DSD256 would be four times that (4 x 64 x 44.1kHz). That means 64 times the sample rate of a CD (64 x 44.1kHz). The incoming digital data can be in PCM or DSD format which is then upconverted to 20 times the DSD sample rate prior to processing. This design offers the listener extremely low jitter as it uses one master clock for all incoming signals. Audio researcher and consultant Ted Smith is the guy who has handwritten the programmed architecture of the FPGA from the digital inputs to the passive output stages. I think of this chip less like hardware but more like a programmable software-type device. As a nuclear medicine technologist, I know there are some inside the gamma camera that I use every day at the hospital. This chip is used in many different electronic devices. The really unique aspect of the PS Audio DSD (DirectStream DAC) is that the core processor is not an off-the-shelf DAC chip from Burr-Brown, Wolfson, or Sabre, but a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
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There were also a few PS Audio decals that reminded me of the ones I got when I bought my MAC mini. Inside the carton were a pair of white gloves, power cable, aluminum-faced backlit remote control, a PS Audio catalog, and a very interesting, in-depth owner’s manual. I was loving my music collection again! That experience got me into pursuing better quality DACs in my continuing quest to reach that mythical sonic Nirvana.Įnter the PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC, which is a state-of-the-art-DSD digital-to-analog converter, preamplifier, and media center designed into a large, slick-looking aluminum and polished blackwood designed product with no discernable knobs or buttons on the faceplate. The sound had more dimensional energy, impact, and just sounded more alive. That sonic life really improved with the last digital preamplifier I reviewed earlier this summer and I attributed that improvement (amongst other things) to the DAC. I noticed sonic improvement with the time I spent recently with a powerful Class-D amplifier that really added punch and body to my system. I had chalked up the lifeless sound of my system to the new, larger room I had moved into, but now I realize that it was more likely tied to my long-in-the-tooth DAC. Recently I was reviewing a product that really upped the ante for sound quality and it made me realize that I was missing that chemistry I used to have for my music.
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