PS Audio DirectStream Transport (DST) is new High-End Universal player

Thank you for explanation, I was looking where is their HDMI out.

So, they want me to be nailed to their DAC!

 

Right, though the new player will play audio from DVD, DVD-A and Blu-ray discs, there will be no video content processed, displayed or "passed through." The engineers say that even adding a bypass or pass-through compromised the audio quality, and the intent of this DAC is the best audio possible.

 

As somebody who has been listening to SACDs via my DS for about 1.5 years now (with an Oppo 103 with a Vanity HD Card) , I can confirm that they do indeed sound awesome. Whether these will sound even better via the DMP, I can't say. But its certainly possible.

 

But Berkley is not supporting DSD the last time I looked. So perhaps that might not be the best example for your desired universal DAC.

 

I believe it is a Sony SACD licensing requirement that in order for a manufacturer to output a pure DSD signal from a player it must be a proprietary connection that is limited to that same brands DAC.

 

You make a substantial point. The Warner decision is an interesting one, for sure.

 

I'm pretty sure MSB also has an Oppo-based universal transport that will play DSD from SACD's in addition to DVD, Bluray and CD over a proprietary connection to MSB DAC's. I think both the transport and the DAC's are more expensive than PS Audio's, though.

MQA is not in my future (I hope); talk about a stupid idea, for the reasons already mentioned above. They want all players to sound like Meridian players, not good for the industry or the audiophile, IMHO.

 

There are other Hi-End payers out there, most are really expensive. At the top of the list, IMHO, is the EMM at $50K for the two box system. As mentioned above there is MSB. I went to their website and this is interesting: Signature Universal Media Transport V »
If you scroll down to the part about SACD's the claim they output the DSD stream on their digital outputs and you can connect that to their DAC or your computer. That would appear to be a violation of the Sony licensing agreement? I think there are also a number of one box SACD players, Esoteric being at the top of the list and Oppo which is very good as a player and according to TE above excellent as a transport with the addition of the Vanity HD card.

 

Good news:

Speaking of Berkeley, they came up with very good Alpha DAC (5K) and then with Reference DAC (16K), which according to Robert Harley is one of the best in the industry. (For many reasons Robert Harley opinion is like axiom to me). For the first time - he said - digital outperformed any analog sources.

However, main designer of Berkeley, Michael Pflaumer didn't stop there. Robert Harley, who reviewed his Reference 2 version, comparing both versions in the last Absolute Sound issue, noted substantial improvement over (he thought unbeatable) Reference (1) DAC.

This improvement will cost consumer 3.5K more, but good thing is Ref. 1 can be upgraded to Ref. 2, as they both are in the same case. Berkeley obsession with sound quality is a good thing. Right?

Yes, Berkeley did not offered DSD decoding before, nether they offer it now in their new Ref.2 version. And when Robert Harley asked Michael about, he said that he don't want to compromise performance. It 's not that I don't believe in what he said. But I just want to tell to guys from Berkeley Audio Design that I really hope, when they will return to Earth to revisit their Alpha DAC, they will work out adding DSD feature without compromising performance even if they have to use bigger case or whatever. Otherwise I have to look for something else - may be for PS Audio DS DAC...

Why, am I switching from PS Audio to Berkeley and back?
Because Paul McGrowan of PS Audio said: "I too wish they’d just release this as software so the compressed file could be decoded and leave the DAC design to us."
And his wish just becoming a reality...

Now, guys, listen carefully what Robert said in his latest review:

"Note that Berkeley Audio design is an MQA licensee, and will offer a software update to the Alpha Reference and Reference 2 later this year. Unit not need to be return to the factory for the MQA upgrade. "

(There is just a preview on line)
Sneak Preview: Berkeley Audio Design Alpha Reference DAC Series 2 »

So, I'm assuming this new software will be available for all manufacturers, including PS Audio and we all are safe to buy both new Transport and DAC.

 

Or you can simply get the 103 and rip your SACDs. The $5.5k left over will buy a lot of hard-disks!

 

That's a good point since 103s can now be used to rip SACDs, just like you can with a modified PS3. Although adding a vanity HD card to your 103 won't disable this newfound ability to RIP SACDs from your Oppo, and yet it will make it even more versatile for those of us who still like to actually spin disks.

 

BE, You are absolutely right. The thing is I am not about wanting to rip all of my SACD's. I am about wanting to play all of my SACD's and have them sound as good as possible. Within my budget I think the PS Audio Direct Stream transport/DAC system is the answer. Clearly there are other options out there, some of them more expensive and some of them less expensive. How each individual allocates his available budget is going to vary case by case.

