If there has ever been a product that didn’t need another review or award it is the PS Audio Windom DirectStream DAC available in black or silver that retails for $6,000. This DAC has been winning digital streaming product of the year awards ever since 2014. Yet, here I am reviewing it as the third of three reviews of DACs with the Innuos Statement Music Server. The first review was with the incredible BoarderPatrol DAC SE at $1,425. The second review was the LampizatOr Golden Atlantic TRP DAC, starting at $9,375 for the single-ended version. This is the third review in the series. Please read the first two because I do not plan to repeat myself.
This Windom DirectStream DAC is the first product I have ever asked to review because of something negative that kept coming up about it in some reviews. The complaint is that Redbook and hi-rez files sounded like DSD. That was music to my ears. The only digital source I have ever liked was the Sony SACD 1 and their 777 SACD player.
No, the Windom DirectStream DAC is not the latest and greatest DAC, but PS Audio supplies owners with free upgrades. Offering them is one thing, but delivering them every 6-9 months over 5 years is another. So, this DAC is not really a five-year-old design. The best news is that you install these upgrades yourself by updating firmware. And, the best news of all is that if you install the firmware and wish you had your old DAC back, you can go back. Why can’t Apple do this for our iPhones?
Description of the Windom DirectStream
Much has been said about the choice Ted Smith, the designer of this DAC, made to upsample all PCM and DSD files to 56.338Mhz. This is 20 times the size of an SACD. Between all of the previous reviews and the technical information on PS Audio’s website, there are plenty of descriptions for you to read. The only thing left for me to say is that it seems to me that Ted Smith is a software genius.
Attention!
Before I share how my system sounded with the Windom DirectStream DAC, please pay attention to these three points. All the experiences I am writing about in this review are based on these points. Without the difference these points made, the DirectStream DAC would not have been my choice as a permanent addition to my system.
- In my system, the sound was thin and delicate without enough oomph when using the DirectStream DAC as the preamp. Using my LTA MICROZOTL MZ3 Preamp and this DAC produced a system that was powerful with beautiful rich tones. Also, this was the only preamp that I used for this review.
- My choice of the DirectStream DAC as the keeper for my system was dependant on using it with the LTA Preamp and the Innuos Statement Server. The Statement Server is simply magical with the DirectStream. With the Innuos ZENMini, the BorderPatrol DAC was a better pairing. Don’t get me wrong, however, I would much rather have the Innuos Statment with the BorderPatrol DAC than the DirectStream with the ZENMini. I should admit that I did not try the Zenith MK3 with the Innuos reclocker.
- As with the two previous DAC reviews, I used the same reference system. My system includes my ElectroStatic Solutions QUAD 57ESL speakers, Butler Audio Monad monoblocks, LTA MZ3 preamp, and Audience FrontRow cables. I plugged all of the FrontRow power cables into the HB Cable Design Marble PowerSlave.
Music and the Windom DirectStream
Let’s start with Rhiannon Giddens’ album There Is No Other. This album requires a playback system that can capture Rhiannon Giddens’ voice with all of its power and emotional strain without falling apart in the upper midrange. It also requires real musical timbre and tone to hold her voice together and let you experience the rich tonality of Francesco Turrisi’s guitar, and the microdynamics of her banjo.
I have listened to this album on both the wonderful LP and the 96’24 file, but I have never heard such richness, combined with transience and transparency, not to mention the scale and power of the music. Yes, the combination of this PS Audio DAC with the Innuos Statement gave me all of this, and her voice never glared at me.
Cyndee Peters – Eric Bibbs
Next, I listened to an old OPUS 3 recording by Cyndee Peters and Eric Bibb. I’ve been listening to this beautiful old recording for around 30 years. I have the original vinyl release and the early Opus 3 CD. This album has a variety of types of music on it, but it did not matter if I was listening to a soulful spiritual song by Miss Peters, a choral arrangement, or an upbeat jazz number, the sound was just captivating. The musical colors of the performances showed through. The beautifully layered soundstage went from very small to huge depending on the performance.
Somethin’ Else
Now, let’s turn to a couple of Pure DSD files. First is Cannonball Adderly’s Somethin’ Else. Recorded in 1958, the cast of characters was Cannonball Adderley, sax; Miles Davis, trumpet; Art Blakey, drums; Hank Jones, piano; and Sam Jones on the bass. This is one of my favorite jazz albums, and it is notable for being one of the few records where Miles Davis was a sideman.
