Mattnshilp,
You stated "Emm labs has been doing what the DS claims since the beginning." My DS DAC just arrived. I used to own the EMM CDSA SE. The latter is a joke -- and a very expensive one -- compared to the DS DAC.
You also stated ÂI want to see if the DS can truly compete with bigger guns, as Paul M from PS Audio claims . IMO, the correct question is whether the so-called big guns can now compete with PS Audio.
Ozzy,
You stated ÂThe Meitner and Emm are pretty pricey units. I hope the Direct Stream can compete. I understand EMM has some improved DACs on the market to replace the CDSA SE that I used to own. I hope so for their sake.
You also stated ÂThe original hype from PS Audio was that, "it is a game changer"! I was under the impression that as soon as it was turned on the improved sound quality would be unmistakable. This is in fact the case (in my system) with the 1.2.1 firmware released in September -- not with earlier firmware versions, IMO.
Lancelock,
You stated ÂI must report the new DS firmware update 1.2.1 is so good it's like a new DAC upgrade but for free. I agree completely.