You have to think of the HAP-Z1ES  'as a whole' to extract maximum performance. Just like a race car, every little thing you do to it "will" change its performance ... yes including a SSD. What unique about the Z1 is that it's a total digital solution, no computer, no cables, no nonsense...

Gentlemen,   I thought I might share a couple simple DIY upgrades to the HAP-Z1ES. While I have done extensive mods to the Z1, these 2 provide what I call "essential" for maximum performance. The combination of these 2 actions will transform the HAP-Z1ES from best bang for the buck ... to...

Well gentlemen I finally put the finishing touches on my Black Chameleon I2S today,     To recap, I completely removed the main circuit board and had Steve Nugent from Empirical Audio re-map and hard wire I2S direct, they are the 3 twisted pairs in the foreground and the re-wires on the...

Here is what Apple says about the Snow Leopard operating system. http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/ One of the main features of the 64 Bit architecture is its more efficient use of RAM. I have the current maximum of 4 GB installed but the sky's the limit in 64 Bit mode. With Amarra...

I know computer audio is just now becoming economically and technically viable solution for hi-end audio. The fact was the software and hardware interface was simply not up to the task until now. I have been playing with computer audio for the past 5 years and the M2Tech device is a real game...

Pat- yes there has to be a balancing point at all times within your system and while the source is very crucial you cannot neglect the system as a whole. Give me a call I have a really cool direction you could head.   That said I really think this LiFePo4 battery technology is what hi-end...

Quote:     Great idea, I nominate you to handle this process! Perhaps people could just send their DAC's to you to Mod for free, that way they wouldn't have to read or learn anything. With all that free time they could put all their effort into complaining how Woody modded their DAC but...

  Quote: Rhodes- yes better dynamics and resolution but more on a global level. I described it earlier as akin to adding a more powerful and better quality amp to your system. Which of coarse you are doing as every change to the 8 VDC rail for the DAC chips will change how the DAC sounds...

  Quote: Rhodes - at the level of the game you play at I would say upgrading to .1uf caps will be well worth your effort. I have 3 Chameleon DAC's at my disposal, one with just BG's on the DAC chips, one with GB's & .01uf bypass, and one with BG's and .1uf bypasses. The sound is akin to...

Taiphan- yes just follow the traces over to the input board, the USB data input is marked D+ & D-. Use an ohm meter to make sure which one is which and then solder to the upper backside pins on the input board. The other two wires on the USB are power and ground, the power wire is a direct...

Quote: Yes unfortunately the USB cables do make a sonic difference pre or post the ASUM module as would a hard wire USB connection. The only way around this would be to use an Asynchronous USB interface such as the M2Tech Hiface. With the Hiface I tried every USB cable I have, including a 5...

Rhodes - Keep us updated on the sound with your Tent Labs 12mHz clock on the input board. This clock is used for both the Wolfson Spidf receiver chip and the Tenor USB chip. Did you eliminate the USB input option on your receiver board? When using the Pace Car for Spdif input I found the DAC...

All interesting and valid points. However the pre-production Chameleon DAC currently sits between a rock and a hard place. In stock form it is an upgraded 16 chips Valab with 3 inputs, outboard power supply, 96/24 input capability, and a simple reclocker module that actually works. The Chameleon...

The Black Art is getting it to sound awesome. Proper or not.   You got to love us DIY guys ... always doing things for the wrong reasons.   Yes I did indeed cut the main ground for the Spdif input board by cutting the trace at the number 5. Woops again! When I float ... I float big! This...

The question: Is the Spdif input of the Chameleon 75 ohms by simply putting that surface mount 75 ohm resistor between pins 1&2 on the Pulse transformer. Probably not as true impedance is a complex relationship between the Pulse transformer, jacks, cable and source … but that 75 ohm resistor has...

    Damn I just lost everything I just wrote when a PM came in ... this new forum format has issues. Ok here goes again.   After reading the comment from jkeny I decided to have a closer look at the input board as I now have a spare one. What I discovered is that our FIM is not really...

Quote: Yes this is on my "to do" list. However I am only interested in Silver wound output transformers and they are going to be hard to come by. I will eventually get this done and report back.

marcelnl- yes stack the DAC chips, heat sink by attaching each individual DAC chips power & ground legs to two thick copper bus bars. Solder the FRM (SCFRM) caps in-between the two bars. Add 8VDC power/ground, I2S in on one end, Z-foil I/V's & Duelund Caps on the output. Done! (This sort of...

- Rant on- if you look at high performance audio playback in general it shocks me how many compromises are accepted. Take a good hard look, every interface is compromised what a sham. As I started down the road of no-compromise's in my audio system it was evident in very short order that I would...

Quote: Originally Posted by skibum Have to say I am pretty content with my VALAB 3.0 even with the reclocked SPDIF input. My interest is also out of my curiosity about how reclocking circuitry works. Why does the Chameleon play 96/24 were my VALAB will only get to 48Khz? Anything...

Quote: Originally Posted by jkeny That won't work it's just a DC to DC converter. There are ways of doing this but as I said already, the level shifting may not be needed when feeding 3.3V I2S into a 5V DAC. However driving into 16 parallel 5V DACs may pose a problem - has Steve...

Sorry Skibum I never played with a 3.0 version nor have the schematic. Perhaps you have taken your 3.0 to its logical conclusion. Speaking of LC's its "appears" that's where I have already taken the Chameleon DAC. There is nothing left but 16 DAC chips laid flat on a circuit board inside an...

Skibum- glad to hear you had success with your very first Mod outing. Feels empowering doesn't it! Now you are free to tackle the rest of your system, one component at a time, imagine the possibilities! Keep it simple ...Keep it real. Myself I modded everything "but" a DAC up until last...

Sorry I missed the conversation, welcome aboard Jkeny. First off Jkeny spells out the main issue with I2S, it does need to be terminated properly for optimum results. For example my Northstar I2S cable is a 100 ohm design and even that plays into the picture. Some cables are 75, 90 even 120...

Wood-Nice work on the isolator, glad to hear it works. I am now thinking about adding one to my Pace Car to isolate the USB input. I am getting a pesky ground loop on occasion with the Pace Car and Chameleon I2S. I found this device that may be able to be adapted to the OEM HiFace I2S card...