I never said anything about changing out the opamps. It’s all the supporting stuff that is fixed. DC offset, VOCM, Transformers, power supply etc…
These DACs really come alive when everything is corrected.
I misunderstood what you meant in this post:
“The FPGA has control of each of all four opamps per channel. In later firmware he changes phasing of these separately to help lower noise and fix other issues.”
Thanks again for the feedback.
Moving on…
Guess that’s one of those things you have to experience firsthand. Until then I’ll have to suffer listening to my version I APS upgrade.
Kidding aside, I’m not sure I can tear myself away from living with my DAC long enough to have the upgrade done. It almost seems obscene and absurd to send a DAC off for another upgrade when it already sounds so bloody good.
Yep. It didn’t take my friend long to decide to send his in for the upgrade.
So I tested Snowmass v1 (3.0) for a few days and found that I still prefer v2 (3.05) as I prefer the stronger mid range. Still cannot get along with Sunlight, which I find lacking in dynamics and a little shouty. It is less veiled, but not worth the trade off.
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That’s exactly what I hear. I like them both. They are very close and I think it’s system dependent.
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I wanted to repost the conversation about the difference between snowmass and later firmware from Ted Smith and Turbotk.
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+1
https://www.euphonicreview.com/blog/dsd … -fi-battle
Something about this dac.
Talked to my buddy last night He received his Signature Series Plus upgrade yesterday. That was super fast turnaround by APS. He sent it out on Monday and received it back on Saturday. He is thrilled with the sound and quality of the upgrade. He thought the new badging on the front is a nice touch.
We are going to get together and A/B compare firmware now that they are both identical.
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Anton, So if I change U1 to a 12V Sparkos Regulator the same as above would apply. Remove R1, C3, add a 100UF 50V cap & bridge R2.
Thanks in advance!
Hey,
Yes, it will be the same .
I want to stress, I said it in the context that swapping U1 with Sparkos helps to eliminate the offender within the power supply.
Even if you swap it with a quality regulator, don’t use it because you will be compromising the whole power supply.
Has anyone had a chance to compare the upgraded DSD MkI to the new Stellar Gold DAC?
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Thanks Anton,
I just want to be sure I understand you. Are you saying don’t use it in U1 because it will cause harm/have a negative effect on the sound. Or are you saying don’t use it in U1 in favor of a separate 12v power supply instead.
I don’t have a separate 12v power supply and am trying to make the best out of the supplied one.
Thanks in advance!
Yes
Without an additional PSU for the analog board, if you swap all regulators, you gain something, but is it worth it?..
One more thing, you might need a fan if you’re going to use all regulators. Especially with APS transformers.
If someone wants to remove U1 and C1 and lower the heat, go ahead and do it. U2-U4 are used in full wave rectifier mode in the stock.
For everyone who is planning to swap the rectifying diodes and not using U1
When you will be swapping the rectifying diodes:
- desolder all 4 old ones
- solder in only two new D2 and D3
D1 and D4 will be not in use if you’re not using U1
Swap C5 with something better. I used Nichicon FW 10000uF 50V plus Wima MKP 1uF or 1.5uF 250V. And you should be good to go to swap the regulators!
Now, if you do this, you have to improve the ground point of the rectifying bridge! It’s very important for everything! This is the Achilles tendon of this power supply (not the loose transformer, as someone claims).
This spot is under the transformer.
Instructions
Open the ground layer (yellow in the picture), and use a solid wire to make jumpers (red in the picture). If you make a circle, it will also do, but thread the ends of the solid wire on the other side of the board and solder to the middle point of the rectifying bridge.
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Hi Anton,
your advice seems very interesting. But I’m not an expert. May I ask if you can post photos of the changes you made?
Thank you very much
Pictures provided where it’s beneficial for explanation.
I did a lot more than I’m posting here, and pictures of my modded power supply will confuse more than explain.
I gave pretty self-explanatory tips in my last post.
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Ok fine . Just a clarification: do you recommend replacing the D1-D4 only if you also replace the regulators with Sparkos?
Thank you
I recommend each mod mentioned in this thread (not only by myself) regardless of whether you are doing the rest or not. Though, one isolated change might not be heard. Thus, there are priority mods.
When I had Vocm, APS transformers, and PSU for analog board, I heard changes diodes swap brought. Then, I worked on each of the regulators, one by one. And each regulator swap was very audible.
Even if you have a stock DirectStream, a single mode like rectifying diodes swap is a good thing to do, but I’m not sure if you will be able to hear any changes.
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