And Paul’s openness in this forum and elsewhere, exchanges direct legitimate communication and information with glossy marketing and mystery. No baffling with an air of secrecy and assertions of hidden specialized knowledge.
I prefer the former. Many are impressed with baffling. Go figure.
Lonely Raven said Thanks ted_b for your mini-reviews and thoughts in general. It's nice to have you visit here.Too bad the DirectStream DSD get’s so poo-poo’d at the other forums. I don’t know why all the hate - probably just the price I guess?
vhiner1 said What makes the PSAudio forums so exceptional is that they are *not* full of the very predictable d**k measuring, sour grapes, wildly exaggerated claims and snobbery that permeate so many on-line communities. I think requiring that people use their real names on forums would address the lack of civility one often sees. I guess PSAudio is such a "small town" that people realize that being mean won't pay off. Or it could be that our forum leaders and Paul set such a good example.Wait a minute! My d**k is .... well, let's not go there. At my age it's nice when the plumbing just works.
Thanks for the kind words. I have always been proud of forum members and community leaders. It’s a nice community of like-minded people and I am glad we don’t seem to attract trolls. Though an occasional visit to stir things up now and then …
The internet has allowed people to hide behind fake or stealth identities, and to express selfishly. When any of us feel like we’ve made a bad purchasing decision the easiest reaction is to claim that we were duped or coerced or misled; never that we are free to choose and that sometimes we choose incorrectly. So anyone who has either chosen another DAC (and then read good things about the DS) or chosen the DS and simply found it not to his/her liking can easily react negatively! I say “easily” cuz it is a weak and selfish reaction that requires no accountability, as long as you remain stealth, hiding behind the internet haze.
One would assume that manufacturers’ forums are more civil, mainly because we are all in the same boat, and there is safety in those numbers. But on a higher level, this forum is even more civil than most manufacturer forums because its customers/followers tend to mirror the attitudes and openness of its leaders. Hell, the worst I’ve ever heard about Paul is that he markets too much! Wow, how else would one build a large and successful company in this very competitive technical industry? Market away Paul! 
The latest selfish thread on CA comes from a former owner who clearly has an agenda, an axe to grind, and uses the firmware update process (that we all appreciate) to surmise that the DS is broken and should never have been sold, as incomplete as it is. He fails to understand software development, versioning, continuous improvement processes, etc. I assume he owns an operating system he purchased in one version and is quite pleased that the OS is continually improved, updated and occasionally fixed with updates and bulletins. He has no issues with that modern process, but feels PSA’s firmware update process is a scam to allow them to sell broken product! Wow. Why wasn’t this guy my opponent in a debate class??
Anyway, keep it up Ted, Paul and team. Write code, listen to upgrades, market new products, listen to your customers and the market, and keep bringing us products and services whose quality and features we are allowed to freely debate here on this forum.
I discovered this forum after buying my PWD a while back. I liked the general level of civility and was particularly impressed that Paul participates in person and gives honest information. This encouraged me to stick around and eventually buy some other PSA products. 
The internet does seem to bring out the best and worst in people. Hence all the attention being paid to “cyber bullying.” We’ve been pretty lucky on this forum but there have been periods when trolls invaded for a while. Eventually they gave up and went away. When people don’t rise to the bait they tend to lose interest. One of the best things about this forum is respectful criticism and debate are not only tolerated but encouraged. Not so with disrespect. Anything you read on the net, especially from an anonymous source, should be taken with a large grain of salt and view towards the persons possible personal agenda.
Most civil forum by a mile. The other extreme is AVS forum, which can be a total freak show at times.
Pre-Purchase - When researching the DS using Google searches, I don’t recall encountering any bad professional reviews. Between professional reviews and Paul & Teds YouTube videos, for my budget, it seemed the best choice. I don’t remember finding that many owner/user reviews outside the PS forum.
Post-Purchase - I was a little disappointed when I first fired it up. The SQ didn’t meet my expectations. After 800 hours burn-in, I love my DS! It sounds amazing (1.2.1 or Yale)! I love when my post-purchase expectations are exceeded, even more so when spending thousands of dollars!
ted_b said The latest selfish thread on CA comes from a former owner who clearly has an agenda, an axe to grind, and uses the firmware update process (that we all appreciate) to surmise that the DS is broken and should never have been sold, as incomplete as it is. He fails to understand software development, versioning, continuous improvement processes, etc. I assume he owns an operating system he purchased in one version and is quite pleased that the OS is continually improved, updated and occasionally fixed with updates and bulletins.And modern cars and motorcycles. My two latest vehicles receive updates whenever they are in for service, sometimes providing new features. Some updates are even downloadable and are installed by the owner via a USB drive plugged into one of the car's USB ports. I think of these as affirmative examples of good customer support, far from a measure of product failure.
