[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Kyle @ RAM is going to do this for me.

For how much?

 

[IPodPJ]

That I won't mention here. You should ask him directly because I don't know what he wants to charge everyone to do it. Plus, I don't know if we are going to mod other parts inside the amp.

He recommends using a different wire and he is going to call me now to go over this. I'll let you know what we come up with soon.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

I'm all ears PJ......drop me a PM later on if you can disclose any info on prepped litz.

Peete.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Les, So even in the single litz wire each strand is individually covered?? That would be a lot of work. Is there a way you could just melt it off with the soldering iron? If they are all individually covered, I don't understand the benefit if each strand gets soldered to the same receptacle anyway. Is it to reduce EMI?

Each Individual strand is it's own insulated conductor. This makes the cable, because of skin effect, effectively very large in diameter. You have a lot of little skins to transport your signal. How the common endpoint effects it, I don't know. I have contemplated it a little though. and I suppose the answer is that as much of the end points as possible need to be coordinated /incorporated into the solder end point.

I tried it with a soldering iron set at about 865. I just ended up with a weird glistening mess that solder would not stick to. Some people have said soldering irons would work in the DIY forum, but I tried it for fun and was unsuccessful.

It works pretty well with a soldering pot. That's why the mini pots people build are probably the way to go.


.

 

[Lil' Knight]

The Cardas 23.5g wire is pretty small and quite hard to work with. I bought a bunch to make some interconnects for my own but it turned out to be too microphonic. Using it as a nice chassis wire is a nice idea though.

I'd suggest the Neotech UP-OCC wire. It's solid core and made of very pure copper. To my ears, it sounds much better than the Cardas. You guys nuts can get the UP-OCC pure silver in teflon

I'm not that rich to buy that.

BTW, if anyone need some Cardas 23.5g, just lemme know. I still have a lot, about 24ft, after my last project.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Cardas 23.5g wire is pretty small and quite hard to work with. I bought a bunch to make some interconnects for my own but it turned out to be too microphonic. Using it as a nice chassis wire is a nice idea though. I'd suggest the Neotech UP-OCC wire. It's solid core and made of very pure copper. To my ears, it sounds much better than the Cardas. You guys nuts can get the UP-OCC pure silver in teflon I'm not that rich to buy that. BTW, if anyone need some Cardas 23.5g, just lemme know. I still have a lot, about 24ft, after my last project.

I would say that is my experience also. I take no pleasure in working with that wire!

.

 

[Bob Jones]

Thanks to haloxt who was kind enough to send me a signal cable,I got to try the amp.It STILL doesn't work.Tried all combinations to no avail.So all this effort by everybody to solve this problem brings me to this point.Time for Kingwa to step up to the plate and ship another unit immediately.I've done enough and WAITED LONG ENOUGH.Nothing left to do,but say thanks for the help and support.

 

[IPodPJ]

Gary,
In about 3 weeks (after I get my Reference One) I am going to go down to Kyle's shop in Riverside. You can come with me and bring your Phoenix. He will mod it then and we are going to experiment with what sounds best. He recommends using Audio Consulting wire.

His philosophy is completely opposite of Kingwa's. He feels the best results with DACs come from running it cool where no heat sinks are even needed. I explained to him how Kingwa does it differently and why he feels that way. So we may do some mods on the Reference One as well, but I am not going to alter the design of the DAC.

Just to replace the wire he will charge very little for labor but I don't know if it will be more for doing the litz wire. Anyone who is interested should contact Kyle directly at referenceaudiomods@yahoo.com so you can ask him. Maybe you'd prefer to wait though until after he works on my amp so we can find what works best. I will have the Reference One before I go down to his shop so we can experiment with what is optimal using both CAST and XLR inputs, and mods to both amp and DAC.

None of this would have ever crossed my mind if it weren't for this guy Eric sending me an e-mail last night. The only thing I was considering was replacing the connectors on the amp.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm all ears PJ......drop me a PM later on if you can disclose any info on prepped litz. Peete.

X2...drop me a PM too.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

PJ I'd highly suggest you leave the RE1 alone until you have it fully burned in first since you'll not know what the starting point is with it (base SQ) if you mod the wiring right away. The Phoenix still needs more time IMO but I'm sure the upgraded wiring (to both) is a good tweak and well worth persuing. The stock Neutrik XLRs are fine IMO and need not be swapped unless you have money to burn and if you do, then by all means....Furutech makes nice ones (35 US per chassis jack for gold plated and 51US for Rhodium plated). That can get expensive in a bloody hurry and the kicker is the wiring swap will likely be the lions share of the improvement at 1/10th the cost..(IMO at least).

I really feel the RE1 is better than any DAC I've used over the years...heat/no heat, that doesn't really factor into somethings worth as a piece of capable gear IMO. The RE1 is 70% power supply (multiple dual parallel supplies...well you'll see when yours arrives) which will produce heat. There is no way around that. That being said mine runs just slightly warm now.....so it's not really a concern at all.

Peete.

 

[Yikes]

At some point I might have the inputs and output rewired with my own wire, but it's still way to early for that. The Phoenix is a relatively sophisticated piece of electronics. IMO it's too early to be modding it and voiding it's warranty. Next year I'll consider sticking some ultra slick Silver/Gold wire in it, but for now I'm going to enjoy it as it is.

 

[IPodPJ]

Just out of curiosity, if Kingwa sends people replacement parts to have them fix their own units, why would changing the wires void the warranty? If something fails and it has nothing to do with the input/output leads, I can't see why it would make a difference. However I do understand if you start changing caps that that would void the warranty most likely or at the very least you would have to pay for part of the repair.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

The trouble is where do you draw the line PJ ? Not everyone's skills are equal.

Peete.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just out of curiosity, if Kingwa sends people replacement parts to have them fix their own units, why would changing the wires void the warranty? If something fails and it has nothing to do with the input/output leads, I can't see why it would make a difference. However I do understand if you start changing caps that that would void the warranty most likely or at the very least you would have to pay for part of the repair.

Well, here goes.. If Kingwa ships you a board to fix something, he is doing it for his advantage and your advantage.

His advantage: He avoids to and Fro shipping costs. That he would have to eat to do the fix.
Your advantage: You avoid the downtime for your gear. And avoid possibly more damage due to frequent flights across the Pacific Ocean.

However, you start poking around and doing "MODZ" that's a different kettle of fish. I wouldn't expect warranty for that.

If I decide I'm going to rewire my boards and end up lifting a trace, I would expect to have to pay for the new board.

.

 

[IPodPJ]

Makes sense.

Luckily though if I pay RAM to do it and he screws up, he has to fix it.