At most of my software jobs while doing device drivers, OSs, kernels, DSP, etc. I worked a lot with the hardware people. Also I worked at a CAD/CAM company which produced schematic capture and board layout software. One of the things I did there was to work in the router group which designed the automatic layout tools. I also worked at a digital audio workstation company and a DSD based hearing aid company. (As well as a few other less directly related to audio.) So over my career I’ve been playing and singing music, writing DSP code, writing code for embedded systems, hanging around hardware, and listening to a lot of systems. It all sort of naturally leads here.
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That’s why we call you a genius, really!
I was quite sure that this is not normal.
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Whatever the final price may be retail… in the used market… I’m sure it will go for nearly 40% to 50% less than retail…Good things come to those that wait… or those that can’t afford brand new pricing dollars.
In this regard, it’s one of the things I try to communicate to the “bits are bits” crowd. Maybe you can help, Ted. The comparable thing on the exterior of the DAC (correct me if I’m off here) is the fact that a galvanically-isolated USB chain from my server to the DAC - composed of (2)USB cables, (2) boxes, an Ethernet cable and a separate power supply - sounds better than using just one of those USB cables. Crazy, but there it is.
It is about as anti-minimalist as I’ve ever gotten anyways. : )
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Ted,
Very cool pictures, thank you for the opurtunity to see. I do like the red board color.
Chas
I second any treads saying that it is way to early to discuss price.
Hey Paul, Any thought of developing a line of connectors for the TSS.
Chas
Make sure it is at least $500 and comes in three quality levels. You are now dealing with the ultra high end crowd and they fully expect to pay top dollar to make them feel confident the gear sounds good and is only affordable to the lucky few. For the Chinese version multiply all prices by 2 for credibility 
I’ve been trying the approach of discussing groundloops with them instead of jitter. Even so the last bit-is-bits fellow here was convinced that USB has to be better than S/PDIF, AES3, TOSLink, etc. I have a well educated bits-is-bits friend who’s very proud of his $80 CD player, but he did really enjoy listening to the DS prototype 
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I see “Ted Smith’s Whack DAC” printed on the PCB. Is that the official name or was that a photo of a pre-production board?
Scaled version to see easier, haha
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I am late to the party, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with posting polls, even silly ones.
I did have to comment on the now deleted truly ludicrous poll however.
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fo sizzle
We called it the Whack DAC while we were casting around for a real product name. When I started the layout we still didn’t have a name and after we had a name I couldn’t resist leaving the “Whack DAC” alone for the prototypes boards. There are some other screw-ups in the reference designators and other non-functional things.
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Will the TSS have a POF optical input?
I am thinking that a future transport from PS Audio might have such an output?
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The TSS digital box has an optical connection to the analog box and accepts standard digital inputs so a POF input to the digital box isn’t really needed for stereo systems.
One of the things I had designed allowed one digital box and three analog boxes for a multichannel system, also it could be used for a POF sideways connect for 2, 3, 4 pairs of digital/analog pairs. But the hardware to do that well added significant cost to the product and would serve very few. Also I couldn’t figure out a way of keeping the sound quality of “slave” analog boxes up to the level of the master.
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Interesting architecture Ted. So the digital box would accept up to three digital inputs and feed 3 analog boxes? As you may know I currently have 3 x DC in a 5.1 system and was thinking up just upgrading the mains to the new TSS. What you are describing sounds more interesting, but may be cost prohibitive, depending on the price of an analog box relative to the price of a DS. Any early indications?
I had designed the two multichannel architectures (including schematics and some routing), but they were something that very few (perhaps just you and I ) might use. The additional cost was very significant but just having the clock synchronization in the analog box (even when it isn’t being used) would affect sound quality. That was the nail in the coffin.
Three (stereo only) TSS’s can still be used for multichannel like we have set up - it’s not ideal.
Thanks. I’ll stick with TSS for mains and 2 x DS for Surrounds and C/LFE. I’m crazy, but not 3 x TSS crazy, especially since I do 80% stereo listening.
I have so many questions springing to mind! Any responses would be appreciated.
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How did you decide on the set of digital inputs this will have?
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Where’s the USB input? [Edit: I think I see the USB receiver chip between the display PS and the I2S inputs. Suspect a short cable up to a USB type-B socket to a higher point on the back panel.]
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Is the Toslink going to be specced for 192kHz on all units this time?
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Is that 8 output switches per channel I see adjacent to the transformers?
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If so, what are the benefits of so much parallelism? Current to the transformer?
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What’s the smallest number of relays the signal has to pass through between the filter and the XLR out socket?
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For those of us who run direct to power amp… is there any risk that a new topology such as this, with the control protocol and the audio data coming in via a user-removable cable that could be damaged by, say, a chair or tripping over it, might send violent signals through our amps that could damage our speakers?
Thanks so much for sharing pics and insight like this. Most of us are here primarily for the music but having this added dimension of technology and engineering to engage with is a real joy too.