You have mentioned upgrading the power inlet a number of times. This sounds like a fun litle project. It might get some to perform a mod who are otherwise uncomfortable taking the lid off.
Are you able to quantify the improvement of this mod alone?
Elk, thanks for the question.
Itâs could have minor to medium impact.
It depends on the stage of other mods in the DAC. These typical inlets you can find in 95% of (low power rating) devices. I understand that as safety âtradition.â But since we are all here (I assume) have some sort of power distributors with filtration and (hopefully) protection, we donât need these inlets with filters because they simply choke the dynamics.
As youâre improving the DAC with different mods, you can hear the quality of the substitute inlet matters more and more: now, not only macro dynamics, but also micro dynamics getting improved.
It doesnât really take any skill to swap it for a Furutech FI-06(G) or 06(R)NCF - again - depending on the achieved and desired tonal balance after your specific mods.
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The stock inlets contain a filter?
Of course. Itâs in the metal box. Thereâs even a schematics on it. Picture from the internet, as an example
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Thanks. I never noticed this.
Best sounding fuse is no fuse. But thatâs a very interesting thing.
Super Duper Sluggo
I like their self-irony in naming the shorting inserts 
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on what system you did the comparison between DSD and Rossini?
did you not think about the fact that maybe the other components of the system are not up to par and that is why the difference between the Rossini and DSD seemed insignificant to you?
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I auditioned in, I think, adequate system ($80k-$100k tier). All my equipment is medium to heavily modified, so, the brand names wonât tell you anything. In this system I can clearly hear the difference between BartĂłk, Rossini, and all the stages of modifications to my DirectStream DAC.
It wasnât APEX version. And I didnât say it beats Rossini. But on this level nobody beats other, theyâre just different.
I purchased a complete unit with the one year warranty when it was on sale.
This may help explain some statements posted here. It also has actual measurements not just hearsay.
No wonder it sounds so good.
From APS themselves.
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Ok, so nothing specific about the systems in which the comparison was made.
Anton, I own fully modded MK1 too. And directly compared it with Chord Dave, Bartok, Rossini and few other DACâs in my system and my friendâs system. I was surprised that you mentioned that Rossini doesnât beat DSD, itâs just different. If for your ears Rossini is just different⌠then I have very bad news for you :-)))
you must be using The bridge 2 as a source? I guessed?
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Okay, they tried to justify why they didnât do something that they could do by saying it was a negative/neutral experience.
Well, there are people in this thread who reported positive experiences on each of these minor mods.
This APSâs pathetic reasoning (on their website) is intended for the audience of those who will not rush to test these mods on practice.
APS posted the pictures of the Signature Plus version with the stock inlet and no sights of mods I mentioned.
Also, I found that applying RF/EMI material directly on the chips was somewhat helpful for the stock DAC because it smothened the stock unpleasant sound. But once you cleaned and divided power (and other mods), it doesnât do any good for the SQ. It only adds noise.
Reasoning behind this: any not grounded material becomes a source of EMI. And this EMI source, in this case, right on the chip youâre trying to protect. Thus, itâs total nonsense to apply this material directly on the chips.
Okay, nobody here has a FULLY modified DirectStream. Everyone has some sort of compromise. Including me.
I did critical listening with an ultimately upgraded dedicated streamer in $6k to $8k price range. Tried different USB and AES cables from $1k to $4k.
I think Rossini is in another league, much more better. Unfortunately 
I wish modded DSD beat all other more expensive dacâs but it doesnât.
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Why not post measurements of your unit to show the improvements like they did.
I spent some time reading many post here over the past few days and I have to say I donât really trust your judgment of upgrades especially after seeing the photo of the inside of your unit. If I opened up my DAC and saw that I would immediately return it. It seems there are many other users here I would trust like Turbotk, jkrichards, lufubu, dvorak, yurly and of course Ted Smith.
Iâm not sure why you keep stating bad things about this upgraded unit I purchased and you show no proof otherwise, only your opinion. Ever think you could be wrong? I think all the positive reviews of this upgraded DAC speaks for itself. What positive reviews have you received? These people are experienced Electrical Engineers and do design and build work for big manufactures. They even developed the transformers you have in your unit, although you do have the older inferior ones.
I simply posted on this forum that I was excited about the sound of a new DAC I purchased asking for fuse recommendations and it turns into a bashing session by you. I donât understand.
Time for me to move on.
