Bricasti M1 DAC vs PS Audio Direct Stream DAC

My main reason to state my displeasure with PSA was not the quality of sound,but with their pricing scheme. My digital playback before the DS/PWT combo was a Wadia 861se with the GNSC Statement upgrade by the venerable Steve Huntley.. I loved the Wadia and kept it in house for 9 years before moving on to the DS/PWT combo.

The reason for moving on from the Wadia was simple...The PSA sound quality just plain crushed the mighty Wadia. The full up Wadia retailed for $13,500 vs the PSA retail of $10,000. I do not fall into the more money is better debate. What does get my goat is pricing that falls like a lead balloon when the manufacture wants to move a few more units for his bottom line,which in turn... causes animosity amongst the customer base.

They say a happy wife makes for a happy life[very-true]. I say a happy customer makes for a repeat buyer. Do it right or don't do it at all...

Ricred1 - Sorry if my post upset you, I was merely following up on your post about other superior DACs which you 'guaranteed' exist. By your statement I thought that you had personally experienced some, but apparently not. I was only politely requesting you to share your findings.

Bill_k,
You didn't upset me. This is only audio; not life and death. My guarantee was somewhat "tongue-in-cheek", meaning in this hobby someone else will declare the Bricasti is inferior to the DAC they prefer.

Fsmithjack,

I note your system lists 2 old Synergistic Research power cords and that your system is single ended. I wonder what the result would be if you listened to the DS DAC with high end power cords substituted for those old Synergistic Research cords, and if your system were balanced. Just a thought. What cables and cords were attached to the DS DAC when you were listening to it?

Hi Sabai,

Those Synergistic Research cables actually are not old all as they are current models so def not old but they are only used to both run my computer ($600 retail cable that goes from my PC to PS Audio Power Plant Premier ac re-generator and the other one is used for my 60 inch Panny GT50 plasma which is a killer TV and was a real nice upgrade for the TV.

For the computer I am sure a $600 retail ac cable is overkill as I couldn't really hear any difference but I used it there anyways so to insure that spot won't cause any damaged.

For the DAC I used Great AC cables.

BMI Shark Jeweler Grade Platinum 9 AWG AC Power Cable
Mad Scientist PC-NEO with Power Purifier 11 AWG Power Cable
Sablon Audio Petite Corona 2.0M 7 AWG AC Power Cable
JPS Labs The Power AC+ 2M 8 AWG AC Power Cable

Read about the Mad Scientist PC-NEO with Power Purifier a forum member on here who opinion I value compared it favorable to Hidiamond 4 power cable which an amazing and expensive ac cable. I decided to give it is a try and am glad I did because it is outstanding.

Then I went with a super rare and tough to find older BMI Shark which was the former BMI flagship cable and IMO it is truly an amazing cable and definite reference quality cables. It is quite rare as it actually used q pure Jewelers grade pure platinum cable in hot lead in the ac cable.
not for nothing but BMI is pretty much the best of the very best when it comes to a high end ac cable maker. Again it is an older cable but it had a retail price of $3,500 and other members on here swear by them as do it. Ctystal clean and detailed yet not etched. I an incredible cable.

The Sablon Corona Patitie Corona is a British made unit. The guys has a small downtown shop in london and he sells direct so not well known on this side of the pond but again another really great cable that punches way above its weight. Mine has a little more length and retailed a tab over $900 but it performs at a much higher level. Read about them one 6moons they love this cable as do it.

The JPS Labs The Power AC+ 2M 8 AWG AC Power Cable is more of a power amp cable renowned for adding great bass to any power amps and is super well liked. The cable surprisingly sounded great with both DACS but the others are better options.

Not sure how the synergistic would compare to these cables but doubt that class of cable could compare with these. i have listed above earlier in this thread a bunch of different and pretty high quality equipment which I think helped me really get a good feel for the DirectStream. I was fortunate to have had the experience with that much different stuff.

I think the cables I have used allowed me to get a feel for the DAC without the AC cables causing my not get to hear it at its best. That said would a $5000 ac cable improve it. I am sure it will but the cables I used should be comparabel to others in the $600 to $1800 range quality wise IMO.

This said I like all three with both DACs but the Mad Scientist was my favorite with the DirectStream and the BMI with the Bricasti but they were all pretty good.

You can spend tons more on power cables and 3 times more than the DAC if one so chooses but I think at some point a line needs to be drawn because I love power cables and they offer so much improved performance.

I went through tons and tons of power cables and spent thousands trying different ones and then buying / selling / etc then settled on these ones I have now but I am always open to trying new ones.

Sorry about the type o's on my phone. Thanks