Anything wrong with PS Audio DirectStream DACs?

Well here is a quote from designer/engineer Ted Smith about his burn in preference... from PS Audio forums...

tedsmith Chief digital guru Jan ’18

I hear the things I like about the DS and DS Jr right out of the box. Some others don’t like the sound as much out of the box.

When I had my very burned in test DS and got another new one the new one sounded covered, muffled and a little dull. I let it play continuously for a week or two and then it sounded much better. The bass firmed up, the top opened up the presentation got more balanced, etc.

@sfseay

I own a Directstream DAC and don’t agree at all with the 750 hour burn in.  It sounds great out of the box and you may notice small changes for the first hundred hours or so, but 750 hours...this is excessive and not needed.

+1

oh no no, "burn in" by all means, hell do it for 75000 hours. the sound will be so exquisite it's as if maidens from Asgard have come down and are singing to you.

My experience with the Directstream DAC:

Out of the box it feels a little cheap.  There's a glossy top with a ho-hum chassis and a touchscreen that even looks dated compared to a Wal Mart credit card reader.  It's definitely showing its age.

The sound is decent but does not distance itself from any other run of the mill DAC in say the $2k range that has come out in recent years.  I will say the Directstream is a little more laid back than most (this was with Redcloud).  It has good depth but presents everything with this laid back approach, even when the recording calls for more presence or brashness.  I could go on and on but I'd rate every category for the Directstream as a C or B grade.

I currently have a T+A DAC 8 DSD that retails for $4,500.  It's $1,500 less at retail and sounds like it should cost 3x the Direcstream.  It plays in a different league and costs less, but also "demands" a decent PC capable of upconverting PCM to DSD 512.  

I also compared the Directstream to my Fostex HP-A8 that I use in my desktop system.  It's a decent little unit that I picked up for $500.  Its build quality is outstanding, and in a blind test I don't know that the Directstream would beat it.  Certainly it would be up for debate at 1/12th the price.

YMMV

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