Sorry, everyone that I caused so much turmoil
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Yeah, true.
But Iâm not aiming to beat any DACs in particular.
Iâm enjoying finding what else I could improve in what I already have. And itâs not only the DirectStream DAC.
Rossini is definitely from another league when you compare stock DACs. But with my DAC (maybe you feel the same with yours) I didnât feel like Iâm missing anything. So, why pay 5 times more?
Because I donât have these
Okay, but you didnât even hear this DAC before and after. You didnât do any of the mods. You donât know how all this works.
You just read what some businessman wrote in ad, plus you trusted judgment of random people nobody knows, and nobody knows their experiences (maybe they had a $1k DAC before they bought APS DirectStream).
My judgment, on the other hand, has support from other people on this forum, including people you mentioned (not all, of course).
Just look at the pictures Turbotk has! And he is probably the smartest and most experienced of all of us here (Turbotk and Ted Smith are the smartest).
If you judge buy the pictures, then you are criticizing Turbotk, the best contributor!
My pictures show more creativity and hygiene than a lot of others.
Anyway, I tried other forum membersâ suggestions and developed my own version of mods for myself, not for the purpose of selling them expensive while minimising expenses. Simple easy tweaks, a priori, look cleaner than complicated involved 3 times more parts. Iâm using expensive and time-consuming ways of modding with best parts adequate for the task.
Maybe their first couple batches were inferior.
While I have just a different generation (not the first generation) of the same transformenrs you have. The difference in transformers generations quickly tends to zero if you think about the huge difference in the quality of all other areas in our DACs.
Also, I want to stress one more time, Iâm not criticizing the APS transformers. Without them, all the other mods most likely wonât give that much of improvements I achieved.
How do you know that? You just believe in what you read on a faceless website. On the other hand, Iâm not hiding behind a faceless website and people who really created the product for sale.
I have a bachelorâs degree in Design and Manufacturing of radio electronic equipment. And masterâs degree in information protection (here I studied EMI and shielding, FYI). I started easy tweaks 20 years ago. Now, I donât hesitate to open and tweak a $25k amplifier.
When I confronted Jeff, he didnât say what experience or education he had. Iâm sure his son has a serious background in transformers and these matters. Jeff said somewhere on this forum that his son, in particular, designed these transformers. Thus, I call Jeff just a successful businessman.
Dream on. The Directstream is a good DAC however even for the most ultimate modified version Rossini level will be unreachable (with or without Apex)
Yeah, however in a proper system these âdifferencesâ will be both measurable and audible (for the better;-)
Excuse me, but that seems a bit selfish. Hopefully you also have good earsâŚItâs all about the music, happy listening!
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In the context of discussion, not at all.
People who have good ears said I have good ears. I find a lot of evidence of this.
What could you know about this?
Itâs not a tricky question.
Did you listen to Rossini DAC? Did you listen to any upgraded DirectStream?
I looked up your system and your story.
I hope your health is good and youâre enjoying your system. But since you asked for it⌠here you go.
It appears to me that you jumped on Vivaldi APEX and AR160s in a leap of faith that they are the best. They probably are⌠until you compare.
You donât know how good my upgraded DirectStream sound is.
I knew people who paid $20kâŚ$50k per component, and didnât know whatâs wrong with the sound in their system. When they listened to my $10k system (it was 15 years ago), they just couldnât believe that my 15â20 times less expensive system sounded better.
Ok, back to your âproper systemâ
According to the information you gave, your transition was from a stock DirectStream DAC to 10 times more expensive super-duper-upgraded one. I can see how you might have thrown the DirectStream out of the window.
Of course, the difference in your case was measurable and audible.
I donât know what the difference you can hear between DirectStream DAC and Vivaldi APEX when you hooked them up to a P10! And listening through Martin Logan Spire! (Hopefully, you didnât plug your power amp into P1 Butut you just can not realize the full potential of your components.
I donât support your approach, not that you asked, but still. Iâm in the camp with people who think that the speakers should be the most expensive part of the system, not the source. Equal equipment retails is also (usually) works good enough for a starters.
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At what point do the modifications take a unit beyond itâs heritage so to say? A heavily modified PSA DAC ceases to be a PSA product for comparative purposes. It is unique to the ownerâs system and listening habits. Upgrading fuses, power cords and playing with interconnects is one thing. Replacing internal components, and it ceases to be a PS Audio device. Just my opinion.
EDIT: fixed those typos.
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