PS auido Direct stream Dac

@jimob 

Currently, the Exogal Comet is unavailable.  I hope it's not designed around AMK components, as those have been very hard to get after their plant in Nobeoka burned down.  The PS Audio will probably be around for another 4-5 months (part availability permitting) as the latest word form Paul McGowan, their CEO and owner, is that the replacement is on target for November 2021 release, barring more delays.  They have not even finalized the selection of some parts, and have to go through alpha and beta testing, so that November date looks rather optimistic to me.  When they do get into beta testing, I going to do all I can to become a beta tester for it.  

PS Audio DS dac is so overrated. I did a shoot out against Chord Quetest, TT, and a local Australian DAC. The DS sound overly warm and bloated… which is why some people like it and think it sounds analog because it doesn’t sound harsh or ‘digital’.  But good analog is not overly warm or bloated… suffice to say all of the other dacs were much better. You can buy much better especially at that price. If you’re choosing between it and the Holo Audio May then Holo Audio definitely. I’ve heard that Dac too. DS isn’t even in the running. If you’re open to suggestions then I can highly recommend the Doge 7 dac. It’s quite exceptional 

I’ve had the PS DSD and Chord Qutest and they are both great in providing a very detailed SQ.  But if you are looking for a more vinyl sound take a look at the Border Patrol SEi DAC.  I was surprised how close it sounded to my Primaluna Tube amp when hooked up to my Esoteric amp.  It is only around $1400 and is quite unique in that it has No Oversampling with a tube power stage.  Only plays files up to 24/96kHz but I really don’t noticed a major difference compared to higher res music.

OP, I owned the Cambridge 851N. For the money, it's a nice player. I've owned the PS Audio Directstream DAC for a couple of years now. It is a major step up in performance from the Cambridge. The only caveat I would warn you about is the quirkiness of the PS Audio units. At least once or twice a month I need to unplug and restart the PS Audio as it "freezes" up. A minor inconvenience but I'd would rather not have to do that. Good luck. Joe

@jon2020 ... Following up on the question.  Make no mistake the DSD is a great DAC however in my system the May KTE was a big step up.  More open, more extended highs with more space arounds instruments... which I found off since R2R DACs tend to round off highs in general.  I certainly was not expecting the huge improvement.  Also of note the DSD is in the process of being replaced with a new model and one above that but more importantly the final software release was just made (Sunshine) so no further benefit to it being FPGA based in the future.