DAC Wars: PS Audio Directstream DAC w/ Transport (against the Emm stack)
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Joey_V
Posts: 8,517
Intro:
I wanted to pen my thoughts of my recent experience of these two stellar dacs. As many of you know, an acquaintance of mine was looking to get rid of some audio gear. He does not like posting on public forums or public sale sites like audiogon, us audio mart, etc.
So what he does is he just emails me when he has something to sell, and usually he gives me a good enough deal that I just absorb the sale. Most of the time, I have products that I don't need so I buy it to try it out and then I sell it.
Units:
This time, the product we are focusing on today is the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC. It is "technically" a PS Audio Perfectwave 2 DAC that has been updated/upgraded to the Direct Stream (I confirmed with Jeremy at PS Audio).
The upgrade is NOT cheap, it costs $3049 factory installed so this is a legitimate cost of entry.
Link:
Upgrade to DS
In addition to the PS Audio DS Dac unit, I also have on hand the Perfectwave Memory Player/transport - which is a little different than the transports I have been used to whereby I the CD spins and is read rather than being stored into memory and then transported to the linked DAC.
Also, this transport is special as via the IS1 (Am I saying that right) connect (which is basically an HDMI input/output), then output is upsampled to DSD (correct me if I'm wrong).
No other method of input would allow for DSD upsampling from my understanding.
The 2 units have then current PS Audio look, it has a silver fascia that extends pretty much all the way around, has a glossy plastic cover up top, and has a touch screen to the right of the front faceplate.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of touch screens as it always lacks that tactile touch I like. That said, with a touch screen, you can cycle through a ton of menu pages without littering the faceplate with buttons and switches.
The rear of the unit is all business, has lots of inputs, lots of outputs, and an SD card slot for where the firmware updates are made.
The DS DAC is an FPGA unit, meaning the DAC itself is done through software (as far as I know, I am not the expert on this matter) rather than on a chip itself. What this means is that the digital to analog conversion is modulated by the programming or the firmware update you have installed into the DS DAC unit. There are lots of positives to this method. Many have hailed this as the end game.
For me? Maybe it is, maybe it's not.
Comparison:
You have to know what you are comparing against to have any semblance of a review. There is nothing on my recent arsenal that would compete with the DS DAC. Not the Cary 306SACD that I had, definitely not the Oppo 105D. The only thing that has a shot would be my Emm Stack.
Like the Direct Stream unit, the Emm DAC2x is a special piece as it also utilizes FPGA but this time, not as the digital to analog conversion, but in the upsampling section of the DAC unit. What this does is also allows for firmware updates to improve the sound.
Transport vs Transport:
To compare transports, one has to take a look at the 2. The Emm TSDx transport is specially made just to partner with the Emm DAC2x, it connects via an Emmlink optical connection which allows for full upsampling.
Similarly, the PS Audio PWT is the partner of the PW2 or DS DAC, it allows for full use of the DSD upsampling into the PS DS dac.
The two differ in construction. The Emm looks all business, the transport section is from an Esoteric VRDS unit, of course not Esoterics best VRDS unit as those are saved for Esoteric units themselves. By comparison, the transport on the PWT is rudimentary by comparison. You press the button to open the tray, and the tray shoots out this plastic tray that reminds me of cdrom players in college out of a computer tower. The speed at which the tray is spat out is also disconcertingly fast.... while the Emm transport shoots out a much smoother and slower pace, the tray made of some metal alloy that is always cool to the touch.
DAC vs DAC:
Not much to be said about each of the DACs. Both won't win any beauty contests as neither is particularly sexy. They aren't DCS Vivaldis or Esoterics.
Both are all business. The PS DS looks clean save for a small PSA button on the right and a screen on the left. The Emm looks utilitarian with all the buttons and blue lights.
Stack vs Stack:
So I guess, this is it. How did the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC with Perfectwave Memory Transport do against the Emm DAC2x with TSDx do?
Stack vs stack, I used a kimber pk14. I didn’t allow any Audioquest WEL cheating. I literally stacked the two units on top of each other and played there. It was an easy switch between the two, just 2 sets of cords and a set of xlr and pop the disc out and pop the disc in.
Sound:
Let me describe to you what the DS sounds like. It has good bass mindrange and highs. The staging is wonderful on a fleshed out system like mine. There is good placement of the singer in the middle of the stage who clearly has taken a few steps forward from the rest of the band. I did not hear any detail that was missing or particularly pronounced. It also did very well with turning the volume up. Semblance of the stage remained. There was also very good air between the instruments, easy to tell where the singer ends and each image had some weight to it that made it stick there on stage.
I find that the sound was very well balanced and very enjoyable.