My television, Oppo and Bryston BDP-2 also routinely update.
I am delighted to live with these broken, incomplete products.
magister said OK, now that I have spent some hours with Yale I will add my .02 worth.This is a wonderful upgrade. Everything just fits together and flows. I do hear a few more details, but the main thing for me is an organic sense of balance and rightness that is a delight to hear. Yes, the soundstage is a little better; but I have a weird room so I don’t worry too much about that. I do listen for timbre of instruments and voices, and in this regard Yale is outstanding. I can understand why some people might think it’s a tad soft or lacks an “edge,” but in my system and with my music this is a good thing. I find myself turning up the volume a little on most recordings, which in my experience is a sign of better equipment (perhaps the lower noise floor of Yale?). I listen mostly to acoustic music (classical with some jazz and folk), which might explain why I like this sound. I don’t want to get all analytical and I can’t think of any synonyms for “flow” and “balance” so I will just stop there.
Ted is THE MAN! And thanks again to Paul and company for making the hardware and giving us these free upgrades.
Paul McGowan saidLonely Raven said Thanks ted_b for your mini-reviews and thoughts in general. It's nice to have you visit here.Too bad the DirectStream DSD get’s so poo-poo’d at the other forums. I don’t know why all the hate - probably just the price I guess?
What are these other forums that are poo pooing DS?
ted_b said The internet has allowed people to hide behind fake or stealth identities, and to express selfishly. ...I do want to chime in here that what makes good forums, like these at PS Audio, is civility and vigilant maintenance of that, including PS Audio's active monitoring and participation, and what the participants call themselves is largely secondary. That said, writers' names are nothing new. Sure, they are often abused, but many individuals have good reason to use a pseudonym in specific cases or generally, such as for professional reasons, or simply to avoid unwanted, if not unrelated, attention or publicity.Anyway, keep it up Ted, Paul and team. Write code, listen to upgrades, market new products, listen to your customers and the market, and keep bringing us products and services whose quality and features we are allowed to freely debate here on this forum.
Back to the DS, I thank Ted for his reports about experimentation and look forward to what he finds with different USB cables and the Regen with the DS.
I have listened to the Yale beta for about 5 or 6 hours over the last week, but already I think I’m falling in love 
.
(hugs DS)
One of us summed it up well in an earlier comment, that this is an adult forum. Of course, that could always be misconstrued…
I had a couple good listening sessions with Yale this week but all I needed to listen to was the DSD version of Shelby Lynne’s " Just A Little Lovin’ to reinforce in my mind just how good this latest version of software is ! I also appreciate the fact that my computer now recognizes the DS drivers every time negating the need to power on from the back switch.
I really enjoy Sinatra’s “… Only the Lonely” for superb sound although there is at least one track that is sub-par. It’s a winning combination of great musicians in a great room with a great engineer. All the modern tricks and gear in the world won’t reproduce this combo, I’m afraid.
The better my system has become, the more the warts on poor recordings stand out. I find this an interesting take on “fidelity.” As you hear more of what is there, you can better tell what sort of job was done in the recording process. I find this just as interesting as hearing how really great other recordings are. Of course, it’s also a little annoying. Weather Report’s “Night Passage” always comes to mind. I have enjoyed the music on this recording since it came out but the production is a sloppily cobbled mess of poorly matched overdubs and at best, fair overall recording quality. I now hear edits more distinctly than ever before which is a double edged sword. I suppose that is the price one pays for clarity, which is not the stereo’s fault.
wglenn said I really enjoy Sinatra's "… Only the Lonely" for superb sound although there is at least one track that is sub-par. It's a winning combination of great musicians in a great room with a great engineer. All the modern tricks and gear in the world won't reproduce this combo, I'm afraid.A good part of this is the magic of the classic Neumann U47 and the RCA DX77 ribbon mic he used, singing off-axis. He understood exactly how to work with a mic.
And Nelson Riddle’s amazing arrangements. They are scored like a classical concerto; instruments with the same timbre and/or frequency range move out of the way when the soloist enters. Balance was not fixed in the mix. The vocals accordingly really shine and leap out.
As you note, a great combination of factors.
wglenn said I have enjoyed the music on this recording since it came out but the production is a sloppily cobbled mess of poorly matched overdubs . . .Another fun example is listening to the Beach Boy's Good vibrations which was recorded in oieces at various times in different rooms (intentionally). The edits, changes in room sound, etc. are fascinating to hear.
“And Nelson Riddle’s amazing arrangements. They are scored like a classical concerto; instruments with the same timbre and/or frequency range move out of the way when the soloist enters.” - Elk
Cool! I didn’t realize this. I’ll put it on right now… sorry, Glenn Gould…
EDIT: Yes, BB “GV’s” is a shining example of this!