company succeeded in releasing the first high-end standalone D to A converter known as the Digital Link. Other manufacturers such as Arcam and Theta were also on the same path and both companies released competing D to A processors within several months of the Digital Link's introduction From this point onwards, the company has produced a succession of DACs with the same goal in mind - that of supplanting the built in DAC and line stage of CD players. Later advances in CD technology led the high-end audio industry to release a new category of product called a CD Transport that contained no DAC and meant to use as a pair which became known as a DAC and Transport combination. 1990–1997 From 1990 to 1997, co-founder McGowan left the company and joined Infinity founder Arnie Nudell to form Genesis Loudspeakers. During the 7-year period between 1990 and 1997 the company was owned and operated by Steve Jeffery, President and general manager and Randy Patton, VP of sales, marketing and product development. Products during this era of the company took a somewhat different direction under the design guidance of Dr. Robert Odell and product development VP Randy Patton (Sumo). Preamplifiers built during this era included the 6.0 and 6.5 and were IC op amp based rather than discrete high-voltage designs of the past era. It was during this time period the company acquired a more modern look to the industrial design. The biggest contributions to the company product legacy was the line of digital audio products engineered by the outside vendor Ultra Analog located in the Bay Area. Ultra Analog, headed by Dick Powers, was an engineering centric ODM/OEM producing some of the world's first 24 bit DAC modules. These modules were hybrids potted in epoxy and were built around multiple Burr Brown 16 and 18 bit DAC chips. The first products from this partnership were the PS Audio Ultralink DAC, Reference Link DAC and A/D converter and Lambda transport. The Ultralink garnered Stereophile magazines product of the year. The Lambda transport was built around a Marantz CD mechanism. The Ultralink, Reference Link and Lambda transport were designed and built by Ultra Analog and marketed under the PS brand for nearly 5 years. PS Audio Inc. acquired Ultra Analog in 1994. In 1995 PS Audio also acquired Hales loudspeakers and the Threshold Corporation. Following the two acquisitions Randy Patton purchased all