They are spring bonding clips to block EMI and RF so there is a ground maintained between the mating bottom and sides, front and back.
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I got 4 4-40 screws from ACE. When I flipped the unit over, the screws were not strong enough and bent. I managed to pop the top by first unbending screws, and push them in with a plier.
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Same thing happened to me. Those little screws tend to bend, and the spring clips tend to fall off into the cabinet. Be very careful with this as they can short a trace. -And while the cover is off, insert a Synergistic orange fuse. Itās $150 well spent.
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For those with the Edcor XS-4400 upgrade what was the break-in period?
While Iām sure it mellowed out after many hours, it was pretty instant for me.
After 125 hours the nasty hash that comes and goes was no more. First 50 hours their were some occasional grating sound that made me think of original DS burn in experience.
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thanks Vmax. I listened after 4 hours of breakin and there were moments that sounded amazing but overall pretty nasty.
Like @Vmax, I found that when I reached about 120-150 hours, the nasty, gritty hash had largely disappeared leaving a larger more airy soundstage and firmer low frequencies. Definitely please with the end result.
I bought my DS lightly used with the original owner having dealt with the initial burn in. For me the unit sounded great from first switch-on in my system. Needless to say, the sound post-Edcor transformer upgrade was a bit of a shocker!
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I ran a burn in disc for 12-24 hours for a few weeks now and Iād say after 2-3 weeks itās settled now. For me there were no negative artifacts from the beginning, but it got more airy and 3D with the time.
The only artifact in my case is, that after the XS 4400 upgrade I donāt have enough level anymore to play very low level albums like several Reference Recordings ones with high volume with the 92 setting and even on 100 I have to completely turn up the volume on some. Normal level albums just need a 10-12 o clock level to be very loud.
Telling the truth, my analogue very expensive rig is being retired by bridge 2 treated with 3M EMF absorver tape , DIrectStream Sr. with EDCOR 4400 transformers plus 3M EMF absorber tape guided by Ted the Great! Also, please try SOTM switch + power supply + CAT8 with filter. Game Over! SOTM with Matrix with REL HDMI also retired and surpassed!!! Tidal + Roon + MQA full rules !!! No more physical media here!!!
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Out of curiosity, Vemanoelā¦ how did you apply the tape to the bridge? Itās adhesive, I know, but layered on each side of the board, or ???
thanks
Like TED THE GREAT told is to do. Applied to the big chips and to the back of Directstream display.
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How did you apply 3M tape to the Edcor 4400 analog board?
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Apply only to the big chipsets. Not to the printed circuit board. Be careful ! Tape is conductive!
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No problem. It is always subjective. Thatās part of the beautify of this hobby. No one is right! 
And everybody can have an opinion.
Cheers
Kevin
Vemanoel, what version of the 3M EMI absorber tape did you use?
Iām a big fan of shielded Cat8 with the bridge 2. I also added an iFi power supply to the network switch which was a big jump in overall soundstage and focus.
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Guys, please refer to MODING THE DIRECTSTREAM DAC topic here.
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Wonder if you saw my posts on that some time ago. Itās all here folks.
Worked here:
Furutech Fuse
Edcor XS4400
Aluminum 3M tape inside the the top cover
EMF absorber 3M tape on the back of the display
EMF absorber tape on top of the big chips (DAC and Bridge)
Harmonic Tech MAGIC REFERENCE Power Cord
Isoacoustic Oreo foot
Not sure if thereās different 3M tape, but the one discussed in the shielding thread didnāt meet Tedās info on the radiated spectrum of the chips. The Stillpoints ERS did.