I'll never understand the PS Audio Directstream love. It sounded distant, soft, and boring in my system. Too laid back. Maybe it was just poor synergy but yeeesh. The touchscreen they use on there makes it look super dated as well, the credit card swiper at wal-mart looks better.
The T+A DAC 8 DSD sounded much, much better in my system, and it retails for $2k less. It really takes that "digital" sound and throws it out the window, particularly at 512 DSD. The soundstage is massive and 3D. It has tremendous body with vocals and bass has great weight. It has very high resolution without sounding skeletal and uninvolving - and that is a RARE combo in the DAC world.
The T+A DAC 8 DSD sounded much, much better in my system, and it retails for $2k less. It really takes that "digital" sound and throws it out the window, particularly at 512 DSD. The soundstage is massive and 3D. It has tremendous body with vocals and bass has great weight. It has very high resolution without sounding skeletal and uninvolving - and that is a RARE combo in the DAC world.