[robert]

not to discourage anyone from getting the little cutey, but i'm finding that the two i have exhibit an odd soundstage. didn't notice it (and certainly should have) until i started to seriously listen to the Bartok Quartets (Emerson/DG). both players, with either the ety-4s or hd600 (line out to Home Headroom), have a soundstage that is "tilted" to the right, and the left side is compressed. at first, i thought maybe my left ear was wonky or that i am "right eared" as i am right handed. the violins (on the left) were mushed together and sat "above" my ear. the cello sat alone off center to the right (where it should be), but the viola was "below" my right ear and separate from the cello.

so i pulled out my circa 1997 jvc fs-2000 mini system player. well. everybody is where they belong. i never thought much of the jvc, but it does keep things in their proper place. my "real" system is still in storage, so i can't compare to the adcom 600 dac, but i assumed that the D25 had to be superior to the generic 1-bit jvc. guess not.

 

[austonia]

mine sounds ok. i just got one cuz it look so damn cool. i think you could actually club someone to death with this thing.

 

[hadron]

I saw this and had to try it myself, this being one of my favorite recordings, plus I've only had the D-25S for maybe 2 weeks now and am looking for flaws before doing an op-amp swap (AD8620 just arrived today). Listening to #4 on both W1000 and 4P from the HP jack (no amp on this test), to me the cello is slightly lower and more forward than the viola spatially at times, the cello seems to move around as well, very odd effect. Overall, there does seem to be a sort of "tilted-clockwise" skew of the placement, not great, but distracting for critical listening.

But is this from the source or the recording? The D-25S is the best source I have currently, need to fix that...

 

[puppyslugg]

Quote:

Originally posted by hadron ...I've only had the D-25S for maybe 2 weeks now and am looking for flaws before doing an op-amp swap (AD8620 just arrived today)

hadron,

Please post your results after the opamp change. Are you also planning to change the output caps?

 

[hadron]

puppyslugg, care to point me to what can be done on the cap upgrade front? I'm planning on posting before/after test tone & listening results with the op-amp upgrade in the DIY forum sometime in the next week or two. I'm taking this one step at a time, and haven't looked into passive upgrades yet...

 

[puppyslugg]

hadron,

If you're using a external ps to power the d-25, and not using the battery (compartment), there is room to increase the output capacitance/quality, according to mekanoplastik.

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=19059

You probably should do the opamp swap first, then caps. Be easier to hear the difference, in any, each mod made.

Good luck!

 

[hadron]

ahh, PS caps, you had me thinking there were caps in signal path. For now I'm using a RatShack PS, but I've got some Sony Li-ion cells on order, should be able to fit ~3 AHr in the compartment, with an extra 1/8" Sorbothane layer to take up the extension.

Thanks for the link, it raises the question of how much peak power can a Li-ion battery deliver? Higher internal resistance than I'd like on these, and not much extra room for even SMT caps. Again, look for follow-ups in the DIY forum, this one might take several weeks of testing.

 

[puppyslugg]

mekanoplastik:
Quote:

...i found two tiny nichicon 100uf 6.3v close to the headphone out

I think there are output caps(?).

Anyway, I'll look forward to your follow-up posts.

 

[robert]

Quote:

Originally posted by hadron I saw this and had to try it myself, this being one of my favorite recordings But is this from the source or the recording? The D-25S is the best source I have currently, need to fix that...

i'm beginning to think mostly the D25S. i was motivated to get my adcom gda-600 out of storage, acquire a toslink cable, and hook to my jvc mini-system cd player. the soundstage is what i would expect: if viewed as a semi-circle, violins at 0, 45 ; cello at 135, viola at 180.

the emerson beethoven cycle didn't exhibit quite so much tilt with the D25S.

robert

 

[hadron]

FYI, my opamp swap results are now posted, I find the imaging is improved.
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=25635