Wait a sec. New PMG DAC features ESS Sabre chip ??? @Paul ?
Sad to see going reverse into a chip based design. Remember well all the limitations that they have from the videos where Ted Smith was explaining the design of the original Directstream DAC. I prefer a DAC that sounds better to one that measures better.
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So I cannot find the new DAC on the website any more. I do not believe it has a chip. That looks like copy and paste error from the new Stellar.
You can find the new DAC here: PMG Signature 512 DAC
And youāre right. AFAIK tell it isnāt chip-driven. According to the website:
ā¦"we proudly unveil the PMG Signature 512 DAC. At its core is the PureStream DSD512 engine, converting any form of digital audio into a pure 8X DSD streamāno PCM, no decimation, no compromise. That stream feeds our SpectraWave 64-Tap Sequencer, lowering noise and distortion while perfectly time-aligning the signal. From there, it flows into a state-of-the-art, direct-coupled analog output stage. The result is breathtakingāfluid, natural, and as analog as it gets. With a built-in high-end streamer for seamless access to your music, the 512 is our best DAC ever. "
Can you explain further ?
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Ted in no way has reached the maximum performance form the mk 2. There is room on the first fpga and the second fpga is empty. The advantage of Tedās design is through code he can make changes to the performance of the DAC without any physical part changes. That is a HUGE selling point for the Directstream DACs.
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What is the Purestream 512 engine?
Thanks for the linkā¦its off the main menu now.
Thatās a custom thing PSA built. I believe both modules inside are custom built. One they are going to patten.
No idea. Brian is indicating something new.
Looks like they updated the website to show the $250 deposit and took down the trade in estimator tool since they have not figured that out yet according to Paulās reply to my ask the yesterday.
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Thatās whatās so infuriating about the cancellation of the platform. Thereās no telling what could have been the sonic benefit of separating processes over the two chips.
Sort of feel like a Mac user being told OSX is dead.
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Hard sometimes when you donāt quite get the technology part. Itās ok. It really had nothing to do with the FPGA ability. Yes, we had the larger FPGA (broken into two of them) but the limiting factor in the design wasnāt that. It was the way the output of the FPGA was handled. The video op amps, the output transformer, the whole chain had been optimized about as far as it could go. As some of you found, yes, we could have significantly upgraded the output transformer, but still, that would never have given us the linearity, noise floor, etc. that weāve achieved in the PMG. And the better sonics. So yes, the MKII had reached the limits of its design but not because of the FPGAs, certainly. On that you are both correct. Hope that helps.
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Donāt we all? The PMG Signature 512 just kills the DSMKII. Those who heard it at the show were pretty blown away and I think if you get a chance to hear it youāll not have any doubts. A major improvement. And no, it is not chip based. It is fully discrete, DSD, just like the MKII just a more advanced version and topology, especially the PureStream 512 engine and the 64 step sequencer.
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What the heck? Where did that come from? Thereās not an ESS anything inside the PMG Signature. Promise. All discrete from the ground up.
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Where is this from? Agree it looks like someone pasted it from the StellarGold. Was that on our website?
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This was a question asked by sixpack1.
āWhat is the Purestream 512 engine?ā
inquiring minds would love to know.
I wondered that myself. From what I can tell (I canāt recall the reference I saw) itās based on the method Ted developed for the input stage for his designs. The difference is that Tedās design upsampled all inputs (PCM and PDM) to DSD256 and then chose the āmost sensibleā bit stream with which to continue. In the PMG Signature the upsampling is to DSD512. So I believe thereās some of Ted in the PMG. 