I am interested in buying the Premier dac and the S202. I am 60 years now and this will be my final set. I convinced my girlfriend of the need so now I can start saving, ha ha… I saw on the website the reference and select dac was discontinued. Makes sense with the new cascade dac. Will the Premier dac also discontinued in the next months? So its maybe better to wait for a while? I hope you can give me some advice. Thanks!
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I strongly recommend evaluating a used Reference DAC, the new Cascade launch will boost units on the used market I guess.
The Premier, that I owned, is a great DAC but the Reference is a truly end game, as you said.
If I’m not wrong the Premier won’t be discontinued soon.
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Thanks for your advice Luca! I will keep that in mind.
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Luca has good advice on the used Reference DAC availability. We will be doing some refurbished units as well through the company. Just let us know if you are interested in one.
Also, as the designer, the Premier DAC will not be updated for a number of years still. We are a small team and are currently focused on the Sentinel DAC development.
I have the Premier and S202 in my personal system as well!
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Yes, a couple of years ago a friend of mine picked up a used Reference DAC for the same price I had paid for my new Premier. That’s the audiophile trade.
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Remco, I currently have a Premier DAC (coming from the Discrete). I also have an MSB S202 power amp - with no intention of changing it for the foreseeable future, I honestly think it is a little talked masterpiece and a very worthy endgame power amp for my system. Anyway, I only have had the Premier for a few months now but I have just had an offer I couldn’t refuse on a pre owned but almost new (six months old or so) Reference DAC and I jumped on it. The previous owner of the Reference is obviously moving on to a Cascade DAC (and I would see no other reason to change from a Reference DAC). I actually did already have a Reference DAC in my system for about four months this very year (I was doing the burn-in of my friend Paul’s - MSB UK distributor - demo unit so I now know the Reference pretty well). It is a superb DAC indeed, without the shadow of the doubt better than the Premier (perhaps even a tad too powerful for my room!). So, when I got it, just after the demo Reference left back in March or so of this year, my newly acquired Premier had a real tough test in front of itself: it had to face being compared all the time to the Reference that had just left my system. How did it fare? Well, after a nervy start, it really surprised and impressed me, and, to be honest, if I wasn’t “greedy” for the Reference overall “extra” level of performance (soundstage is immense, bass is so punchy, depth and imaging are extraordinary) I would have happily lived with the Premier+S202 combo. The Reference is better, yes, but it is not twice better, as when comparing the retail cost of the two DACs would seem to suggest. And the Premier did manage to let me go wow quite a few times, especially after I got used to it (well, not as often as it happened with the Reference, but it still did!), so, big kudos to the Premier. I don’t know the rest of your system, so I don’t know what your expectations are. If you want (almost) the very top then yes, the Reference is the way to go. It would be endgame. But the Premier is a lot of DAC as well for the price … either way, you won’t go wrong.
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Hope that the soon available refurbished Reference and DD units will be sold at about 35-45% of their original price, according to the usual used quotations.
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Luca, that is about right. I think the used market is particularly good at the moment as there is a “rush” to get to the Cascade. As time goes on, I expect it to stabilize as folks realize how good the Reference DAC still is and how there is no alternative to it currently. Much like some of our previous products it switches from “the old model” to “collectable”.
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Not to mention the used/refurbished Reference DD, which we’ve already talked about, which may even offer all new owners of (discontinued) Reference DACs a way to plan for further upgrades of their systems in the future, if the prices are proportionally reasonable. A new market in the used market, so to speak!
Welcome Remco,
Both the S202 amp and the Premier Dac are on demo at AudioXperience in Nuenen ( close to Eindhoven) Martijn and Erik have experience with the products you asked for and will definitely be able to help you out. Personally i believe the Premier dac and S202 are a magical combination… and adding the Digital Director even takes it a big step forward…
Enjoy the music
Frank
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Thanks voor your reply Daniel. Usefull information. I will think about it. You have a great company!
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Hallo Luigi, first of all I really appreciatie the time you spend on your extended reply. It was very usefull to me! I think that in my situation the Premier Dac will be more than enough. But I will ask my dealer for audition the Reference too. MSB sells refurbished Reference. Thank you and enjoy your super audio system!
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Hallo Frank, thank you for your reply. I already visit them. And the second listening session is over two weeks.
Dear Remco, never say this is my last set!! I’m 62, said the same about a pair of soccer shoes I bought 18 years ago, I’m still playing.
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Oh, for this one, I read that wrong. I was thinking more of 35-45% off original price since they will be coming with a refreshed warranty etc. I just read your post wrong. Also depending on age and condition.
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Just to be sure, here in Italy the Ref DD price is 33K euro for a new unit. I was thinking a refurbished unit should be around half that price, 16K euro for instance.
The price will be worked out with your dealer and based on the condition of the unit. It could be that price, but will likely be a bit more. Many of the refurbished units are virtually untouched 1-2 months old. Still waiting to receive a black unit and then will get in touch with the other Luca 
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Oh! We also just finished a design review meeting for I2S input module that supports the PS Audio… Still early, but ordering sample HDMI connectors for evaluation. In typical fashion, it is going to be a really robust design that goes above and beyond what is needed.
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You are the first to know!
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Thanks Daniel, honored to hear that from you!
Love Paul McGowan and I’m glad to be a member of PS Audio forum since years. He wrote me yesterday to inform me that he placed his last order of Marantz drives before the end of production, just to take care of all existing PST Transports for years to come.
The I2S module will be so appreciated among PSAudio customers and as soon as you’ll allow me, I’ll be glad to share with other members that great news. A rare example of partnership between 2 estimated brands, that will surely make happy many customers.
Good job!
PS: I suppose it should be a module to be inserted into the DAC (or DD) not a separate box like the USB Pro.