Your ire towards PS Audio gear being discounted by dealers seems misplaced in light of the fact that similar deals can be had many other brands as well. I've purchased a number of excellent pieces of new gear over the years from dealers that discount 25 - 40% off retail prices. One just hast to shop around and perform due diligence.
Yes and no. PS doesn't make it clear that the price is flexible from dealers, but not from PS directly. When I called them as mentioned earlier in this thread about discounting, they weren't really forthcoming about the dealer network. The DS I purchased at 40% off was advertised as a demo/trade in but when it arrived it was clearly a brand new unit. This kind of gets the dealer off the hook about advertising at less than retail (not allowed) or taking it back if you don't like it as they'll fight you on the 30 day return.
I give PS good marks for their branding and marketing success but the pricing is annoying. The 35% discount the factory is offering right now says "our margin is fricking huge cause we're still making good money on these at 35% off" I would be annoyed if I'd paid them full price in September. If the retail on them was $4500 instead of $6000, people wouldn't be pushing back so hard. Nobody gets a new Honda Accord at 40%+ off retail and no sales tax.
Also, when they introduced the DS dac, pretty much unannounced, it obsoleted the PW dac instantly. I've always felt recent PW owners should have gotten an upgrade offer at cost (at least). I have a friend who purchased a PW dac/transport combo the week DS was introduced without mention, at full price. He returned both within the 30 days for a refund he was so ticked off.
The DS is a good sounding dac but not a great one, imo though it has amazing flexibility. It is really optimized for DSD not PCM playback. The connectivity is excellent with the bridge, and I give them high marks for that. I don't use streaming services or Roon. PCM playback sounds far more lifelike with a good r2r dac imo. No flames intended. Good product, good company.