You might want to consider swapping power and signal cables before you do anything else. Lots of people here on the forum have done lots of tuning with cable swaps.
TBH I myself have been surprised by a change in XLR, USB, and power cables.
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Things that gave a big lift for me in the areas you mention are:
Changing the transformers to Edcor XS4400.
Adding a Matrix X Spdif3 and using the hdmi input to the dac.
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I think we need to know a little more about your set up, but I tend in the same direction as Vkennedy.
My goal in life at home and at work is to make sense of just one thing a week.
Itās my measure of success. 
Thanks! Iām considering the transformer change. Currently Iām using a hydra z for the i2s input.
Audiobyte Hydra Z -(BJC HDMI)> DSD -(WBC XLR)> Bel Canto pre3 -(BJC XLR)> AVA DVA M225 -(Belden 9497)> SB Acoustic ARA speakers
Nice gear!
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I never saw the hydra before, it looks nice. No need for the Matrix then.
Possibly Iād try a better cable than WBC, unless you donāt believe they make a difference If the cable has a ferrite choke Iād remove it.
More (perhaps obvious) ideas:
You might experiment with the toe-in of the speakers, especially if theyāre pointing straight out.
Have you overdamped the room perhaps? Maybe take out any hi frequency absorbers.
Maybe try moving the listening position. The room may be excited differently from the time you set the system up.
Itās very possible to get air and dynamics as many on this forum will testify. Best wishes with this.
Thanks!
As you might imagineā¦would you have a large full range speaker with even better electronicsā¦your demand could be quite the opposite (a more controlled bass and the louder treble of other DACās might sound annoying and bright. The mods wouldnāt change things to the degree you probably need.
Would you use an extreme cabling for top end (say a Nordost) and place speakers differently for bass response, your demand might be again different.
What I want to say is, I think what you aim for is nothing that should be fixed with the sourceā¦it wonāt be sufficient, except that the transformer swap (without power supply change) will provide a little more bass with the add. air.
Only if you are sure you want to keep all your other gear as well as your speaker positioning for long time, Iād try to find the source and cabling most suited to this situation.
If only a slight adjustment to the DSā sound is necessary for you, Iād try a bunch of cables and slightly different speaker placement together with maybe some of the mods.
Personally, if I were @driftingbunnies, I would first start out with Paulās āThe Audiophileās Guide: The Loudspeakerā.
Ensure your speakers are setup properly first. Itās an inexpensive tweak.
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In my case, the XS4400 and the VOCM mod gave the DAC more punch.
And placing of the C704 was the finishing touch.
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I have two of these. Is it suitable for C704 mode?
@tedsmith @yuriy @jkrichards
Hi lufubu
No, these capacitors are not suitable for C704.
You can install this one yourself: https://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/WIMA/FKP2C021501I00JI00?qs=WI052HLiD5jF1IsR89fWGA%3D%3D
And to install this capacitor, more skilled skills are needed: ECH-U1H153GX5 Panasonic | Mouser Europe
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Dear all, I would like to ask you if it is possible to have a list with all the changes that can be made to the senior DSD, a template, a guide. Otherwise we should read 7 years of Forum and I see it as bitter. Thanks to those who want to apply themselves to this arduous undertaking.
Hereās a list:
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Here you go:
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thanks a lot
Update. Still here, still listening. Busy busy with trying to make a living. JK has provided some great shorting plugs (thanks JK!)
The ~ all out effort DS DAC1 Iām using sounds fantastic; after many weeks now I find ~ nothing to complain about and only compliments, which is somewhat unusual Friend DW is using DAC2 and continues to rave about it. He officially bought it last week in fact.
He has a Rockna Wave thingie coming in this week and will be interesting to see if it can unseat the CDT3 as the current sonic championā¦
DAC1 differs from DAC2 in using a bi-polar super PSU to feed the OA section and no DC blocking on the output. All good on the source front for now, TG.
Lately Iām working on a super effort preamplifier to improve the chain. Largely by coincidence it follows some of the Bruno P musings as well (eg, his excellent G word paper). The early proto circuit is having some stability issues at low volume settings currently (lol sigh) but I was able to listen and all I can say is wowā¦ ~ No audible distortion in vocals, not even a trace I can hear, for the first time ever IMEā¦ Again, wow(!) What a difference it makes. Along with perfect dynamics, no noise floor, incredible resolution, etc. Quite simply, we gotta have this level of performanceā¦
Also, I couldnāt resist and will be receiving a Purifi amplifier this week (more of Bruno Pās excellent work). Should be interesting and it will need to bring its A-game here certainly but I think itās possible at least it might find a permanent home, based on all Iāve read about the sonic performance. We shall seeā¦
And I know Iām likely late to the DS Mk2 party but would love to be able to directly compare the Mk2 to the modded Mk1, somehow. Iāve seen the published Mk2 comments and they are gushing, as we might expect.
Also need to reach out to the PS Audio mother ship as I want to try and get a DS Mk1 board set to work on. Anyone happen to know if they are still available, or happen to have an extra board set? I donāt need the PSU board just the input and the main boards.
Thanks, T
Some early test proto preamp development chores goinā on
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apart from ease of assembly, what is the difference between the two?
I havenāt compared yet, I plan to next week. After warming up, I will share my impressions.
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EDIT It turns out this is not a good solution. With the many coil windings on the secondary, it creates a high frequency cutoff of -1.5dB at 20khz 
Anyone who has the XS4400 transformers and want a free upgrade with just labor involved I have instructions below. This mod puts the secondary windings in series and connects the two coils together for the common ground pin 1 on XLR. This gives you free gain so the output will be the standard output gain. This is how the DS MKII is wired. Then you can set the fixed volume to the recommended 94. This not only gives you more gain but increases the dynamics. The sound is extended bass and HF along with better transits.
- Pull transformers.
- cut off pins 8,9,10,11 (4 center pins on the secondary side) flush.
- Solder a short wire to side pins 9,10 leaving about 1/2". Strip and tin the end.
- Put kapton tape over the pin holes 8,9,10,11 on the PC board.
- Solder the transformer back making sure the cut pins do not touch the PC board. (there are little nubs to keep the transformer off the PC board by about a 64")
- solder the wire to the extra transformer holes shown below.
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