Review and Measurements of PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC

[BDWoody]

I bet this PS Audio DAC has a great sound.

Some people do enjoy a lot of distortion it seems...and it is expensive, which of course means it must sound good.
/s

 

[magicscreen]

Some people do enjoy a lot of distortion it seems...and it is expensive, which of course means it must sound good.
/s

Expensive, but it's worth every penny.

 

[BDWoody]

Expensive, but it's worth every penny.

 

[SIY]

Expensive, but it's worth every penny.

Yes, that grunge overlay won't happen by itself.

 

[Xulonn]

I bet this PS Audio DAC has a great sound.
I listened to a phono stage from this company and it has great sound.

From a dictionary:

Similar-sounding words: "great" is sometimes confused with "grate"

 

[OldSchool1948]

I just joined this forum today. I read with interest many of the comments in this thread regarding the DirectStream DAC's not so glowing specs. I've only had a few DACs in all of my more than a few years on this earth, but, when making a buying choice, I let my ears decide rather than digging into the spec weeds to decide. In other words, I'm more concerned about a DAC's capabilities and what it sounds like in my system. I just ordered a DirectStream DAC yesterday. I've got thirty days to evaluate it; and if I don't like the synergy, I'll send it back. But, I'm pretty confident that I will like it.

 

[majingotan]

In other words, the synergy that you’re looking for is the sound of high levels of distortion. Nothing wrong with that on personal level since I too love the pleasing distortion sound of valve guitar amps, but would never pay exorbitant money for an electrical instrument that adds distortion outside of what the recording/mastering engineer intended

 

[Xulonn]

I just joined this forum today. I read with interest many of the comments in this thread regarding the DirectStream DAC's not so glowing specs. I've only had a few DACs in all of my more than a few years on this earth, but, when making a buying choice, I let my ears decide rather than digging into the spec weeds to decide. In other words, I'm more concerned about a DAC's capabilities and what it sounds like in my system. I just ordered a DirectStream DAC yesterday. I've got thirty days to evaluate it; and if I don't like the synergy, I'll send it back. But, I'm pretty confident that I will like it.

Welcome to ASR.

How do you eliminate the demon of sighted bias in your listening sessions? Or do believe that the science of psychoacoustics is a hoax and just go for the distortion that you find pleasing?

(I'm being a bit snarky, but the science behind the study of sighted bias in listening is robust and has been confirmed repeatedly.)

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I just joined this forum today. I read with interest many of the comments in this thread regarding the DirectStream DAC's not so glowing specs. I've only had a few DACs in all of my more than a few years on this earth, but, when making a buying choice, I let my ears decide rather than digging into the spec weeds to decide. In other words, I'm more concerned about a DAC's capabilities and what it sounds like in my system. I just ordered a DirectStream DAC yesterday. I've got thirty days to evaluate it; and if I don't like the synergy, I'll send it back. But, I'm pretty confident that I will like it.

Buy matrix audio dac, it measures better and is couple thousand less.

 

[OldSchool1948]

majingotan, with all do respect, I don't think you are in a position to characterize what I'm looking in for in SQ since you haven't seen or heard my system. And since its my money, I do believe that I can spend it any way that I choose to and can afford. Again, I decide on what I buy and keep based on what it sounds like in my system.

 

[BDWoody]

... I too love the pleasing distortion sound of valve guitar amps, but would never pay exorbitant money for an electrical instrument that adds distortion outside of what the recording/mastering engineer intended

Especially when you can start with genuine transparency for relative peanuts, then just hook up whatever fuzzbox makes you smile, rather than have everything played through it take on that special TotalCrapDac fuzz.

People like distortion, they just don't like being told they like distortion...

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Like xulonn inferred, it's your perceptual bias that will effect how its going to sound to you more then any distortion the dac may cause. I think amir said before anything with 80dB SINAD or greater will be low enough distortion that it's inaudible. So it really doesnt matter at end of the day. Psychoacoustics is real, it will literally warp your brain into hearing things that aren't there or not possible to hear. Like somehow adding a footer underneath your dac widens the soundstage? Or the dac itself widens the sound stage? Unlikely... bass isn't going to be deeper, or 'slam' harder either. That's just psychoacoustics at work.

I don't think dac's have a sound signature, you are just paying for the brand and possibly a better chassis. Though, with the case of ps audio, you don't get a very nice looking chassis. I think their chassis looks like cheap plastic.

 

[SIY]

majingotan, with all do respect, I don't think you are in a position to characterize what I'm looking in for in SQ since you haven't seen or heard my system. And since its my money, I do believe that I can spend it any way that I choose to and can afford. Again, I decide on what I buy and keep based on what it sounds like in my system.

If you post in an audio science forum, expect to be greeted with audio science. Even if you prefer an overlay of grunge (and you may or may not), unless you evaluate double blind and level-matched against a clean device, you don't actually know what your sonic preference is- or even if you can hear the difference in the first place.

Master storytelling hucksters like McGowan would not want you to do this. They're selling a story and reality can get in the way.

 

[direstraitsfan98]

By the way the ps audio dac actually has a SINAD of 75 so I guess the distortion will be audible at that point.

 

[CtheArgie]

Mr. Old School1948. No problem with your choices and your money. The question then is why did you post here?

 

[Reyer]

I love how someone may spend a lot of time trying to make perfect song by picking 'these' exact guitars, their specific strings, then tune them in a specific way so they sound just like artist imagined while writing his song. Then does all of the mastering, trying to balance every single instrument, trying to make everything just perfect. Only to hear someone saying "You know what this song lacks? Loads of Cheese distortions!"

 

[SIY]

By the way the ps audio dac actually has a SINAD of 75 so I guess the distortion will be audible at that point.

Maybe. Think of Bill Waslo's Souza test, though, where masking hides the brass band at (I think) 65 dB down. Consider also that if 1948 is his birthdate, his ears aren't likely to be sharp (class of 1954 myself ).

 

[Xulonn]

Well stated, @direstraitsfan98 and @SIY - I sometimes feel bad for hardcore subjectivists who come here and get fish-slapped with objective reality - and I also occasionally feel guilty for my sometimes snarky retorts.

 

[OldSchool1948]

Currently, I have a NAD M12 pre/DAC, a Mytek Liberty DAC, and an Audio Mirror Tubadour III DAC. Of the three, the Tubadour III sounds the best in my system. I'm expecting the DirectStream to sound better, if not, I'll send it back. If it does, I plan to sell the NAD and Audio Mirror pieces and keep the Mytek as my backup/headphone amp.

Over the last year I've upgraded major pieces of my system by auditioning them. Price is always a factor, but not the only and sometimes major factor. I don't making buying choices based on measurements. I read the specs; I read reviews from a number of sources; I try to audition a piece of equipment in my system; and go from there. Works for me.

 

[BDWoody]

I love how someone may spend a lot of time trying to make perfect song by picking 'these' exact guitars, their specific strings, then tune them in a specific way so they sound just like artist imagined while writing his song. Then does all of the mastering, trying to balance every single instrument, trying to make everything just perfect. Only to hear someone saying "You know what this song lacks? Loads of Cheese distortions!"

Or, more Cowbell!