Probably like many other users, I bought into the MKII with the promise of further developments. Ted has mentioned trying to use the currently unused FPGA for something like dual mono, or have one chip dedicated to the delta sigma.
If PS Audio isn’t going to further develop the product, I’m wondering if they’d let Ted develop it on his own, perhaps as a paid product. I’d certainly be willing to pay for an OS update.
While I’d like to hear the new DAC against my MKII (I have custom APS transformers installed) perhaps there is still a lot of life and potential in the MKII?
I would definitely second that. Blue Sky was an update that I think was well worth paying a fee for. If Ted could make like improvements on another update I would jump in with both feet. I’ve made no secret that I am absolutely committed to the MK ll, especially if further improvements were available. I do wonder what it would sound like paired with the new preamp.
As I understood it, the development of the software for the MK1 served as a foundation for the MK2. I vaguely remember reading that updates for the MK2 were going to be less frequent as the updates have achieved about as much as they can and it is now a matter of diminishing returns (like spending a million dollars to get 2 HP more from a Formula 1 racecar). On the other hand, I might have unintentionally confabulated that idea myself when reading tons of Ted’s comments a year ago. Anyone else remember something similar?
What I remember is that the rollout of updates was going to be on a longer cycle, maybe annually, but they would continue. There are 2 FPGAs so room for future expansion since only 1 is utilized at this point.
I don’t know the contractural arrangement or restrictions that Ted may be under but I’m sure he has other irons on the fire.
Maybe a user group could put him on retainer?
I am happy with the MK2 at this point and will decide whether to replace with the PMG or Grimm or? As details emerge.
The ongoing upgrades to the DSD MK 1 and 2 were a big part of my decision to buy the MK2. I trust that Paul will treat us right but I was not planning on buying a new DAC.
I have been looking to upgrade my Roon server and had come to the decision to go with the Grimm MU1 rather than the MU2 since I thought my DSD MK2 DAC might better the DAC in the Grimm but would also improve even more as Ted worked his magic and PSA followed the generous path they have followed since the PerfectWave with free or very reasonable upgrade paths.
On the fence again until I can hear the difference and figure out the budget. My new speaker purchase may go from FR20 to FR10.
The release plan for software updates to the MkII was to be less frequent than the MKI. One or two a year as I recall reading.
However I’m not sure if that was because of diminishing returns.
The very last update to the MkII made a huge improvement to SQ.
In my system to my ears, it was the most significant upgrade I experienced over years of owning the MkI & II
@markus46 Your point illustrates how much potential these units have.
In an ideal world Ted would be free to do whatever he wants with releases, even having different “flavor” builds. Imagine a customizable DAC experience and being able to choose from builds perhaps that lean more liquidy, or laid back, hyper focused, etc.
An incredible idea would be to license BACCH and offer crosstalk cancellation. (I sometimes use U-Bacch inside Jriver). Or perhaps accept convolution filters for room correction.
Ted mentioned that the compiling for the MKII takes merely minutes whereas the MKI took hours, so he can more easily experiment.
I bought a DSD-MKII 3 weeks ago. I thought it would run the course of time, 10 years or more, just like the MK1 did.! It seems no time at all since it was released by PS Audio to the usual fanfare. (2.5 years ago at most.)
They’re taking the piss. I’m not that wealthy, and if I’d known PS Audio were pulling the plug on a product that had years of development (promised firmware upgrades), I would haven’t bought the MK II. I’m in the UK there’s no trade in deals over here. Massively disappointed.
I would reach out to your dealer and PS Audio to see what can be done. Hopefully there’s a 30 days return period you can take advantage of to upgrade to the PMG. Good luck, PS Audio could do a better job here to protect their customers. They should do it like the Preamp, announcing a replacement months in advance. The unveiling is a bit anticlimactic, mainly because not enough time was dedicated to each product to really highlight them. Probably that’s just me, I’m sure Paul has a different opinion lol.
