Affordable alternativ to the PS Audio DirectStream DAC

I don’t think they even make this anymore so probably not much help.  I prefer my Oppo Sonica with Modwright tube mods over my PS Audio DS DAC. It is however somewhat system dependent.

My understanding is that PS Audio is moving towards their own streaming system and away from things like ROON. I maybe wrong but I think I read on the PS Audio forum that Bridge III is not going to be ROON Ready. That is a no go for me.

If I am wrong please clarify since I would hate to spread incorrect facts on the DS.

Martin,

We haven’t been shoving anything down your throat.

We mentioned the Lumin as it is an excellent product that many people are raving about and enjoying for both its sound quality and ease of use as well as its price point.

Ask a dozen audiophiles any question and you are going to get a lot of different results based on their experiences with their systems.

We as a dealer sell many, many brands of dacs and steamers and have tested our products with many different loudspeakers and amplifiers.

For the gentleman  with the Persona 5 they tend to be a bit forward so a dac that is very lush is a better choice, his choice of the Aurender was good for his system, also with the Lumin the DSD cross conversion feature makes digital much more rich, we don’t know if he tried this feature some people never play with it, however, we would have pointed him to an Aqua with an Innous which is way richer combo then the Aurender and would add additional warmth that the Personas need,so different systems and tastes require different components.

It is physically impossible for our words to be of any issue to you, we made a suggestion based on our experience with the Lumin vs many of the products which we sell, and have listened to.

If you read our posts we mentioned a whole host of other dacs from the IFI DSD Pro which is mind blowing for its price point, and we did also mention the Aqua Hifi Dacs plus a streamer as also sounding excellent.

In Europe the Aqua Hifi La Voice S3 shoud be less expensive than it is here and if you are indeed looking for a streaming combo then an Innous Mini might give you the more laid back liquid sound that you find with the PS audio piece and in terms of upgradability the Aqua stuff is completely modular an older S2 can be upgraded to an S3 which make the Aqua gear a very good long term investment in the ever changing world of digital and considering you are in Europe you may find that piece to be the best possible solution not to mention the Aqua gear has a very lush full bodied presentation similar to a DSD based dac like the PS.

If you wan to get more out of your post you should quantitfy exaclty what you are looking for:

1: Dac or Streamer
2: Price point
3: What the rest of your system is
4: Do you want a current product or an older perhaps discontinued model which might also work and in that case the older Aqua Hifi La Voice S2 might be right up your alley.
5: What you liked about the PS

(were there any areas that you would have wished that could be better in the comparison vs the Chord Dac you prefered the tonatlity of the PS, but did the Chord have any qualities that you liked over the PS.)

Based on the limited data we see your preference is towards a more rolled off and liquid digital sound, therefore a dac like the Benchmark, Sim Audio, or Chord or any dac that sounds neutral to a bit brighter would not float your boat.

Based on the above still don’t know any of the question 1-4 we would recommend:

1: Aqua Hifi La Voice
2: Ifi DSD pro cheap and amazing
3: Any R2R NOS dacs avalilable in Europe


Good luck on your search and give the Aqua a demo that shoud be right up your alley.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

@gosta Take a look at the new SimAudio Moon 390. Jeff Dougey from TONE sold his 380 to buy the 390. It is more expensive (around $5K) but based on what I have been reading online it seems like an excellent DAC | Streamer | Preamp | ROOD READY.

I will have a listen at a local shop soon. The sound of the 390 is supposed to be more of the lush category based on what I have been reading.

I owned the DirectStream DAC, Border Patrol DAC SE, and Benchmark DAC3L at the same time, so was able to compare them. The latter two dacs cost much less and can be combined with a separate streaming source and still cost much less than the DirectStream with Bridge.

I sold the DirectStream DAC and kept the other two dacs. It was too laid back and it lacked the image dimension and weight of the other two dacs, at least in my system and to my ears. Detail was silky smooth and exceptional, though.

The Border Patrol dac is closest to sounding like my analog rig, but not as detailed. I like it because it fills in the space between the speakers, and all the way to the side walls. It does this quite nicely, which makes for a natural, realistic sound to my ears. It often invokes a "you are there" emotion in me. I’ve really loved having this dac.

The Benchmark has more "blackness" between the performers on the soundstage. It does not fill in the speakers like the Border Patrol does, but soundstage depth and width are excellent. It indeed has a first row presentation which takes getting used to. It often makes it seem like you are in the studio with the mastering engineer. But it has the knack of being non-fatiguing despite its forward sound. It is very clean and pure sounding, and it lets you hear deep into the performance.

I just got a Mojo Mystique v.3. It’s soundstage presentation is like the Border Patrol but with better detail and image specificity. That’s the one that is going to be my daily driver.

I’m going to have to sell one of my dacs, and it will probably be the Border Patrol. I like switching in the Benchmark for its different presentation, but the Mojo is what I have been liking for everyday listening.