Article: PS Audio DirectStream DAC (Snowmass) Full Review

[austinpop]

View full article

[austinpop]

20 minutes ago, Ben-M said:

I must also compliment you on actually picking a winner for each comparison. That really kills me when reviewers don't do that and call it a draw or say something like "you'll just have to listen for yourself and decide"...

 

Me too. Interestingly, even manufacturers appreciate honesty over superlatives. At least the good ones.

[austinpop]

24 minutes ago, daverich4 said:

I'm considering a PS Audio DirectStream DAC to replace my Auralic Vega and while I appreciate all of the work you put into this review, I find that it is not so much a review of the PS Audio DirectStream DAC as it is a review of the PS Audio DirectStream DAC PLUS your special sauce. That makes the results somewhat less valuable to me and I suspect, others, who won't be doing that kind of upstream setup. Sort of like when a reviewer reviews a set of stand top speakers but insists on adding in a subwoofer or room specific DSP as part of the evaluation. Again, I appreciate the work you put into this but would have preferred to know more of your impressions of the DAC by itself with perhaps adding in the differences that your upstream setup makes to the sound as a sidebar. My 2 cents.

 

It's a fair comment, but let me turn it around to you and ask - what would you have liked to have upstream of the DACs (both the DS DAC and the ones used for comparison)?

 

My rationale is simple: by optimizing the upstream, I am enabling the DACs under test to deliver the best SQ possible in my system.

[austinpop]

4 minutes ago, daverich4 said:

 

I’m not sure how best to answer your question. In my various systems I feed the DACS with an opticalRendu, ultraRendu and microRendu. I certainly don’t expect every DAC reviewer to feed the review sample with one of those but I would suggest that my setup or similar is far more common than yours. 

 

“All I can say is that in my listening experience, this part of the chain makes a profound impact on sound quality, and I have invested accordingly.”

 

I don’t follow your “massively improve” thread closely but have skimmed it enough to know that the belief is that various tweaks and modifications affect different components in different ways. That is to say, with the three DACS you compared, your finely tuned upstream might have lifted two veils with one DAC, four veils with the second one and no veils with the third one. For me at least, that removes some of the value of the comparison. 

 

You did some listening with the DirectStream the way most people would, didn’t care for it and finished the rest of your review with your modifications. I personally would have preferred a different methodology but that certainly doesn’t negate the validity of your conclusions. Thanks for taking the time. 

 

 

 

Fair enough. Thanks for your comments.

[austinpop]

29 minutes ago, ednaz said:

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to love your playlist, and a new DAC at this price range is not likely in my immediate future...

 

Just enjoy the music! 

 

I am so glad that with streaming services, it's possible to create a public playlist. I too like to listen to the music mentioned in reviews, so I resolved to make it super easy for readers of my reviews. Now it's true - some may not care for my musical tastes or choices, but at least you will have a sonic reference to go with the words in my review.

 

I used to feel self-conscious about revealing my music tastes, but in fact I find it's one of the most interesting things about a person. My daughters are in their early 20s, and they both have an evolving playlist called "Music for Dad" that they keep updating with their current top 20-30 songs. It's been a tremendous bonding experience for us, as I get to hear what they like.

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, bobflood said:

Put a great DAC behind a good front end and then put a good DAC behind a great front end and compare. It would be interesting.

 

That made me recall - didn't I report on something like that at some point? Turns out, I did! Have a look at this post from Jan 2018. Look at "Finding 4."

[austinpop]

58 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

I very much enjoyed reading the review, but it's always disappointing to me when a DAC is tested via a headphone system only. A speaker based system has so much more to offer, vis-a-vis soundstage and tactile impact. I also find that speakers highlight PRaT much more than headphones.

 

Also, I am constantly interested in how well a DAC like this functions as a preamp, i.e. driving a power amp, which IME is far more demanding than feeding a preamp or headphone amp.

 

I'm not going to get into a headphones vs. speakers debate here - plenty of threads like that already on AS.

 

I'll only draw your attention to two things - a) the headphones used were TOTL, and b) I also did listening on a speaker-based system, described in the Associated Equipment section. Unlike my previous reviews, I didn't write a specific section on speaker-based evaluations. Instead, my impressions are an amalgam of both headphones and speaker listening. I think the only head-to-head comparison I didn't do on speakers was with the QX-8.

 

Still, I don't want to oversell this. The bulk of my listening was indeed on headphones, and if that negates the value of the review for you, so be it. As mentioned a few posts back: 

 

5 hours ago, Danny Kaey said:

reviews - my own included - are just that: momentary captures of sonic attributes at a very specific time and place

 

Well said.

[austinpop]

37 minutes ago, loop7 said:

Where are you sourcing DXD (24/352.8) music? That seems so niche I can't even fathom it.

 

nativedsd.com primarily.

[austinpop]

7 hours ago, chrille said:

Nice read though from austinpop again,although I would have preferred more recent hi res symphonic classical music than Solti's Mahler 8?

Imho MTT's Mahler 8 with the SSF is a better recording than the 70s DECCA.

It is if I am not wrong also a native dsd recording?

 

I do rank MTT/SFS's Mahler's cycle as my favorite, because BOTH the recordings and the performances are wonderful, but there are exceptions for individual symphonies. For the 8th, Solti's version, for me, beats all others on the sheer beauty of the performance. Yes, the 70's Decca recording is - adequate - but I will say that the 24/96 remaster on the Blu-ray release does have much better SQ. 

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, rando said:

 

The rub, and thank you for the comparison, is what I thought made this review interesting in mid 2019.  One of the realities of many hobbies is the amount of equipment which quickly passes into obsolescence or at least the inability to recapture investment.  

 

@austinpop I had to laugh at the inescapability of reviewing equipment with your front end chain in place.  More so yet that it had drifted into a refined state with unique qualities rendering it incapable of being all things. 

 

I wonder if you might find your (front page article) audience here would focus less on the distinctions of equipment not under review if you drew less focus towards it throughout every article.  Knowing full well failure to erect a solid defense on the forum would be infeasible.  Otherwise I always enjoy your ability to not get weighed down in tedium where complexities overrule fluid passage.  Have yet to start nodding off or considering too many possibilities outside the immediate subject's scope.

 

I don't typically respond to randos on the interwebs, but in your case, I'll make an exception.  

 

I'm surprised to hear this criticism. Perhaps if you review the article again, you'll notice everything related to upstream optimization is confined to the 3 sections:

• Effect of the Upstream Chain - USB
• Effect of the Upstream Chain - Ethernet
• What about I2S?

The rest of the review, relating to listening impressions with the various DACs, is completely self contained. I organized the article this way on purpose, so that those who roll their eyes at the upstream stuff could just skip past it.

 

I know many people find these sections valuable, so I am not going to please everyone. Next time, I might add some "nothing to see here" verbiage for the skeptics.