All good points but really this DAC was supposed to change the digital world. An outside the box design that no one can touch at under $20k. I really liked the DAC but the MKII was a $3999 not a $6k DAC and this DAC was supposed to really compete with the big boys and supposedly better most of them or I thought they said all of them, not sure I was to busy drinking the koolaid to pay that close attention.
So if this does settle at $3k which makes it then that means dealer cost would be somewhere around $1500 to $1800. That is why the Bricasti's of the world are not just better DACs they are built and operate on a different planet but I made the Mistake buying into all of PS Audio's marketing of 10 x DSD the 1 Bit the programmable gateway, actually thought then I maybe worried about liking it better than a Bricasti.
I mean in theory a super well designed and ground breaking $6k DAC maybe able to compete with a $9k DAC that uses off the shelf regular DAC chips right? I thought the DirectStream sounded great and also I was drinking the koolaid. I was so wrong the Bricasti is still breaking in so I still want to give it more time but guys I was caught up in all the hype. There isn't even remotely any competitiveness between these two DACs. I don't mean to sound course I really don't but this Bricasti to me has not just outperformed the DirectStream it has completely and utterly pulverized it to the point that it is embarrassing.
If the Bricasti is a $9k DAC and the DirectStream DAC is a $3k DAC then all I can say at this point is save your money and look for a used Bricasti that uses the same DAC chips as some other $500 DACs. I am embarrassed that I thought all that design 10 x DSD stuff mattered because it doesn't. Just spend 5 minutes listening to a Bricasti it will tell you that as it did for me...
So if this does settle at $3k which makes it then that means dealer cost would be somewhere around $1500 to $1800. That is why the Bricasti's of the world are not just better DACs they are built and operate on a different planet but I made the Mistake buying into all of PS Audio's marketing of 10 x DSD the 1 Bit the programmable gateway, actually thought then I maybe worried about liking it better than a Bricasti.
I mean in theory a super well designed and ground breaking $6k DAC maybe able to compete with a $9k DAC that uses off the shelf regular DAC chips right? I thought the DirectStream sounded great and also I was drinking the koolaid. I was so wrong the Bricasti is still breaking in so I still want to give it more time but guys I was caught up in all the hype. There isn't even remotely any competitiveness between these two DACs. I don't mean to sound course I really don't but this Bricasti to me has not just outperformed the DirectStream it has completely and utterly pulverized it to the point that it is embarrassing.
If the Bricasti is a $9k DAC and the DirectStream DAC is a $3k DAC then all I can say at this point is save your money and look for a used Bricasti that uses the same DAC chips as some other $500 DACs. I am embarrassed that I thought all that design 10 x DSD stuff mattered because it doesn't. Just spend 5 minutes listening to a Bricasti it will tell you that as it did for me...