[Turn&cough]

Actually the modder in question is the same guy who did the LM4562 OP amp, socket and de-coupled power mods on the original Paradisea. These were later adopted by MHdt on the + version. So when he states that bypassing the tube buffer is an improvement I would tend to give him, at least some, credibility. But, I guess, the only way of really finding out would be to try it for yourselves.
He also stated that, in his opinion, the biggest single improvement in the Paradisea+ was the LM4562. That's why I'm curious to hear how the Constantine sounds with that same upgrade - it is, after all, $200 less(before tube upgrades that is)

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happybob /img/forum/go_quote.gif even newer paradisea+? do you know if they made new changes in the latest paradisea+?

Yea, the interior has a few different parts. A few resistors are different types, a few caps are different types, etc etc.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happybob /img/forum/go_quote.gif towert7, did you have to return the defective paradisea+? if not, since you are in the unique position of having 2 paradisea+, maybe you wanna consider doing the tube buffer bypassing mod on the defective one and do a direct comparison?

Although when Lin-Li made the nice offer he did not mention returning it, I decided to return it. I wouldn't want to take advantage of him, and perhaps he can use the old one for parts, or possibly even find out what was wrong with it.

At the moment I have both with me, but I'll be shipping the other one back soon.

 

[crazyface]

Why buy a tube-dac if it sounds better without the tube?

i dont understand.

 

[MrLA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyface /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why buy a tube-dac if it sounds better without the tube? i dont understand.

hehehe, good and valid question!

 

[Turn&cough]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyface /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why buy a tube-dac if it sounds better without the tube? i dont understand.

A better question would be: Why market a tube DAC if a less expensive non-tube DAC sounds as good or better?

But the "why" doesn't really matter to me. All I want to know is - what is the best sounding DAC for the money?

I would just like to be able compare my Paradisea against one without the tube buffer and a Constantine with LM4562.

 

[happybob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turn&cough /img/forum/go_quote.gif A better question would be: Why market a tube DAC if a less expensive non-tube DAC sounds as good or better? But the "why" doesn't really matter to me. All I want to know is - what is the best sounding DAC for the money? I would just like to be able compare my Paradisea against one without the tube buffer and a Constantine with LM4562.

turn&cough, have you tried to email mhdt lab directly and asking them about this issue and maybe have them checked out the tube-buffer bypassing mod? i had contacted them many times before regarding tube selection and couple minor design issue, and they were usually very responsive. i would love to hear their take on this. why don't you send them an email and post back?

 

[Jose Garcia]

Saludos!

Checking out the internal pictures of the Constantine vs Constantine+ we can see several differences.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v309/m...1545cons-8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...cp/usbcp-3.jpg

At simple view, the coupling caps went from 1uF/400V to 2uF/250V. Most of the capacitors changed from Elnas to Nichikon. The LM-4562 Op amp on the new Constantine + is connected at the top (with an adapter) contrary to the bottom adapted AD-826 on the regular Constantine. There are several resistor changes and added caps to the circuit.

Does anyone here auditioned both units side by side? Which one sounds better, if they sound different at all?

Someone at Audioasylum changed the coupling caps with better (V-Cap OIMP 2.0 uF 250V) and report great results but these are really expensive though.

Thanks,

Jose.

 

[Turn&cough]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happybob /img/forum/go_quote.gif turn&cough, have you tried to email mhdt lab directly and asking them about this issue and maybe have them checked out the tube-buffer bypassing mod?

Haven't yet. Asking them if the $600 Paradisea sounds better without the tube buffer is a bit of a loaded question if you know what I mean. I was hoping to pick up more info on that other forum but the thread has become conspicuously silent. I was also hoping that somebody else with a bit more modding experience could give the bypass a try and provide a second opinion.

