WOW- Perfectwave Directstream DAC

My experience as well…reveals so much more of what is captured on recordings.

Welcome to the club.

Cheers.

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If you bought a DSD Sr. brand new, just wait ~50hrs after break-in. Big improvement in sound quality, then again 100 hours later though less of a jump.

It pairs very well with Pass Amps. Ditch the preamp you might like it better.

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One word: Edcor

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Pretty much my thoughts after going from PerfectWave to DirectStream. Congrats!

After more critical listening…I’m struck by how out front and how textured vocals are…its amazing.

Also the detail lows/mids/highs…are incredibly detailed.

I’m so happy with this purchase.

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If you have half-way decent/revealing speakers, you should continue to discover new details in your favorite recordings that you did not know were there.

I have actually come to appreciate some recordings’ and artists’ musicality and musicianship even more because I can more fully appreciate the details and effort that went into arrangements that simply were not recognized prior to having a more capable DAC, such as the PSA DS Sr.

I think it is a remarkable achievement for the MSRP and an absolute steal on the used market. While they will likely be out of reach of my budget for quite some time, it will be interesting to see what Ted is able to improve upon with the pending DS Sr. MKII and TSS (Ted Smith Signature) DACs.

Have fun.

PS

If you have access to Sarah McLachlan’s “Fallen” from the album, Afterglow, listen carefully to the first 10 to 15 seconds. The DS Sr. allows for near 180 degrees envelopment of a sound stage that attempts to wrap around you in the listening position. The width and depth of the sound stage that the DS Sr. throws on this recording in my system is pretty remarkable.

SEE

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The Directstream just keeps getting better. I’ve had this for 10 days or so…I’m just stunned at the detail this puts out. Its also so musical…Its fun to listen to all my recordings. The biggest jump for me has been the bottom end. So much lower tight detail. Its almost as if its brought out another dimension of my Pass Labs 250.8’s personality. I never expected this result…Now I need the perfect power cord to match up with this beast. Very happy PS Audio Camper…

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It is a wonderful piece.

DirectStream: “Oh @Elk, you devil!”
Elk: blushing

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That one was good for a early morning chuckle!!

Wonderful!

The Pass Labs X-series .5 and .8 amps mate wonderfully with the DSD. I’ve used the DSD with the Pass Labs Aleph and the X-series. If you are using a preamp, experiment by removing it from the signal chain and direct plug the DSD to the amp. There is plenty of gain and many prefer the sound.

Also ditch the notion of a power cord or what some call the “1 meter miracle”. Too many people have old $.97 outlets in their house which are tired. The oversized prongs of a hifi cable help fix that.

Before buying a power cable:

  • Install a hospital grade outlet. They cost under $20 or the PS Audio branded unit for $49 which is excellent.
  • Depending on physical use, power cords decay. A quality high gauge IEC cable is $25 or less. No need to spend more than $100. Call Pass Labs and order a replacement power cord for your amp and use it for the DSD.
  • Last buy a PS Audio Power Regenerator. The darn thing seriously works and cleans power for all the gear in the signal chain.

Always a cringe moment when I read about someone buying a $1400 power cable before investing in the above.

I have dedicated ac lines feeding my whole audio system. They are directly from my panel/no wirenuts anywhere. Into Porter Port hospital grade "cryo’d) outlets. I have a P10 that feeds all of my source components and my pre amp. The amp is plugged directly into the wall fed by another dedicated ac line.

So I do subscribe to your suggestions, but I also subscribe to matching up compatible power cords to my gear also.
I’m not in a hurry to ditch my pre amp. I have a Pass XP 22 that I like a lot. It matches well with the 250.8.

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Two words: Get Edcor. With Edcor my DS beat out the Holo KTE in my system. My brother’s DS without Edcor wasn’t as good as the Holo. Edcor mod made quite a difference in my system, it made the DS sound like a different DAC!

What is Edcor ?

Edcor 4400’s DSD Mod - instructions? Source?

Also Audio Magic Ultimate Premier fuse is very helpful. Or maybe SR Purple fuse is nice.

Also do external power supply for analog board in the DS and add RF and EMI absorption to all components Ted Recommends. The DAC then punches way higher in performance with a very low noise floor. Too bad its firmware upgrades are maxxed out i am hoping to skip MII and the TSS wil be available in 12 to 18 months. The mods really make the DS performance at a levels one wonders if upgrades a further are beneficial.

Krelldog, that’s awesome! Yeah, matching power cords after the basics for a clean AC supply are established, is an area to explore.

A Pass XP22 feeding a X250.8 is end state solution for most. Nelson’s UGS gain module in the preamp and amp are arguably the best. He secured $1M worth of Toshiba low noise jsk74/jsk170 complimentary JFET’s on factory last call over 10 years ago.

I bet at some point you’ll plug the DAC straight into the Amp as an experiment. Curious your views on the results someday.

Vmax- give me some examples of those suggestions that Ted made.

RF and EMI absorption ? External PS for the analog board?

If I wanted to do these upgrades …what specifically would I need to buy ?

Thanks in advance

There’s a wealth of information here:

Vkennedy link post to the modding the direct stream is good learning fodder. The basics and iterations are all there. Most are pretty easy DIY. I hired my Transformer solder replacement but everything else I did DiY and they reaped big dividends in listening enjoyment. We are a helpful group to the tanker’s and most are willing to try the tweaks and the cables. My listening experience and learning experience went up tenfold hanging around this forum.