Big sonic improvements are rare.
Smaller improvements feel big and I am the first to jump up and down with excitement when I hear a layer of the sonic onion peel back, but the big ones—the really big ones—stand out as true milestones.
Such is what we have in the beta release of DirectStream MKII's FPGA upgrade we've labeled Mount Massive.
It is a massive improvement in both the measured and sonic performance levels.
And, it is free for MKII owners to download and experience before the official release.
Phillip writes: "Forget “burn in”. Massive is just sensational. The hype isn’t hype. It delivers in spades. Thank you Ted, Paul and PS Audio team!!"
Our resident digital genius, Ted Smith, has finally solved a big riddle—how to build a 7th order SDM.
Without getting too technical, the SDM (Sigma Delta and Delta Sigma modulators) are the heart and soul of nearly every modern DAC. They separate the music from the quantization noise. The higher the order of SDM the less bothersome the noise. But, like all engineering challenges, the higher the order the more difficult to design and keep it stable.
Ted's breakthrough has a massive 20dB (or more) reduction in ultrasonic noise below 100kHz. And, if that were not enough, he added a new software based Digital Lens to the FPGA that further lowers jitter and blackens the background even more.
All this techno mumble jumble means that when you load the new firmware into your MKII, you should make sure you are sitting down before pressing play.
Here's an opportunity to re-listen to your entire musical library.
It's massive.