The main thing I recall was the the soundstage had depth front to back, whereas lesser dacs tend to have a more homogeneized or flatter feel to the stage depth, singer right on top of the band.
This dac was also good in keeping the stage at mid height, meaning no 8 foot singers like I can hear on other lesser dac units.
I would say the overall feel was probably just slightly on the warm side of neutral, truly was a feast for the ears.
Conclusion:
Not sure what there is to hate about this DS dac as there’s a lot to love. Maybe others didn’t try it with the accompanying transport to get it to DSD upsampling? Maybe others preferred a more warm presentation? Certainly a faster presentation would not be adviseable as that would just thin the dac.
I wanted to pen my thoughts of my recent experience of these two stellar dacs. As many of you know, an acquaintance of mine was looking to get rid of some audio gear. He does not like posting on public forums or public sale sites like audiogon, us audio mart, etc.
So what he does is he just emails me when he has something to sell, and usually he gives me a good enough deal that I just absorb the sale. Most of the time, I have products that I don't need so I buy it to try it out and then I sell it.
Units:
This time, the product we are focusing on today is the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC. It is "technically" a PS Audio Perfectwave 2 DAC that has been updated/upgraded to the Direct Stream (I confirmed with Jeremy at PS Audio).
The upgrade is NOT cheap, it costs $3049 factory installed so this is a legitimate cost of entry.
Link:
Upgrade to DS
In addition to the PS Audio DS Dac unit, I also have on hand the Perfectwave Memory Player/transport - which is a little different than the transports I have been used to whereby I the CD spins and is read rather than being stored into memory and then transported to the linked DAC.
Also, this transport is special as via the IS1 (Am I saying that right) connect (which is basically an HDMI input/output), then output is upsampled to DSD (correct me if I'm wrong).
No other method of input would allow for DSD upsampling from my understanding.
The 2 units have then current PS Audio look, it has a silver fascia that extends pretty much all the way around, has a glossy plastic cover up top, and has a touch screen to the right of the front faceplate.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of touch screens as it always lacks that tactile touch I like. That said, with a touch screen, you can cycle through a ton of menu pages without littering the faceplate with buttons and switches.
The rear of the unit is all business, has lots of inputs, lots of outputs, and an SD card slot for where the firmware updates are made.
The DS DAC is an FPGA unit, meaning the DAC itself is done through software (as far as I know, I am not the expert on this matter) rather than on a chip itself. What this means is that the digital to analog conversion is modulated by the programming or the firmware update you have installed into the DS DAC unit. There are lots of positives to this method. Many have hailed this as the end game.
For me? Maybe it is, maybe it's not.
Comparison:
You have to know what you are comparing against to have any semblance of a review. There is nothing on my recent arsenal that would compete with the DS DAC. Not the Cary 306SACD that I had, definitely not the Oppo 105D. The only thing that has a shot would be my Emm Stack.
Like the Direct Stream unit, the Emm DAC2x is a special piece as it also utilizes FPGA but this time, not as the digital to analog conversion, but in the upsampling section of the DAC unit. What this does is also allows for firmware updates to improve the sound.
Transport vs Transport:
To compare transports, one has to take a look at the 2. The Emm TSDx transport is specially made just to partner with the Emm DAC2x, it connects via an Emmlink optical connection which allows for full upsampling.
Similarly, the PS Audio PWT is the partner of the PW2 or DS DAC, it allows for full use of the DSD upsampling into the PS DS dac.
The two differ in construction. The Emm looks all business, the transport section is from an Esoteric VRDS unit, of course not Esoterics best VRDS unit as those are saved for Esoteric units themselves. By comparison, the transport on the PWT is rudimentary by comparison. You press the button to open the tray, and the tray shoots out this plastic tray that reminds me of cdrom players in college out of a computer tower. The speed at which the tray is spat out is also disconcertingly fast.... while the Emm transport shoots out a much smoother and slower pace, the tray made of some metal alloy that is always cool to the touch.
DAC vs DAC:
Not much to be said about each of the DACs. Both won't win any beauty contests as neither is particularly sexy. They aren't DCS Vivaldis or Esoterics.
Both are all business. The PS DS looks clean save for a small PSA button on the right and a screen on the left. The Emm looks utilitarian with all the buttons and blue lights.
Stack vs Stack:
So I guess, this is it. How did the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC with Perfectwave Memory Transport do against the Emm DAC2x with TSDx do?
Stack vs stack, I used a kimber pk14. I didn’t allow any Audioquest WEL cheating. I literally stacked the two units on top of each other and played there. It was an easy switch between the two, just 2 sets of cords and a set of xlr and pop the disc out and pop the disc in.
