Review and Measurements of PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC

[RichB]

Before I publish reviews I go and search for others. Here, I found the stereophile review and JA's measurements. I was relieved that he was seeing some of the same issues I found. But shockingly, his summary paragraph starts such: https://www.stereophile.com/content/ps-audio-perfectwave-directstream-da-processor-measurements

View attachment 34149

What? Superbly well? This is is superbly well?

That is a 50 Hz tone and has harmonic distortion as high as -45 dB (SINAD of 45 dB). Why run that test if this indicates "superb" results???

No wonder people walk right past these types of measurements when they exist....

Yes but the other ways looked good. It just does not excel as a DAC
I read their review a while back and could not believe that anyone would buy this product.

Here is another roll-your-own DAC, the Chrod Dave:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/chord-electronics-dave-da-processor-measurements

It's expensive at 10K but at least it performs. Although it looks like a video game console

- Rich

 

[vkvedam]

Appalling to say the least, can't imagine how their PS Sprout 100 would perform. Getting glorious reviews

Thanks for the enlightenment @amirm

 

[VintageFlanker]

Every time there is a new firmware the general comment in all the audophile forums is that now we have a brand new DAC much better than the previous and for free. So, really it's a key part on their way the make money.

I'm sorry, what is the key part of this? If everybody (believe to) hear how much better this sounded updrade after upgrade... Then it means that it sounded terrible at the first release!!

Appalling to say the least, can't imagine how their PS Sprout 100 would perform. Getting glorious reviews

Thanks for the enlightenment @amirm

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-and-measurements-of-ps-audio-sprout100.7049/

 

[Thomas savage]

JA finessing his written summary to keep on side with his high end buddies , shocker lol

The only perfect wave would be the wave that says goodbye to this DirectStream of Crap.

 

[retro]

Transformer on the output to the XLR's..so this is not even a true balanced construction then..?!?

 

[speedy]

I believe is not mentioned (so enough...).

The firmware thing is clompletely key in the business model of DirectStream DAC. They have been able to sell the same hardare during many, many years through giving away for free continuous updates of the firmware. Every time there is a new firmware the general comment in all the audophile forums is that now we have a brand new DAC much better than the previous and for free. So, really it's a key part on their way the make money.

I hope @amirm double check the firmware but even if not the latest why it perform so bad.

Amir lists the firmware in the first image of the review. The screen of the DS DAC shows that it has Snowmass 3.0.6 which is the latest according to PS Audio's site: https://www.psaudio.com/support/downloads/

 

[Cortes]

Amir lists the firmware in the first image of the review. The screen of the DS DAC shows that it has Snowmass 3.0.6 which is the latest according to PS Audio's site: https://www.psaudio.com/support/downloads/

Thx, then more sweat for Paul.

 

[Music1969]

1. Amir is not using the latest firmware. That's enough ammunition to let old fox Paul to kill the review.

Ha, I predicted this yesterday, before the review came out. Because Stereophile have found differences in measurements with different firmware.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...uess-the-next-product-review.9093/post-232546

@amirm - did you confirm your unit is running v3.06 (the latest)? If yes, you should stick the firmware version number (displayed on the DAC screen) in your opening post...

 

[Music1969]

Next, I hooked up Toslink from my APx555 analyzer. It too showed identical output to above. I then turned on jitter on Toslink and no matter what I did with sine wave jitter, nothing would disturb the DAC's output. Or its ability to lock on it. So this claim regarding input independence and ignoring input jitter is correct. Nicely done.

Would be great if you can measure jitter on TOSlink input more and more...

Especially with people more and more claiming jitter immunity even on optical input - Rob Watts is another.

Great job by Ted Smith on this aspect.

 

[carlosmante]

JA finessing his written summary to keep on side with his high end buddies , shocker lol

The only perfect wave would be the wave that says goodbye to this DirectStream of Crap.

And Now DirectStream says "Adios Amigos". ha ha ha ha.

 

[Hugo9000]

It's so stylish now:

This is the one that I used to own, I think it was one of the earliest versions to use that pretty little full-color display (I had it set to white background, but if you look closely at my pic, you can see the colors in the icons on the screen):

My previous one had a similar color scheme to the current model, but it lacked the nice display. Despite that, it was a great performer!

I think this was one of the prototypes:

Edited to add a couple pics of my setup in the living room. It had USB and wireless connectivity, so I could access it from any system in the house. Back in those days, the software was included on media in the package, as internet speeds for downloads weren't so great yet. They also included a fine quality USB cable.

Yes, that's a slot-loaded CD drive on the bottom front! I loved the versatility of that model! The new one has a lot fewer features, although the price has skyrocketed compared to what I paid!

 

[GrimSurfer]

I feel sorry for the kind member who sent this in for review.

If I were the owner, my next "test" would be of PS Audio's 30 day, no hassle return policy.

 

[digititus]

So, as I'm reading Amir's evaluation and analysis, I'm thinking: is this an example of what I've read where individuals strive for a DAC which they claim is superior because it sounds more analog?

My chainsaw also sounds analog

 

[RichB]

My chainsaw also sounds analog

When analog means greater distortion, that would be true

- Rich

 

[suttondesign]

Man, I would love to see measurements of Ed Meitner's EMM stuff! The DAC is about $15k. I should reach out to him.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Man, I would love to see measurements of Ed Meitner's EMM stuff! The DAC is about $15k. I should reach out to him.

His response would be "telling".

 

[Music1969]

Man, I would love to see measurements of Ed Meitner's EMM stuff! The DAC is about $15k. I should reach out to him.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/emm-labs-dv2-da-processor

 

[GrimSurfer]

Apart from the IMD graph (which I hope I'm interpreting correctly), the EMM's measurements appear to be very good indeed.

 

[amirm]

@amirm - did you confirm your unit is running v3.06 (the latest)? If yes, you should stick the firmware version number (displayed on the DAC screen) in your opening post...

The version number was in the picture in the review. Here is the zoomed version:

As you see, it says 3.0.6.

 

[gvl]

I worked hard at my job and have a nice fat bonus coming my way before the end of the year. I feel I deserve a little reward and want to upgrade my DAC to an end game unit and my wife agrees. Can't decide between this and Totaldac. Can you guys help? Which one sounds more analog?