[MorbidToaster]

I was probably going to order it 'maxxed' if you will. The extra PSU and clock. It's a cheap enough unit and the Zodiac+ is expensive enough to where I'd want it to be as good as I can have until I get the cash for the Zodiac as it will take some time.
 
EDIT: Or W4S DAC1
 
Quote:

Sounds good to me!
 
If you're intending to upsample, I would strongly suggest grabbing either the audio-gd upgrade clock or a Tentlabs XO. The upsampling performance is noticeably better with the Tentlabs unit. Swapping the hex inverter for a 'faster' unit is also a worthwhile tweak for only a few dollars.
 
I have a friend with a completely standard DI so I will try to undertake some subjective back-to-back listening comparisons with my tweaked DI over the coming weeks.

 
 

 

[petemac110]

I thought I'd provide an update on my DI.
 
The Tentlabs XOs arrived early last week. It was technically on-time, but the communication from Tentlabs was frustratingly poor.

After installing the Tentlabs XO, in my opinion I find that it certainly improves the upsampling performance vs the standard unit - it is less edgy and sounds more... dare I say... 'musical' than the original XO. If you're using the DI in upsampling mode, the Tentlabs XO or a 3.3V-tolerant TCXO is an absolute must-have in my opinion.

The different hex inverters make a subtle yet noticeable difference to the performance of the DI too. In the pics below, the new inverter chip is the one with the little Texas Instruments logo on it - the unbuffered unit. I also have the same chip but in buffered format so that I can see if there is any percievable difference between the two. Splitting hairs comes to mind! The difference between the standard unit vs the faster 'A' units (whether buffered or unbuffered) is certainly more tangible.

Hopefully I will be able to do some back-to-back listening with a completely standard DI during the next month or so. This should identify whether the changes are as tangible as I feel they are. It's always hard to quantify performance gains when you don't have a 'control' unit to compare against.

I also grabbed a silver power cable from A&B Systems on ebay (the cable is meant for the TeraLink X2, but it fits the DI too). For $9 I figured why not - even if it is only bling.

Lastly, I fabricated a perspex lid for the DI, and will do a similar one for the power supply which features some small cooling/ventilation holes. The power supply gets bloody hot! The jury is still out regarding whether I like the clear lid or not... it certainly shows off the guts of the DI quite nicely, but it may add a certain 'cheapness' to the look of the unit. I'm unsure at this stage... I will see what I think after a little while.
 


 

 

 



 
 

 

[Gilst]

Hi. There's a slight problem with my DI.
Seldom, while beginning to play a new song, the sound balance would travel half way left and stay there.
I've checked the balance settings, but they seemed OK.
Turning ON/OFF or switching source forth and back seems to solve the problem, but I'm looking for a more permanent solution, or rather a source of the problem.
 
I searched the thread but couldn't find anything relevant.
 
I'm using Win XP SP, on foobar2k and ASIO.
 
Thanks.

 

[kr0gg]

Gilst,
this usually happens only when you switch  the DI on shortly after it was switched off, so it's kinda strange that in your case channel imbalance happens while it is already working.
i would suggest checking your power cables connection, etc. - anything that might be the reason for unexpected turnings on/off.

 

[Sganzerla]

 Does anyone have any recomendation about hex inverter models I should buy/try?
 I bought the copper DC cable from A&B Systems too, as soon as it arrives I'll say something about its sound compared to the silver version I already have.

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

I thought I'd provide an update on my DI. ....
 
... Lastly, I fabricated a perspex lid for the DI, and will do a similar one for the power supply which features some small cooling/ventilation holes. The power supply gets bloody hot! The jury is still out regarding whether I like the clear lid or not... it certainly shows off the guts of the DI quite nicely, but it may add a certain 'cheapness' to the look of the unit. I'm unsure at this stage... I will see what I think after a little while.
 
 
 

 
Nice photography.  Have you experienced any apparent problems with EMI or RFI interference with the non-metal lid?  Having a high-frequency clock oscillator circuit that was designed to operate inside a heavy-duty metal enclosure might expose it to some shielding-related problems with the clear lid.  If you are not having problems, do you want to quote a price for clear lids for us other DI owners?  I think the silver Teralink power supply cable is "bling," but the clear lid is bling for bling's sake.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I'd be up for that. I love seeing guts of stuff. 
 
Oh, I'm a new owner of a DI. Bought one used from a member on head-fi. Maxxed, too. Excited. New toy.
 
Quote:

Quote:
 
Nice photography.  Have you experienced any apparent problems with EMI or RFI interference with the non-metal lid?  Having a high-frequency clock oscillator circuit that was designed to operate inside a heavy-duty metal enclosure might expose it to some shielding-related problems with the clear lid.  If you are not having problems, do you want to quote a price for clear lids for us other DI owners?  I think the silver Teralink power supply cable is "bling," but the clear lid is bling for bling's sake.