Sound:
Let me describe to you what the DS sounds like. It has good bass mindrange and highs. The staging is wonderful on a fleshed out system like mine. There is good placement of the singer in the middle of the stage who clearly has taken a few steps forward from the rest of the band. I did not hear any detail that was missing or particularly pronounced. It also did very well with turning the volume up. Semblance of the stage remained. There was also very good air between the instruments, easy to tell where the singer ends and each image had some weight to it that made it stick there on stage.
I find that the sound was very well balanced and very enjoyable.
The main thing I recall was the the soundstage had depth front to back, whereas lesser dacs tend to have a more homogeneized or flatter feel to the stage depth, singer right on top of the band.
This dac was also good in keeping the stage at mid height, meaning no 8 foot singers like I can hear on other lesser dac units.
I would say the overall feel was probably just slightly on the warm side of neutral, truly was a feast for the ears.
Conclusion:
Not sure what there is to hate about this DS dac as there’s a lot to love. Maybe others didn’t try it with the accompanying transport to get it to DSD upsampling? Maybe others preferred a more warm presentation? Certainly a faster presentation would not be adviseable as that would just thin the dac.
Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
Post edited by [Deleted User] on
Comments
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Dac war:
So now you know how the DS Dac stands on its own. But how does it stand up against other Dacs?
I believe if aural memory serves me correct, it is much more fleshed out and much more tonally correct that my previous Cary 306SACD. The Cary was thin by comparison and you can even call it "grating" by comparison. The DS Dac honestly at this juncture, is all most people would want from a DAC, plus you get firmware updates all the time! How cool is that.
Now, to compare to the EMM Stack.
Keep in mind on my other thread, the Emm (without the stack) DAC2x alone took out the Esoteric K03x, the DCS Debussy, the Mcintosh D150, the Audio Research Dac9 to start. It made the internal DAC of the Mark Levinson 585 sound like an AM radio by comparison (not exaggerating). The Emm was so successful in our little DFW Audiophile club, that now we have an overwhelming # of Emm owners. One of the guys in our club even took it 1 step up, and bought the EMM DA2 Dac, that's one level above mine.
So...
PSA DS STACK vs EMM STACK....
I played the PSA Stack first, played with the volume and got to a point where things sounded pretty realistic, the staging was there, the singer was set and crooning... then I switched to the Emm Stack, it took maybe 30 seconds to switch each time.... but there it was.
So, that's what the difference was. It was very clear from the outset.
The difference between the two was actually NOT a large gulf, it was much smaller than that, but it was in a few key parts that the space was still plenty wide.
The staging, believe it or not, was nearly the same... maybe a touch better with the Emm, but not by much and that was surprising. The Esoteric K03x honestly did not have the soundstage front to back that the Emm had, it was like listening to a band vs listening to a poster.
So let's get that out of the way, the soundstage on the PSA DS is good, the back to front is good... the tone is good, the clarity and detail are good, there's nothing harsh or bright about the DS Stack.
BUT.... where the EMM stack really flexes its own is in the little details and its iron fist on the images.
I'll explain.
Pretend like the singer has an internal lightsource, and if you turn up the volume, his lightsource becomes brighter - he glows, he GLOWS, then he REALLY GLOWS (or she)!!
Now pretend that the singer has a bunch of spot lights on him/her, maybe from behind. Turn up the volume and turn up the lights. What do you see? What do you hear? TUrn up the volume and the lights become brighter and brighter the singer may move forward a little bit in your perception, you see a shadow of his get bitter and bigger as well, but the rims and edges of the shadow are no longer his own flesh so the perimeter of the imaging is wispy and foggy, no longer cut and dry.
The internal glow is the EMM. The Back of the stage lighting is the DS Stack.
With the EMM, it is really freaky how when you turn up the volume, the singer just glows bigger and brighter, as if to increase density and increase aural weight (phantom appearance). The stage gets bigger, everything begins to wrap around you.
With the DS Stack, turn up the volume and the images dont respond in kind. YOu turn it up, the details and the sound becomes louder, the spot light from the rear effect occurs, things start to get pushed towards you, but you start to be overwhelmed by the shadows of the images... while the center of the image is still dense, there is this foggy circumference that lends to grain and your mind to realize this is still an audio system. I will admit, this is not the worst type of volume/stage relationship that I've had. Most of the cheapest or crappiest dacs... you turn up the volume, what happens? It's like the light is on the floor, turned up to max. Volume goes up, the flat stage just gets bigger upwards... since there is no depth to the sound, there is no volumetric effect, everything just gets bigger upwards.
WIth the DS Stack, everything got bigger on a more horizontal plane.
Again, to reiterate, with the Emm Stack, with volume, the internal glow of the singer/instruments glowed brighter, the singer may have stepped a step or two forward as well when you turn up the volume.... but you dont get the saggy edges of image, it truly sounds eerie.
