Disc Players

One of the things that sets PS Audio apart is the extraordinary levels of communication between the company and its customers. Founder Paul McGowan and his team usesocial media to keep users informedof developments with unprecedented behind-the-scenes insights.

Designer Ted Smith not only defines the brand's 'digital path' but is a key part of this communication. Having spent time at Microsoft and Google – he describes his brief tenure at the latter as 'a learning experience' – he designed his own high-end DSD-based DAC in 2008, the core of the product you see here, and joined PS Audio in 2011.

Smith is refreshingly candid in his discussion with users regarding PS Audio's digital journey. For example, he explains that the current operating system delivers 'much whiter background noise, greatly helping those who listen at lower volume levels. The system's analogue background noise floor hasn't changed (that would require a change in hardware) but the cause of the digital noise changing with each release has been fixed, reducing distortion at all levels'.

And what's coming next? With admirable candour, Smith told customers recently that 'I've mostly been doing other things. One of the ideas didn't pan out, but my subconscious is ruminating! One idea I've had works on paper, but does nothing in the FPGA – I'm still not sure if it's because I have a bug in the FPGA or a bug in the simulation. All in all, it's about normal progress...'