 

[happybob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turn&cough /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haven't yet. Asking them if the $600 Paradisea sounds better without the tube buffer is a bit of a loaded question if you know what I mean. I was hoping to pick up more info on that other forum but the thread has become conspicuously silent. I was also hoping that somebody else with a bit more modding experience could give the bypass a try and provide a second opinion.

just need to phrase it nicely.

you can ask him if the new constantine would sound the same as the paradisea+ without the tube. also didn't you say that mhdt lab adopted another design of the person who came out with the tube-bypassing mod of the paradisea? maybe there's some kind of collaboration between them? maybe mhdt lab is already aware of the tube-bypassing mod? it really would interesting to find out what mhdt lab has in its future plans...

 

[Turn&cough]

OK I'll put it on my "to do" list. Yes it would be interesting to find out what MHdt has in its future plans. Unfortunately keeping their website up to date does not appear to be a priority.

 

[Fing]

Sorry to join the party at this late stage, however, here's another vote in favour of this review.

I just swapped the stock tube with a NOS Bendix 6385 and unfortunately don't like the Bendix either.

I find it has a homogenising effect on the music and seems to kill the dynamics and imaging in order to gain extra detail and lower distortion. Not worth the cost as far as I'm concerned. The music just became very boring.

Also, where has the bass gone? I know the stock 5670 is not as accurate and is in fact a little bit boomy, but it literally becomes recessed when I put in the Bendix.

Well, after a couple of hours I couldn't listen to it anymore and changed the tube back.

Hopefully getting some NOS WE396A soon to see if these are any better.


Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by happybob /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, i received the bendix 6385, installed it into my paradisea+, and listened to it for a little over a week. took it out a few days ago, and put my we396a back in. i think i'm sticking with we396a. as i posted in another thread earlier, the bendix 6385 did have that "veil-lifting" effect, and seemed to provide more slam and dynamics at first listening. after a little over a week of listening, i started to get the feeling that this effect was mostly due to a more forward presentation of the sound stage. with the bendix, i felt like i was sitting closer to the front row, while with the we396a, maybe closer to the middle. upon closer listening, the details, resolution, and amount of slam between the bendix and we396a really weren't that siginificant, with maybe a very slight edge toward the bendix. but it was more likely that they were just presented in a different manner. the difference was no where as drastic as the one made by my power cord upgrade (with either my zu cable birth or my audioquest noise buster power cord). maybe in another setup the bendix would have a bigger advantage in terms of resolution, but at least in my setup with my use of the silver-coated dh lab silver-sonic rca interconnect, i didn't really notice a significant improvement in resolution and details with the bendix. one huge advantage the we396a had over the bendix in my setup was the overall smoothness of the tone and the sweet midrange. the overall sound was much more analog and enjoyable. so perhaps i'm giving away a little resolution, but the gain in the overall smoothness/sweetness is quite worthwhile at least in my setup. to be blunt, i thought the sound i was getting with the bendix was a little on the boring side. again, my findings are only applicable to my systems and my personal taste, so your experience might be very different. but my findings were consistent with both of the systems under my signature. maybe my expectations are now higher since i'm spoiled by the sound from my excellent "modded" ps audio digital link iii, but even if that's the case, i feel that the only thing the paradisea+ can compete with the modded ps audio digital link iii is its smooth/sweet midrange while the we396a is used.

 

[Fairbanks]

Hey Fing,I don't mean to chase you around this forum but you need to give the Bendix more than a few hours.More like 50 hours before it fully matures.Also the We 2c51/396a isn't the end all in tube choices.There are many contenders in the 5670/2c51 family.Good luck

 

[Fing]

Hi Fairbanks and no problem. I'm always happy to find more about tubes, how they work etc. I asked a friend about the effects of burn-in on tubes and his reply was that it was 'minimal'. I'm willing to give it another shot of course.

I just found that the stock Paradisea+ tube in my current setup 'clicked' and provided me with exactly the sound I was looking for - full, dynamic, interesting and just superb. Even indifferently recorded 128mps MP3's sounded much better than they had any right to.

So I was very disappointed when the Bendix failed to provide a step up in the direction I was looking for - more refinement yet keeping the things that was making the music exciting for me.

I'll report back in a week.

 

[jdimitri]

I'll be happy to take it off your hands if it doesn't work out..