The Emm has a much sweeter sound, a truer sound, a more dense sound. The images really sound denser and have a more sweeter TONE (when you hear it, you're like yeah, that's good sound), less electronic in the execution of the sound. The singer stands straighter it almost seems, the energy almost feels like it comes from the floor underneath the instruments, rising up in a way that gives it energy.
Another aspect I noted a significant difference between the 2 stacks, the clarity or resolution of images. I would say that the blackness between the notes were better on the Emm stack, but also the contrast of each image was better too, it was as if the DS Stack placed a filter (a slightly foggy and fuzzy) across your entire soundscape. Everything sounded just a little hazy in comparison.... but you would not know it until you listened to something better.
In the end, the DS Stack, while having the same skeleton framework as the Emm, was not the Emm in many parameters. While not besting the Emm, there are a few take home points I can share:
1. DS Stack is very good, almost good enough for many to consider this an endgame dac especially considering the firmware upgradeability.
2. DS Stack images very well, it pretty much pound for pound matched the EMM Stack.
3. It is not bright nor cool... I would say slightly on the warm side of neutral. And I can say this with my non-warm reference speakers.
4. YOu need the transport.
5. You need a good HDMI cable. The entire demo was done with an Audioquest Diamond HDMI cable.
6. I tried 2 wel power cords on the DS Stack, they both responded well.Post edited by Joey_V onMagico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
One day Mikey, but not any time soon, I have no interest in doing reviews for the sake of doing reviews. If the unit comes my way, I'll run it through its paces.
Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
Of note, firmware is Huron. It appears they released Red Cloud a couple months ago. I am torn as to whether I would like to upgrade to the Red Cloud or resell it as is. It is supposedly an easy update just requiring an SD card, but I don't have a windows PC. Plus I'd rather than brick the unit by an error. Even with the Red Cloud, I doubt the difference will be enough to bridge the Emm as I believe it isn't the resolution that's the issue, it's the output stages of the units.
I could be wrong.
But yes, last night I really thought I could just keep the DS stack.
Then I played the Emm... yeah.Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
Any chance you will be separating the DS Stack? ( when selling )
I’d be interested in the DAC, as I have a PW transport
btw, Nice write upAC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampi Baltic 4
Pre Cary SLP-05
Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Rythmik F12 -
Subtract $1000 Glenn.
And thanks re the write up. I am glad I got to hear the DS. Truly a stellar DAC. With the updates coming, I'm sure itll come even closer to the Emm.
Not much left above the Emm... Vivaldi, MSB, Davinci, Lampizator... but all at big bucks. After my experience, there is not much left on the table at this range, the big check boxes have been checked. Minute personal preferences remain.
If someone really likes their bass one way, or treble another way...
Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
Intro:
As many of you know, an acquaintance of mine was looking to get rid of some audio gear. He does not like posting on public forums or public sale sites like audiogon, us audio mart, etc.
So what he does is he just emails me when he has something to sell, and usually he gives me a good enough deal that I just absorb the sale.
You should give him Kerry's email too!
2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Inakustik Reference USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones -
Also, this transport is special as via the IS1 (Am I saying that right) connect (which is basically an HDMI input/output), then output is upsampled to DSD (correct me if I'm wrong).
No other method of input would allow for DSD upsampling from my understanding.
Nice write-up....thanks! That's "I2S" and actually the DirectStream DAC upsamples everything to DSD. You might be talking about the Memory Player outputting pure DSD from a DSD layer on a disc which might only be possible through the I2S interface.2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Inakustik Reference USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones -
I2S = I squared S
I assumed that this was a universal standard connection. I was wrong. Apparently there is more than one type of I2S
My PS Audio PWT I2S is NOT compatible with the NSD DAC I2S
Clearly, Kerry will have zero issuesAC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampi Baltic 4
Pre Cary SLP-05
Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Rythmik F12 -
Yes Kerry will have zero
Issues and use the DStream to its fullest.
Kerry might need a better cable tho....Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
dragon1952 wrote: »
Also, this transport is special as via the IS1 (Am I saying that right) connect (which is basically an HDMI input/output), then output is upsampled to DSD (correct me if I'm wrong).
No other method of input would allow for DSD upsampling from my understanding.
Nice write-up....thanks! That's "I2S" and actually the DirectStream DAC upsamples everything to DSD. You might be talking about the Memory Player outputting pure DSD from a DSD layer on a disc which might only be possible through the I2S interface.
Dragon
Which dac do you have again?Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound -
I've got the Directstream DAC but not the memory player. I've got all of my music on a hard drive.2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Inakustik Reference USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones
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Ah so you had the luxury to hear what I heard.Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
