I know this is a old post but I wanted to give some feedback . I always looked at the Direct Stream as cheap and had it in my head it would not sound good . This went on for many years , I had around 12 DACS in those years .
I ended up buying the Totaldac Twelve around 33k USD , after sending it back to france for upgrades costing 3-5k a shot it became old so I sold the Twelve . The bad part is I took a 18k loss because that’s all the open market would bare .
I ended up ordering a DCS Bartok 15k last month and there was a 5 week min wait time . I was at my dealer last week that sells PS Audio and told him I have no source and I’m getting bored waiting for my new Bartok . My dealer again suggested I try the DS for the cost so I purchased it with the Bridge 2 . The next day I hooked it up and was shocked it was not bad at all , I gave it a couple days to warm up etc and came back to it .
I ended up canceling the DCS Bartok and putting the 15k back in my pocket . Digital audio is moving so fast and I am completely satisfied with the DS at this point . Are there other DACS out there that sound better ? sure but for the money you will be hard pressed to find better . If the DS was 10k it would still be a bargain .
If you are looking for a DAC/Streamer that sounds good for a decent price you owe it to yourself to try the DS .
My System
Luxman C-900u
Luxman M-900u
PS Audio Direct Stream NB 2
Shunyata Triton 3
Martin Logan 15a
I ended up buying the Totaldac Twelve around 33k USD , after sending it back to france for upgrades costing 3-5k a shot it became old so I sold the Twelve . The bad part is I took a 18k loss because that’s all the open market would bare .
I ended up ordering a DCS Bartok 15k last month and there was a 5 week min wait time . I was at my dealer last week that sells PS Audio and told him I have no source and I’m getting bored waiting for my new Bartok . My dealer again suggested I try the DS for the cost so I purchased it with the Bridge 2 . The next day I hooked it up and was shocked it was not bad at all , I gave it a couple days to warm up etc and came back to it .
I ended up canceling the DCS Bartok and putting the 15k back in my pocket . Digital audio is moving so fast and I am completely satisfied with the DS at this point . Are there other DACS out there that sound better ? sure but for the money you will be hard pressed to find better . If the DS was 10k it would still be a bargain .
If you are looking for a DAC/Streamer that sounds good for a decent price you owe it to yourself to try the DS .
My System
Luxman C-900u
Luxman M-900u
PS Audio Direct Stream NB 2
Shunyata Triton 3
Martin Logan 15a