market. I will buy one for sure. I am betting you are about to unglue everything on the market! Yes, I put a lot of stock in you. Not kissing your behind. I really think you and PS Audio have this game down pat. The DS Senior may have some issues but even it is worth putting up with. SnowMass was another improvement. It is amazing what you have pulled out of this already. When it works which is honestly very often now, it competes with DACS Three times it’s Price IMO(at $5,500 tag). I can’t wait to get my hands on this!
Trivia question: SnowMass, so as to be non-denominational?
Thank you Mr. Smith and MR. McGowan for bringing us this lovely stuff! I will sit tight with my Popcorn!
Just hanging out here with my jaw dropped open. I love the openness of the presentation and lack of ill mannered bitching on this PSA forum in general. Very interested in the manufacturer disusing build details with the customer base. Definitely classy and open to jabs. Nice breath of fresh air for an internet discussion. Very nice equipment to boot.
Thanks all
My expectation is it should / will stay well below the $15K pricepoint. There is the marketing / branding issue. PS Audio is the poor man’s ultra high end brand (i.e. folks that want to best but can’t plunk down 5 figures for a component. I think releasing a $20K DAC would damage that brand image. Then there is just economics. I think at <$15K you would sell A LOT more units than at $20K, so while margins per unit will be lower, you may still come out ahead in total margin contribution (i.e. units x margin per unit).
Your expectations notwithstanding, it’s already pretty clear that the price tag will be at least $18K based on what Ted has said. Any price revisions will likely be up, not down.
To keep the price reasonable and still make enough money on the units my suggestion would be to sell these factory direct only. If PS audio needs to charge $20K to make money on a unit sold through a dealer, they make plenty (actually more) on a unit sold direct for $15K. Not sure if the dealers would balk, but it is a very defensible argument that these are low volume sales units and they need to go the direct only route to keep pricing reasonable.
If I was a dealer I would not be happy if they only sold these factory direct. The dealers need to pay bills also and I’m sure they would love to make a nice profit off each unit sold.
@edorr - I’m of the belief if someone is looking at a 15K DAC, a 20K DAC isn’t that far out of reach. If it is the person probably shouldn’t be looking at a 15K DAC.
To add to what speed-racer said … keep in mind that the “statement” speakers Paul is working on are estimated at $50K, so he is venturing out of the “poor mans ultra high end” category. Additionally, don’t be surprised when some reviewer calls a $20K TSS a “bargain”. I also expect a “super BHK” amp to come along soon to go with the TSS.
Democracy dies in darkness . . . let the people vote!
In all seriousness, Elk’s post (two up) was not in response to my TSS DAC MSRP poll, but rather to a second poll that I deleted immediately upon seeing Elk’s post. That deleted second poll asked about which possessions people would be willing to sell to finance a TSS DAC purchase. I was trying to interject some interactive levity into the proceedings, but it may have gone too far (choices included “weed stash,” “wedding ring,” and “spouse,” among others), so I took it down.
It is fun, but its very hard to know if the results are meaningful, as you don’t know who is responding or why, and if there are enough respondents so that they are representative of the group that is/would be the focus of the question. You’re already starting from the subset of those willing to respond, out of the subset of those on the Forums, …etc.
That’s all fine up to the point where folks then develop expectations based on the answer, e.g. “We did a poll, and we think the TSS DAC should cost “$Xk” and be delivered on the 1st of Whatever. We will therefore post angrily when this expectation is not met.”
I expect most of us know that even if Paul came on now and said, “The TSS will be $X” we should take it with a grain of salt. It doesn’t exist. They can shoot for a goal, but can’t know what it will be until it is built, and I suspect most who would want such a DAC don’t want it designed to a particular price point if Ted decides “This is what its going to take to do this right”.
Not necessarily finalized. RCA output connectors missing, power transformers plug into the white connectors in the upper left. Some debug only things will be removed later… (I’ll have to take some better pictures - I usually use a long lens and the sun for fill-in, but there hasn’t been much of that lately.)
The number of extra parts for isolating the digital inputs was huge. The analog board obviously has a bipolar power supply for each channel and then (on another transformer) a heftier top level supply for everything else (lots of smaller supplies all over the boards.) Also the analog has twice as many digital switches as the DS. Doubling it again would really take a lot more parts.
Democracy dies in darkness . . . let the people vote! 
