I just bought a modded DSD MkI DAC from a seller on the yellow audio site. There is an external power supply and connector where the Bridge would be. Other than the PS, the seller didn’t have much info about the modifications. The power supply appears well made, but there are no markings to indicate who did it.
The dealer is in New Hampshire. The DAC is black. If this sounds like a DAC anyone here owned and had the mods done, I’d appreciate it if you’d contact me so I know just what was done to it. Thanks very much.
I can’t help you find the owner, but there was a very long thread here on modifying the original DS. Here’s a link to the discussion. An external power supply connected through the Bridge slot was one of several modifications discussed. The rest would require removing the top cover to see modifications, which is also covered in this discussion. I know it’s a long thread but if the original owner doesn’t get identified it may be your only hope of identifying what was done.
You have a board in your DAC that was made by @jkrichards. Jeff is a well known modder of the MK1 and MK2 and is very active on the forum. He hangs out over here:
Your MK1 may also have a transformer mod and a few other circuit changes. You’ll need to pop the top and look for some component additions.
The external power supply is most likely a Zero Zero. Does it look like this?:
There are so many brands on Alibaba it could be one of those. I have a few for my NAS and such. Not the best, but way better than a wall wort and can be had for less than 100. If you can open it up and take pictures. Try and get some of the lower board. We can tell you if it has new transformers as well.
The power supply case is similar to the once pictured earlier, but the cable connections have screw terminals on both ends, and the transformer is a toroidal.
Can you tell what transformers are in the DAC? They look like the Edcors to me based on pictures I’ve seen. However, I don’t know what JK’s transformers look like.
The other part of the story is I already had a DSD MkI with upgraded Jensen transformers I bought here. The transformers came from JK as I understand. My plan is to build one DAC with the better parts from the two DACs. I can’t listen to know which is better because the Jensen transformers have less than 10 hours on them.
Thanks for your reply. There is dynamat applied to various parts of the case, on top of the PSU heat sinks and between the metal and wood layers of the top cover. There’s also a strip of what might be EMI shielding along the rear edge of the cover.
My conclusion so far is Jeff R’s power controller board and the Edcors are the worthy upgrades, but the particular external PSU is nothing special. Where would I look for Jeff’s vcom mod?
