Congratulations @dcpillai! Have fun and let us know how it works out!
PS Audio Direct Stream MK2 DAC
While researching the PS Audio Direct Stream MK2 DAC on the PSA Forum, I came across this:
"Regarding “hum,” Ted said: “ You had the opportunity to return your device if it was wasn’t acceptable. I don’t know how one could claim to have been screwed…….”
Not only that, this “hum” was a known feature, as it was discussed early and often in the beta thread. Paul even went so far as to claim every component PSA has ever produced (or at least, every component on his shelf) has this hum."
Further, Ted himself says:
"The hum is coming from the piezoelectric response from a few critical capacitors in the power supply. The device was designed with a component that wouldn’t cause this problem, but supply chain problems forced us to design in a slightly older version of the part which caused the hum. Unfortunately, the new and old parts aren’t footprint compatible, so we’re stuck with the older version for a while even when the newer parts become available again."
Ted is Ted Smith, the" Chief Digital Dude" at PS Audio.
Question to all PSA DS MK2 DAC owners, do you hear a hum?
All in all, do you think it would be better to wait for a while until the problem sorts itself out - OR - is it "much ado about nothing" and I should just go ahead and get the PSA DAC?
I am leaning towards waiting .... But I am interested to hear your views too.
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Just got my MKII up and running a few days ago. It’s plugged into a a Niagara 7000 and I am am hearing a slight hum with my ear about 1” from the DAC, however it’s dead silent though the speakers. I’ll have to try plugging in straight to the wall, but as far as sound quality the MKII is fantastic. I’m running a long optical usb cable from my Mac Pro in another room running Jriver as opposed to ethernet/EtherRegen I was running in the MKI. I’m very happy with the unit so far and has really helped with the last niggles I have with my speakers coincident drivers dissapearing. still planning on doing the transformer upgrade when available, as it supposedly takes the Dac to another level.
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Congratulations on acquiring the MKII @emailists ! Hope you manage to resolve the slight hum that you have found. I have read that the Niagaras have a hum of their own in certain instances, but if I am not mistaken it is heard over the speakers, which does not seem to be the case with your setup. Do let us know if any of your tweaks / adjustments / upgrades eliminates the hum. Congrats and wishing you much enjoyment with the MKII! |
@dcpillai thanks for the kind words. I lifted the ground on all the inputs (I only use usb) and while I didn’t a/B it yet, I think it sounds slightly better. It was also fun to tell people listening to their requests that they are hearing state of the art (for now) digital decoding. BTW my Niagara only has a slight physical hum (not through speakers) when using my tube preamp, which I’ve read can happen. With my passive pre it’s dead silent. My next experiment with MKII will be lifting the XLR out grounds, and placing the unit in a Systrum platform, and then trying floating on a Halcyonics type active vibration table, though I don’t expect much benefit. Having one under my turntable is fantastic though.
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- 86 posts total