 
 

 

[elwappo99]

 
Quote:

 
The Tentlabs XOs arrived early last week. It was technically on-time, but the communication from Tentlabs was frustratingly poor.

After installing the Tentlabs XO, in my opinion I find that it certainly improves the upsampling performance vs the standard unit - it is less edgy and sounds more... dare I say... 'musical' than the original XO. If you're using the DI in upsampling mode, the Tentlabs XO or a 3.3V-tolerant TCXO is an absolute must-have in my opinion.
 
 


 

 

Any links for purchase? I found their site based in Europe. Any resellers in the US?

 

[petemac110]

Thanks for comments gents.
 
Unfortunately I'm not in a position to be able to manufacture these in bulk.
 
I had a local perspex/acrylic supplier cut these for me (I measured the original lid at 116mm x 152mm) and I drilled the holes myself. Drilling the holes accurately proved to be very tricky... perspex can be hard to work with at times. I needed to enlarge or elongate a few of the holes to make the lid fit properly.
 
I've had the lid off my DI for some time now whilst experimenting with the different hex inverters, different upsampling settings and now the new clock. I have noticed no ill effects in my system.
 
I was going to fit one of these lids to the PSU but I first decided to contact Kingwa and ask whether this was a good idea. Kingwa confirmed that the lid formed part of the 'heat sinking' for the transistors in the PSU, so fitting a perspex lid would reduce the thermal mass of the heatsink. Not good. Anyhow, the inside of the PSU isn't as nice to look at as the DI, so it's no great loss.
 
Regarding US sources for Tentlabs gear, I have no idea. I sourced mine directly from Tentlabs in the Netherlands.
 
Regarding hex inverters, if you can source a 74VHC04, 74AHC04 or 74AHCU04, these are worth trying. They are faster versions of the original hex inverter, and the 'U' model is the unbuffered version (slightly faster response yet again, but with a slightly less 'square' output).

 

[kr0gg]

can you comment SQ differences between these hex inverters?
knowing that some are faster and some are slower doesn't tell me anything about their impact on sound

 

[petemac110]

My initial impressions are that the faster AHC buffers offer a bit more detail than the original unit, and give a slightly crisper sound. I'm not talking about massive differences... I feel that the changes are noticeable yet subtle. .
 
Kingwa has said that the original unit was chosen after testing many different inverters as audio-gd felt that it offered a slightly warmer, less digital sound. To be able to cement my opinions I need to switch back to the original hex inverter and see how it sounds after a month of the new unit. I've been hesitant to switch back too early, particularly as I'm giving myself some time to get used to the sound of the Tentlabs XO first. Once I have some more listening hours under my belt (a one week old child has thrown a spanner in the works!) I will go back to the standard unit and see what the perceived differences are vs the faster inverters.
 
 

 

[borrego]

Quote:

My initial impressions are that the faster AHC buffers offer a bit more detail than the original unit, and give a slightly crisper sound. I'm not talking about massive differences... I feel that the changes are noticeable yet subtle. .

My experience with the TI 74AHC04 hex inverter is it will give deeper, and more layered sound stage as well. It is quite obvious with good recordings. You may prefer the "warmer" sound of the slower chip, but once you get used to the more 3D sound stage you would never go back.

 

[Sganzerla]

 Well, thanks for the info.
 I bought from eBay a product exactly like the one in the picture with the original hex inverter 74HC04P, without the "A" letter.
 I couldn't find any AHC there, unfortunately.
 
 

 

[petemac110]

Quote:

My experience with the TI 74AHC04 hex inverter is it will give deeper, and more layered sound stage as well. It is quite obvious with good recordings. You may prefer the "warmer" sound of the slower chip, but once you get used to the more 3D sound stage you would never go back.

 
Yeah, that's my general impression too. I'm hesitant to draw firm conclusions until I switch back to the standard unit for comparison (it's all too easy to get swept up with hyperbole otherwise). Once I've done this, I'll post further throughts.
 


 
Quote:

 Well, thanks for the info.
 I bought from eBay a product exactly like the one in the picture with the original hex inverter 74HC04P, without the "A" letter.
 I couldn't find any AHC there, unfortunately.
 
 

 
This is exactly the same specification as your standard hex inverter. You need an AHC/VHC inverter if you want to see any change in performance
 
You need to purchase these from an electronics supplier instead. Depending upon where  you are located, try someome like Farnell/element14, RS Components/Newark, Mouser, DigiKey etc.
 

 

[Sganzerla]

Xit!
I think I should have removed the top cover before trying to understand the picture above...
Fortunately was only a few bucks...
 
Thanks again, will look for an alternative place instead of eBay.