Gerald, you asked about my system. I built my own active system using a DEQX digital crossover to provide three crossed over EQ’d coax outs. These feed three PS Audio Directstream dacs with the mid and treble going to a pair of BHK 250s and the bass going to a pair of Crown CE4000s. The Crossover takes in various digital feeds (I use a pair of Melco boxes to hold the music and render it) but also have a TT (The DEQX has an excellent ADC in it). Speakers are big PMCs. Initially I used just one CE4000 knowing that it’d happily drive two bass drivers but then whenever I saw a CE4000 on eBay I’d buy it, hence each driver now has its own amp channel. A P10 provides power (I’m looking forward to when a new regenerator comes out).
That’s an impressive system and I imagine it was a bit of a chore to dial in. I considered a DEQX (hdp-4 I think) a few years back when I got VMPS RM V60 speakers. It was more than I needed so went with a Xilica xd 4080 instead. It is no longer made so if goes belly up a DEQX would be a good replacement; I suspect the AD/DA converters in the DEQX are a good step or two above the Xilica. Thanks for reminding me of DEQX.
You may have wondered what I was going on about in my post. I just read yours too quickly. I saw “Crown” and “bass” and immediately thought of playing bass guitar through a Crown amp in the late 1960s. A DEQX wired into my brain might help. I should give Elon a call.
My DEQX unit is an HDP-5 and was setup by their main man in Australia (it uses Burr Brown chips and their software). It was very difficult to configure things such as EQ. Two years ago I got a Pre-8, their latest unit (uses the 8 channel ESS chips) and became a beta tester. IMO they are trying to do too much by writing the software to do calibration from the seating position. At present I wouldn’t recommend a Pre-8.
Thanks, that’s good to know. The Xilica is only for the bass of the FR30s and REL 212/sx’s and seems to work well for Xover/ eq duties. For mid/high it is not too bad but lacks transparency so it is now not in the signal path.
I am still waiting to buy the M400’s. Losing sleep, can’t concentrate, even losing my desire to tweak the system. Netflix is recommending mindfulness training.
LOL! I am glad I have passed that stage already.
I haven’t seen it posted yet but release is now July. There was a delay in the parts shipping.
I’d give it three additional months just to ensure it is all sorted out properly as well. No need to be an early adopter unless you have the patience of a saint.
Thanks
I definitely do not have, when it comes to audio, lol.
Well, I am certainly not a saint and am not patient. Three months would be torture.
However, I would not expect Paul to release these signature amps, unless he was confident, they were up to his high personal standards.
My impression was the delay is due to the parts not arriving when expected, not because of a performance issue. Can’t assemble without the parts. I am definitely not implying there are other issues.
I’ll be ordering as soon as it opens up.
Are you really that unhappy with your current gear? New PSA gear fresh out of the chute tends to have issues. Best to wait until the early adopters and PSA sort it out IME. Of course some look forward to multiple trips to FedEx.
Well, we are at least enjoying some mild weather in the North Central-Midwest while we wait…
Or a year, whichever comes last.
Everyone has their own experiences and negative issues seem to loom the largest. Having had a dozen PSA products, I’ve felt some pain, but I do not feel anxious about being one of the first in line. Maybe a network or software heavy design could use more extensive vetting. But an amp? Bring it on.
Some of the PSA preamps/amps/power plants do not ship well, components coming loose for example. I do agree with you that an amp is less vulnerable to gremlins than a product leaning heavy on digital technology. In the hands of PSA their failure rate, IME, is higher than any other brand I have owned. Three of three with issues, a Power Plant, DAC, and Transport. Many like PSA’s innovations and marketing, but for me I’ve found other brands that I have more confidence in. My money, my choice. Great folks on the forum, friendly folks at PSA, but no PSA products in my future. QC just isn’t a strength in my experience. I will say Chris B seems to have addressed QC with the Aspen line of speakers.
I’ve had better luck than you (out of 6 components I only had to send the PowerPlant12 for service after a week of ownership) but I do see your point. The amount of QC problems reported the past few years (512 particularly) is hard to ignore. I have stuck with PS Audio due to my own experience and I’ve really liked the synergy between components and the SQ - plus the trade-in deals have been good to me.
I’ve not had any issues nor had to send anything back other than my P20 which was serviced in Australia by the importer at super reasonable rates out of warranty. I’ve been an early adopter going back to the Perfectwave DAC, P10, etc, upgrading along the way. I currently have the Directstream SACD player, Directstream DAC Mk2, PMG Pre, BHK300s and P20. My PMG Pre was seamless (no remote issues) and a ‘grand canyon’ step up from the BHK Pre (as Paul McGowan described it). I’m interested in the PMG range! Likely DAC upgrade next, pitching PMG vs Meiner MA3i perhaps. No rush.
Did any M400’s get shipped to any external reviewers before the parts shortage?
What are the wideband unweighted, and the A-weighted SN ratios of the M400’s? The PMG preamp reading was an incredible -145 dB.