PS Audio DirectStream DAC mk2 hilarious ad copy

[fpitas]

They lost me at:

“handwritten, discrete, galvanically isolated, perfection-based conversion that uncovers all the missing information hiding in your digital audio media.

Somewhere beyond SINAD!

 

[AdamG]

Yes, it is artisanal digital to analog conversion. Bespoke for only those with the finest systems and most refined tastes.

And Thick ass Wallets and Heads…….

 

[pkane]

They lost me at:

“handwritten, discrete, galvanically isolated, perfection-based conversion that uncovers all the missing information hiding in your digital audio media.

Handwritten? Does Paul hand-convert PCM to DSD on paper? Do they pay for Fedex delivery or do I have to?

 

[AdamG]

Handwritten? Does Paul hand-convert PCM to DSD on paper? Do they pay for Fedex delivery or do I have to?

It’s a MAC-D DAC. Musically Analog Calligraphy - to Digital. Mini Paul’s inside the box. Why it’s $8k bro.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Now, I actually do not have a problem with Paul. You just have to know that he is more salesman than engineer. And he was very helpful to me personally many years ago on Audio Asylum in tracking down a grounding issue I was experiencing. But it is confounding how anti-science his company has become.

Whoever is writing the ad copy certainly isn’t an engineer, and the cult-like following PS Audio has developed for mediocre (and in some cases, outright poorly performing) products can be exasperating. Maybe even shameful. But there are a lot of people out there who can be duped by blind allegiance.

 

[theREALdotnet]

“Unlike the vast majority of high-end DACs based on off-the-shelf IC technology, DirectStream MK2 is handwritten, discrete, galvanically isolated, perfection-based conversion that uncovers all the missing information hiding in your digital audio media.”

Isn’t it amazing what’s possible these days. I wonder whether the technology can be applied to uncover missing remote controls hiding between the sofa cushions?

 

[Chrispy]

Gee, big surprise.

 

[blueone]

Yes, it is artisanal digital to analog conversion. Bespoke for only those with the finest systems and most refined tastes.

One interesting fact about PS Audio, they own both the IP and the company (or what's left of it) that invented and marketed the UltraAnalog DAC module which was at the heart of some of the best performing DACs in the 1990s, like the Mark Levinson 360S and 30.6. They were the first 20bit DAC chips I remember. The recipe for leading edge digital performance must have got lost in a drawer over the years.

 

[pkane]

Isn’t it amazing what’s possible these days. I wonder whether the technology can be applied to uncover missing remote controls hiding between the sofa cushions?

Pfft! I spent only 2 seconds thinking about it and already came up with a major improvement to this DAC technology: hand-chiseled filters on a stone tablet! Handwritten is just so passé. Writing the patent application now.

 

[theREALdotnet]

hand-chiseled filters on a stone tablet! Handwritten is just so passé. Writing the patent application now.

Nah, sorry, there’s prior art.

 

[BDWoody]

Handwritten? Does Paul hand-convert PCM to DSD on paper? Do they pay for Fedex delivery or do I have to?

The latency is two weeks.

 

[Martin Takamine]

Holy crap, $8k

Byte me!

 

[Recluse-Animator]

 

[Recluse-Animator]

Gotta do whatever pays the bills. He almost got bankrupted once and had to sell at least part of the company.

 

[astcal]

DirectStream MK2 is handwritten

I wonder what that is all about?

very obvious -- it means it is NOT footwritten.

 

[charleski]

One interesting fact about PS Audio, they own both the IP and the company (or what's left of it) that invented and marketed the UltraAnalog DAC module which was at the heart of some of the best performing DACs in the 1990s, like the Mark Levinson 360S and 30.6. They were the first 20bit DAC chips I remember. The recipe for leading edge digital performance must have got lost in a drawer over the years.

They bought Ultra Analog right at the time that delta-sigma made their bulky, expensive ladder DACs obsolete. Smart! Excellent performance, but each module had to be hand-tuned.

 

[Music1969]

I wonder what that is all about?

Probably the FPGA coding.

Poor written ad though.

DirectStream MK2 is the work of PS Audio's digital audio guru, Ted Smith. Unlike conventional DACs that rely upon off-the-shelf DAC chips, the DirectStream MK2 is hand-written onto a pair of FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array). This allows far more precise and accurate processing of the digital signal, resulting in significantly better sound quality and upgradeability in the field. Periodically, Ted Smith's continual research into digital audio reproduction nets another breakthrough in performance.

 

[Music1969]

THD+N @ 1KHz (full scale) = <0.1%

At least they are being upfront about the performance.

 

[Mart68]

THD+N @ 1KHz (full scale) = <0.1%

At least they are being upfront about the performance.

They were with the mark one too. The theory seems to be that the worse the measurements the better the sound. This isn't a new approach since you can already buy very expensive but poorly measuring amps and speakers So why not with DACs too? You just have to pass through the looking-glass and it all makes sense.

 

[Music1969]

The theory seems to be that the worse the measurements the better the sound.

I don't think this is a theory pushed by Ted Smith, the DAC's designer.

He pushes other things, about DSD etc but not really worse measurements = better sound.