MINI REVIEW OF CEntrance MODIFIED DACPort with 1ohm Output Impedance
My DACPort appeared to have retired early, so I sent it back for warranty. CEntrance was very responsive and communicative. In the end, the unit was diagnosed NPF, and returned to me. It worked immediately, which is odd because nothing I could do would get power on when I sent it. However, that's not the interesting part.
While in their hands, I asked for a modification to lower the output impedance. At 10ohms, it's on the low side of many designs, but I thought reducing to 1ohm might benefit my IEMs, which have lower impedance and a bumpy curve (making them more affected by "bass bloom" (which is a function of amp to device impedance ratios that vary with different frequencies). It also runs a little cooler to the touch.
I noted the sound changed quite a bit with the IEM (JH16), but interesting also with the T50rps. On both, the bass became a bit tighter, snappier and less thumpy, delivering a nice sense of depth and extension, without bloat. My perception is the rest of the spectrum also sounds a little cleaner but warmer, like a thin layer of gauze was removed. Various instruments are very cleanly delineated, but with a nice sense of integration between the primary tones and he overtones.
This is all by memory of course. It could be a dose of powerful placebo, because I can't A/B, but it sound increasingly different to me from my D12 than I remembered. Definitely less clinical and more tubelike, conveying a nice sense of "rightness" to vocals.
On Viva Voce's awesome new album The Future Will Destroy You the interplay of the vocal harmonies is accentuated; each voice floats out of an inky background presented in it's own acoustic space, but combining with the others to create a blended and coherent vocal track.
The DACPort and the T50rp Rastapants is really a giant-killer combo. My Burson/LCD-2 is really the bomb, but the T50rp is not the same degree of detail and realism, it is shockingly listenable, and in fact probably accounts for 75% of my phone time.
In summary, barring placebo, I have to say the DACPort sounds great for the price, natural, warm, blanced and extended, but the 1ohm modification makes it a better match to low-Z phones, especially when the impedance isn't flat. The overall sound was more to my preference, and rendered a more balanced and natural sound. If you ever need to have a unit repaired, or are buying a new one, it may be worth considering this.