My only disappointment with the DSD file for this album was that it is from the stereo version and not the mono. Still, the sound of the DSD file was remarkable. The trumpet and sax sounded spot on with the trumpet having beautiful bite and clarity without ever sounding harsh. The sax had beautiful warm, rich tonality and yet still enough detail to hear the air around the reed and the fingering on the keys.
The standup bass also had a wonderful rich tone that enabled me to hear the air around the instrument and from within the instrument on the decay. The drums and cymbals were equally impressive. Topping off the performance, this system handles the sound of a piano better than any other system I have ever owned. Summing up, this DSD file took my emotions to places I did not know you could go with digital music.
Yellow Dog Blues
Next, I listened to the pure DSD file from Native DSD of the Don Ewell Quartet’s Yellow Dog Blues and Other Favorites. Five years ago in an article for Dagogo I said this about the 200-gram vinyl LP of this recording, “I don’t know how else to say it, but Wow! This LP cut by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab from the original master tapes, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, is simply wonderful. Every cut is emotionally involving. The piano has great weight; the trumpet is loud and bold when it comes in. The guitar is played and recorded beautifully. The violin has real weight and no extra warmth.“
I have listened to this LP often over the last five years, and I was thrilled to discover my emotional involvement was no less intense with the DSD file. It is simply amazing! Don Ewell’s honkey-tonk blues piano is so expressive. Marty Gros’ guitar playing had such tone, transients, and it was so easy to hear the interplay with the piano. Earl “Bleeding Gums” Murphy’s acoustic bass sounded full and rich without any hint of boom. Not to be overlooked, Nappy Trottier’s trumpet playing came in strong and precisely to add punch to the performance. Again, this was more than I expected from any digital source.
A Few Overall Statements
So let me try to sum up with a few overall statements about the Windom DirectStream and the Innuous Statement.
- This combo produces the most beautiful piano music I have heard from my system by far. Yes, my analog system could match and exceed it in some ways, however, most solo piano music is so dynamic that the vinyl often sounds noisy in quiet sections. I loved listening to any piano music on this system.
- The Innuos Statement and the Windom DirectStream with the Quad ESL57s produced the kind of soundstage that I have not heard in years and have missed. It’s not as precise as with narrow baffle speakers, but it is very deep and beautifully layered with good vertical height. To me, it sounds so much more like a stage at a real performance, especially an orchestra or big band concert.
- The last and maybe most important thing is that the Windom DirectStream DAC and the Innuos Server give me the kind of sound I am used to hearing as an old analog guy. It’s the beautiful, relaxed listenability that I’m used to, and I can sit and listen all the way through a symphony, a live jazz concert, or a live rock concert and feel completely pleased and comfortable at the end. Added to this is the system’s ability to draw me in emotionally. This combo simply produces more than I dreamed possible from the zeros and ones that are in a digital file.
Conclusion 1: Personal
As I shared in Part 2 of these reviews, the real reason for doing these reviews was based on my eyesight getting bad enough that I no longer feel comfortable with albums. This is the end, or at least I think it is, of my search for a digital system. I was not looking for the absolute best digital system nor was I looking for a bargain system. I was simply looking for a digital setup that would let me enjoy music in the way I had playing records for so many years.
It didn’t surprise me that the Innuos Statement music server was part of this system. In fact, I had made that decision by the time I did these three DAC reviews. I was somewhat surprised, however, that the PS Audio Windom DirectStream DAC made the cut to see which would be my choice and even more surprised that it is the one I chose. This might not be the choice for everyone, but I am so happy I found the system that brings me this much enjoyment to just sit and listen to.
I should also mention the pandemic has had some effect in pushing me to make a decision. With so much more time on my hands and no college basketball, Cardinals baseball, or live events to attend, I had a real desire to find the audio system that lets me relax and enjoy the music I love. This is more than just having a reference system for reviewing equipment.
Conclusion 2: As a Reviewer
So, what do I think as a reviewer? If I was looking to recommend the best digital playback system around $4,000 I would recommend the Innuos AEN Mini 3 with the external power supply and the Border Patrol SE-i DAC. I would say that if you can move up to around $13,000, get the Innuos Statement with the Border Patrol DAC.
Above that price point, a lot of things get personal. I could easily understand someone choosing the wonderful LampizatOr Golden Atlantic TRP DAC or the PS Audio Windom DirectStream with the Innuos Statement. Deciding factors would be the rest of your system and your personal tastes. All three of these DACs and the music servers discussed in these reviews can produce music from digital files that is far more satisfying than I had ever dreamed would be possible.
