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In Reply to: RE: PSA Direct Stream DAC, Oppo 105D and Break-In posted by Joe Appierto on April 19, 2015 at 09:19:40
Joe,
Your post and the subsequent replies it has garnered is of great interest to me as I have been contemplating purchasing a PSA-DSD.
While at RMAF last year my priority was to audition this DAC. For various reasons, while in the PSA room, I was unable to discern what the DAC was doing. Perhaps it was the room, the speakers being used, the new amps, the music and/or just me, the sound did not move me.
Since that time, the price of this DAC has been significantly reduced by a number of dealers and,several specials have been offered to include the one now where you buy the DAC and get a free PSA transport. Had I bought this DAC last year I would not be a very happy camper today.
Furthermore, by my count, there are no less than 10 used PSA-DSD's for sale on Audiogon within the 30 day window of which the lowest asking price is $3,172. And, all this is happening while the ink on all the hype generated by this DAC is barely dry.
Now, I wonder if these events are the result of people such as yourself who have bought this DAC only to discover that it's performance does not quite justify its hefty price tag when compared to more moderately priced player/DAC's such as your Oppo.
I await your thoughts and auditioning results and hope that the 500 hour break in time suggested by some here (a figure I find rather high) does not get bumped to 1,000 just to be sure all is working well....
George
Follow Ups:
Hi George,
There are a number of things that have brought my enjoyment of the PSA DS DAC up considerably. The sound is changing as the unit breaks in. At this point I have 260+ hours on the unit and the sound is "opening-up" with what seems to me to be a more extended top end.
Upgrading to the Pikes Peak firmware had an immediate effect with a more dynamic sound and more fully fleshed out soundstage.
Finally, the DS has an unbalanced/RCA output of 1.4Vrms versus 2.1Vrms (a 50% increase over the DS) for the 105D. Being a creature of habit, I guess, I was not really compensating for this by adjusting the volume control as much as I should have.
At this point I am quite satisfied with its sound and anticipate it improving further when the DAC is fully broken-in. Already, when I switch between the 105D playing solo versus having it play through the DS via a digital cable, the former now sounds a little edgy and digital in comparison.
Is the difference worth the premium? That's a difficult question and a very individual matter. For me, it now seems to have been worth it.
Regards,
Joe
Joe,
Thanks very much for your response and observations.... I shall stay tuned......
George
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