FrankenZERO - A bang for buck exploration with a DIY Heart !

[goldfinger1111]

Hi Peete,

according to foobar, which I installed shortly after finishing the mod and used as only source, I'm somewhat around 120 hours +/- 20.
Most of the time I had pink noise running.
Either the pink noise sped the burning up or I'm in for some more surprises.


Right now I'm a bit disappointed.
Everything sounds so...*wow* through it, except one of my most favourite songs.
Two Princes by the Spin Doctors is just plain flat. Nothing special to it anymore, almost boring.
Sooo sad...

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by goldfinger1111

Hi Peete,

according to foobar, which I installed shortly after finishing the mod and used as only source, I'm somewhat around 120 hours +/- 20.
Most of the time I had pink noise running.
Either the pink noise sped the burning up or I'm in for some more surprises.


Right now I'm a bit disappointed.
Everything sounds so...*wow* through it, except one of my most favourite songs.
Two Princes by the Spin Doctors is just plain flat. Nothing special to it anymore, almost boring.
Sooo sad...

120...well good news is your in the first trough where things sound rather bad (there are 2 with the other being the 275 hour mark). The good news is your getting close to the first really major leap forward in SQ at 150 hours or so. Just remember the unit takes the better part of 350 hours to settle completely so it's best to take what your hearing now with a major grain of salt as things will really improve exponentially at the end of burn in.

Just hang in there and keep putting the hours on it. You'll be grinning again in no time to that favorite track of yours except this time it will be even better than before.

Peete.

[nsx_23]

Are there still any kits available?

[Pricklely Peete]

Yep.....nsx 23. PM and we'll talk

Peete.

[goldfinger1111]

Just realised that Frankie does a good job on it's own, but benefits from a seperate amp.
I've put my PA2V2 back in the system and it brought "Two Princes" back to life.
Can't wait to hear the fully matured Frankie paired with a decent desktop amp.

[nsx_23]

How well does the Zero work with a Pimeta?

[isao2k8]

Yesterday I replaced 4 caps near the DAC opamp (2 x 560pF and 2 x 1nF) to better caps then noticed that hum noise from OPA-Sun V2 had disappeared. So good

[goldfinger1111]

Hit the 350... love it!
So much more details, new things, that I couldn't hear before.
I'll have to listen to my whole music collection again...

The position of some instruments in the mix has definitely changed.
The separation of instruments is amazing.
There's a panning synth at the beginning of Briskebys Propaganda.
It used to wander in an arc-shape over my head, now it wanders right through.


I've just started this whole audiophile thing and can't put all those positive experiences into words, but the mod was definitely worth all the effort.
Wouldn't want to miss it.

[Coreyk78]

Well after giving the OPA-Earth and OPA-Sun v.2 both plenty of time to burn in I have settled on the Sun as being my favorite between the two. I found the Earth to be more laid back than the Sun, and the Sun's more aggressive sound just fits my taste better, both are very good though.

Now to see how the Earth will stack up against the LME49860 I'm currently using in my phono stage...

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by goldfinger1111

Hit the 350... love it!
So much more details, new things, that I couldn't hear before.
I'll have to listen to my whole music collection again...

The position of some instruments in the mix has definitely changed.
The separation of instruments is amazing.
There's a panning synth at the beginning of Briskebys Propaganda.
It used to wander in an arc-shape over my head, now it wanders right through.


I've just started this whole audiophile thing and can't put all those positive experiences into words, but the mod was definitely worth all the effort.
Wouldn't want to miss it.

That's good to hear

I was going to mention that the real benefits of the Frankie mod come into perspective when using it as a pure DAC to feed a higher quality separate amp. In that instance you'll get a surprising and much greater look or appreciation for what the mod brings to the table.

Peete.

[Iter]

Hi Peete,

Do you still have kits available?

Thanx,
Jeroen

[brown5629]

I'm looking for a kit as well. Let me know if you have anything left.
Thanks

[oatmeal769]

So, while I wait for the funds to come up for me to buy a high end DAC, I'd like to tinker a bit with my ZERO. I'm sure folks have seen the 'Lampizator' mod to the output amplification stage. (He's the guy who also suggested clipping the output filters on the RCA's - a nice little improvement BTW)
ZERODAC
Essentially he suggests bypassing the OpAmps all together and going straight to the RCA's. He suggests doing the "Lampizator" which is just substituting a tube in the output stage, or the lazy man's solution. - Which is the "Bypass Job" detailed about halfway down the page.
This is what I'm wondering about, and has it been tried in conjunction with the Frankenmod?

I'd like to get my hands on one of Peete's kits, or a parts list to order, and see if anyone here has any suggestions about this output bypass. It makes a lot of sense to me.

[diditmyself]

Originally Posted by oatmeal769

So, while I wait for the funds to come up for me to buy a high end DAC, I'd like to tinker a bit with my ZERO. I'm sure folks have seen the 'Lampizator' mod to the output amplification stage. (He's the guy who also suggested clipping the output filters on the RCA's - a nice little improvement BTW)
ZERODAC
Essentially he suggests bypassing the OpAmps all together and going straight to the RCA's. He suggests doing the "Lampizator" which is just substituting a tube in the output stage, or the lazy man's solution. - Which is the "Bypass Job" detailed about halfway down the page.
This is what I'm wondering about, and has it been tried in conjunction with the Frankenmod?

I'm not a DAC-wiz, but I think there's a reason why the manufacturers recommend a filter after sigma-delta DACs.

I was hoping they were wrong because I like as few parts as possible in the audio path, but they aren't: New Zero mod thread - help needed

I think the Zero sounds better without the output opamp, just using a passive filter, but there's some hissing, humming and buzzing. I think the use of differential input eliminates such common mode garbage. I know there were a lot of criticism on the board layout of the Zhalou, and since this is supposed to be a copy of it I guess it shares the same faults.

[randomasdf]

Hey, does anyone happen to know where I can buy "330uf 16v panasonic fm" caps or something similar for the amp section of the zero? (I somehow managed to pop one of the original caps, and I want to repair it before I sell it)