 

You and I are coming from the same place, wanting to do the same thing, with the exact same goals. The only difference is that I have been doing it for over a year and a half already, and you are still waiting to do it. Plus I spent a lot less to get to this point than you are planning to.

The only point which is arguable (and is unknowable without a direct comparison) is whether the new PS audio transport actually sounds better than my combo. And I suspect that it could, even though the combo which I am using already sounds superb. But one thing that I am very uncomfortable with in the new PS audio player is how long it will be supported for. I only bring-up this fact after having been burned by Sony with my now useless SCD-1 and DVP-s9000ES players, and having seen the exact same scenario play-out with high-end Cary and Krell transports which became door-stops as soon as their lasers failed.

Oppo has a rep for supporting their players long out of warranty. Plus they have a rep for featuring lasers which tend to be very reliable (unlike Sony, Marantz, Denon, etc). One can certainly hope that this new (but still unproven) PS audio player will be ultra reliable too and that it will run for the next 20 years. But an all-too-common scenario in recent years has been for the lasers on high-end SACD players to fail in under 5 years, and then to subsequently become unobtainable. And at this point a number of these players and transports have become very expensive door stops. However with an Oppo, you greatly limit the potential being burned by this for many years. But with the PS audio, this risk is completely unknown at present.

BTW: I'm NOT telling you to stay away from the new PS transport. It looks fantastic, and probably sounds even better! And I might be tempted to buy one myself, if I could ever figure-out how to audition one. I'm merely pointing out some potential (and hopefully unlikely) risks that you might not have considered. YMMV.

 

+1

 

I've been lusting over the Direct Stream Dac for a while and keeping my eyes out for a second hand one....and now this arrives........

I can imagine this has been designed to work with the Direct Stream Dac and probably a gap in the market for those who want to optimise that Dac with the right transport but my first thoughts are...couldn't they have built a single box at less of a cost?

It looks great by the way.

 

Is the Vanity HD card converting SACD media into 24bit, 88.2/176.4kHz LPCM format which then goes over S/PDIF into the Direct Stream, which then converts it to high-rate DSD for its internal DA conversion in the FPGA?

 

TE, I feel for you since I have been down the same road as you, but not quite as far. My SCD-1 has started playing erratically and I now have an XZ5400ES standing in for it. My DVP-S9000ES is still working and doing duty in my main headphone system. I have the spare parts for the SCD-1 that should repair it, but as I have aged I am not sure my hands are steady enough anymore to take on that kind of work. If I can find competent repair shop I probably will take it there and then put it in my headphone system. I expect the PS Audio systems will out shine all of these players since Ted Smith started with an SCD-777ES and then built the first DS DAC prototype to improve on the 777. As has been discussed in this forum many time, Sony's behavior with respect to SACD can only be described as despicable whether you are talking about player service or format support. I lament Sony's fall from greatness, but we all have to move on. I have nothing but praise for Oppo, they have done right by me on an out of warranty player.

 

Nope. While the Vanity HD card has the ability to do what you describe, if you buy the "DoP version", it can also output a true DSD signal which is encapsulated inside of a DoP carrier. So you are not getting transcoded PCM if you buy the DoP version.

 

Thanks - I did read through the technical specifications and was trying to sort through them.

I was then mildly concerned that DoP may not be the "best" input to the DirectStream DAC, but then I see that ted Smith says:

So your solution sounds fascinating, although I would imagine that the pairing of two PS Audio products could be a better way to go - but at a much higher cost.

 

Does anyone know from whom PS Audio acquires their disk drives? If it's Philips or Sony then I'd say steer clear.

 

I guess it's not an Esoteric, like Playback Designs use - if so, it would be a lot more than $6,000. I do think the price is too high as it stands.

 

The original Transport uses a computer disc drive, easily replaceable. (I've used one heavily for five years, no problem, no replacement.)

I thought this new one would use whatever Oppo uses, not sure if that is the case . . . .

 

On their forum PS Audio has said that they cannot contain in the same size component all the power supplies, boards etc. to make a one box player sound as good as the separates unless they were to use the huge enclosure the P10 Power Plant regenerator does. . . they felt these separates provided the best sound.

 

I also thought I had read this somewhere in a PS press release, but I can't find it at the moment

 

Here you go Lonson, this quote was taken from the PS Audio forum

SACD playback transport | PWT Transport topics | ForumsPS Audio »

Post 43


"One question still: Will the PWT II also play DVD-Audio discs?

That’s a great question I do not know the answer to. If the Oppo does then we do since it is based on their drive mechanism."