PS Audio vs NAD M12

Another thing about the NAD M12 that's a huge red flag IMHO is that there's no information about which D/A chip is used. The NAD website doesn't mention it, and none of the reviews mention it. It's a pig in a poke AFAIK.

razorbraun, the NAD M12 looks nice, but the sound is prolly mid-fi at best. My advice is don't waste your money,

I have the PS Audio Stellar Pre/DAC in one system and the NAD M12 in another system and a Parasound Halo system in a 3rd system.  The OP is, I believe, interested in a different PS audio system than what I have, but I’d suggest they consider the Stellar system for the value and warranty.  And, if they’re not interested in that system, I think they could safely go w/ PS Audio as a company that does nice work and builds very good products.

The PS audio stellar stack is an unbelievable value.  The sound quality is remarkable for the price.  While I think the NAD is better overall, it was about 2.5x the price.  And, for some music, the PS Audio is actually better from a musicality standpoint. It’s just very easy to listen to.

Regarding the M12 - I have to disagree with one poster who stated that the NAD is mid-fi.  That’s simply not true.  I fully understand that some may prefer a different sound offered by other topologies, but that’s preference, not an indication of fidelity level.  After break in, the NAD masters electronics are very revealing and quite musical.  To that point, while my Parasound Halo gear is certainly decent, we probably all agree it’s mid-fi.  Plenty good for where I have.  However, the NAD gear is significantly better to my ears in every regard, and far more revealing of details.  Of course, it sounds very different.  But it sounds better, too.  

Of course, I’m know that the NAD M12  can be bettered by super gear at many times the price, but that doesn’t make it mid-fi. Diminishing returns are at play.   

My $.02

Thank you very much... I appreciate the direct comparison.  Tough choice for me as the NAD does act as a pre-amp and I like the ability to add modules.  I like the PS Audio DSD with the programmable chip.  It can act as a pre-amp for the DAC portion only.  I am hoping to add a phono down the road, which the NAD does have inputs for.  Overall cheaper than the PS Audio, don't want to upgrade for a while.
Thanks again

The M12 uses what was previously the Zetex ZXCZM800 chip, which was purchased by CSR CSRA6601, and is now part of Qualcomm.

The chip has some interesting features such as a 35 bit digital volume control and a use of PWM in its processing. There is a high degree of IMD distortions that was tested in earlier products, but it was fairly low in level so audibility didn't make it a major issue. 

The Stellar DAC uses the ESS9018, which also has an IMD issue, but very typically a little lower in measured compared to the chips NAD uses. 

The PS Audio DSD line is entirely different and uses FPGA chips in a similar fashion to what Chord does. Many use FPGA to implement custom controls or filtering and processing, but few use them as a complete DAC solution as you must carefully construct an analog output since the FPGA chip contains none. Some of the latest Chord designs have achieved some rather excellent performance, so its feasible to use this route to get the job done, but some of the top shelf chips out there can also get right up there as well.

One thing of note is that with FPGA based designs, it is possible to improve performance with firmware upgrades. This is something that PS Audio has successfully accomplished with the DSD over the years.