Will the DS MKII ever see more development? Is this something Ted could do on his own as paid updates?

I completely agree. My hope is that the new DAC is not a replacement for the MK II but they coexist in the lineup. Probably would never happen because that might rob sales from the new DAC. It certainly will be interesting to see how the two compare sonically once the new line is available.

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Paul said in one of the other threads on this, that the DS2 will be discontinued, and there will be no more upgrades…

A bit extreme of an allegation IMO.

Not a problem. Thanks for letting me know.:slightly_smiling_face:

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Please point to where PSA made this claim.

Curiously yours.

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Here is the claim: Minute 22:10.
You need to hear more?

Will check it out…

Thanks.

I think a lot of us feel differently. I know personally if the MKII was a product that wasn’t in development, I wound not have bought it. There are plenty of good sounding DAC’s out there, and better than the MKII at similar or lesser cost. The promise was a reprogrammable system with advancement. Just like buying a computer system. No one would purchase one that was only supported with updates for 2 years. I understand the MkII measured poorly and PS had to come up with another product, but we users made an investment as well. The more I think about it, this is a litmus test for how I feel about buying PS’s products going forward. I’m inclined to buy the new preamp, but only when I see what happens with the MKII.

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It did advance but only for 2 years. Thats the catch.

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And two years is actually quite a while in the audio market. At least in light of how products have changed recently, especially DACs and servers.

Just because the mk2 measured poorly on the test bench…did it kill your pleasure while listening to it? Lots of tube equipment measures poorly also but can sound wonderful in the right system!

I was only referring to the measurements as far as sales of the MKII, and perhaps their motivation to come up with a new product, not to my enjoyment.

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Longevity through constant further development is the vaunted advantage of FPGA systems and is the main reason for investing in the DirectStream products.The MK-II was a major hardware update, mainly to provide the system with more resources to perform even more intensive computing operations and realize new ideas. It was supposed to be future-proof for the coming years, just like its predecessor MK-I. But now, only to be confronted with the fact that it’s all going up in smoke.

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It’s not up in smoke just yet. Paul said he’s open to Ted continuing the development. Perhaps there needs be some compensation from PS’s end to help make this happen. They contribute some we agree that we’ll pay something for updates. Win/win for everyone.

I recommended the MKII to people who bought it, based on my word that this was THE Dac to invest in. If this development is dead, my credibility is on the line.

I have owned (and still own) a lot of PS gear.

I think how PS handle’s this is going to be a very public story. There’s not a lot of controversy in the audiophile world, so when it happens people pay attention.

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Coulda woulda shouldas, sometimes, what is is what is. When it’s time to move on, it’s time to move on. ā€œInvestmentā€ should be something used when we open our broker app, not shopping for electronics.

Not saying I like what is happening to the MKII. But when the day comes my MKII stopping sounding nice, I’ll move on to something else.

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There’s different types of ā€œinvestmentā€. We’re not complaining about resale value. There’s a pretty easy solution and all it takes is the will and cooperation.

I’m actually surprised that part of the announcement of the MKII being replaced wasn’t that development will continue for 1 or two more years or one or two more updates or that Ted would be continuing with some sort of paid updates. Did PS not anticipate that owners would be more than a little upset.

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Since a good deal of the desirement seems to be centered on MkII software, perhaps PS Audio should have provided a subscription support service or charged for upgrades? Would that have helped?

Agree. Like with mobiele phones, it’s usual to promise at least some update cycles ahead after discontinuation. This way, the company can move on developing more promising hardware to run next gen software, while not leaving recent customers behind.
It would have been gracious to promise, let’s say, two more updates before calling it quits.

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This is a good precedent to site!

Do you think it’s fair to belittle the legitimate concerns of other members here? Maybe for you money isn’t an issue and you’ll just buy whatever’s next.

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