Here comes the PS Audio's streamer -- anyone excited?

audioman58 said,

"I owned their top dac ,and inside a rip-off for the money the case is cheap like a $300 Blu-ray player ,I almost cut my hand open ,from the sharp edges

this too means it rings like a 🔔 no damping inside whatsoever ,on a $5k + piece of equipment and inside was just hollow space ."

Yes there is some empty space, that is a design decision. Digital circuits need to be kept physically apart from analog circuits to minimize noise transfer. Also, the DAC uses an FPGA for the digital conversion, a lot happens in that chip that eliminates some of the external components.

I also would not call that case cheap like a $300 Blu-Ray player, it’s a fairly simple design but has features that minimize the ringing compared to a cheap Blu-ray case. The fancy cases we see on expensive components are a significant cost driver. The DAC could have cost $1k more (or higher) if there was an audiophile approved case. Unknown if an audiophile approved case was more functional or just bling but PS Audio made their decision, and it works.

@pmotz ..."Yes there is some empty space, that is a design decision. Digital circuits need to be kept physically apart from analog circuits to minimize noise transfer."

Glad you pointed this out. Was thinking the same when I read some of the comments. Folks who understand at least the basics of design and best attempts at eliminating unnecessary noise can appreciate this. i.e. keeping the two parts isolated and apart from each other that is. Would have to listen to it for an extended period of time before determining if it’s worth the investment or not. 👍

Not excited, but I do appreciate PS Audio efforts and their business practices. I am fond of PS Audio, particularly their power regenerators and DACs. After I messed up a modificaiton on my DAC, PS Audio’s customer service was outstanding with their communication, time to repair, and price of repair. With PS Audio’s I2s not being univerally accepted as other manufactures have different standards, the I2S may not play well with others.

Interested......NO

I for one am very interested, as are many others who are in the PS Audio digital ecosystem.

Many owners of the PS Directstream DAC long ago became disenchanted with the internal Bridge II card and migrated to the Matrix X SPDIF 2 DDC to convert and re-clock USB from a computer or Nucleus to I2S over HDMI, even at the cost of losing the second MQA unfold.

In my case, I am have been using the Nucleus+ via USB into the Matrix, but many folks have found that an Ethernet connection from the Nucleus (or computer) into a dedicated Ethernet (or wifi) Roon endpoint is sonically by far the better way to go.

So no, this product is clearly not for everyone--and far from it--but if you are happily in the PS Audio digital ecosystem, right now you can't wait for the AirLens (to say nothing of the Directstream Mk. II) and have been saving your pennies so as to pounce as soon as  they begin shipping.

And, for the PS Audio-curious, there will be a sh*t ton of pre-owned Drectstream DACs and Matrix DDCs hitting the Audiogon listings later this year at very attractive prices...