[woodcans]

I have been listening to my EA turbomodded DAC1 for a year and a half or so. I recently learned that Steve has a new upgrade mod involving some rewiring as well as a superclock4 that was mentioned in the recent 6moons review.

Well, curiosity got the best of me & so I sent my dac1 in for the mods. When it arrived back to me approx. 1 1/2 weeks later, I immediately plugged it in & began listening.

The first night I was a bit concerned as the soundstage seemed a little closed in, with restricted dynamics and limited bass. So I let it burn in overnight and came back the night evening for a listen. The sound was completely different, both from the night before and from before the mod. The level of detail is much greater. Vocals are less forward but more realistic and the overall musicality of the dac has improved considerably. I don't hesitate to use the term 'addictive' when describing its sound. I have been up way too late each night since its arrival with the 'just one more song' syndrome.

In short if anyone has an EA modded dac1 or are considering the upgrade, I recommend it, highly.

 

[cotdt]

what exactly do they do to the DAC1?

 

[A.Thorsen]

http://www.empiricalaudio.com, select component mods, look up Benchmark Dac-1.

Not cheap, to say the least.

 

[cotdt]

The mods do seem a bit expensive. I'm sure they really improve things, but at that price you start expecting discrete outputs and such.

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif what exactly do they do to the DAC1?

- Two bridge rectifiers replaced with HEXFRED's
- Replace regulated voltage filter caps
- Improve power delivery to DAC and upsampler chips
- Improve power delivery to 9 op-amps - Black Gates and HF caps
- Upgrade DAC filtering
- Replace all voltage regulators.
- Eliminate AC-coupling and tune-out DC offset
- Improve digital input coupling
- Eliminate one Op-amp
- Rewire externally some signal paths
- Replace fuses with 3 amp

all rework performed by an engineer, not a tech, using silver-loaded solder.

 

[Konig]

im pretty sure the clicks will still be present

 

[woodcans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig /img/forum/go_quote.gif im pretty sure the clicks will still be present

What do you mean?

 

[Konig]

i mean that there will be instants that the music will be stopped for a quarter of a second due to usb issues.

 

[StevieDvd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig /img/forum/go_quote.gif i mean that there will be instants that the music will be stopped for a quarter of a second due to usb issues.

What from the above indicates a USB connection? Or are you thinking this is the USB version of the DAC1?

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig /img/forum/go_quote.gif i mean that there will be instants that the music will be stopped for a quarter of a second due to usb issues.

All USB converters have this potential problem, with the exception of maybe the Audigy 2 NX.

If the user sets-up the computer properly and uses a recent faster CPU, then this is not a problem.

BTW - I believe the customer posting this review does not use the computer to drive the DAC-1.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioengr /img/forum/go_quote.gif - Two bridge rectifiers replaced with HEXFRED's - Replace regulated voltage filter caps - Improve power delivery to DAC and upsampler chips - Improve power delivery to 9 op-amps - Black Gates and HF caps - Upgrade DAC filtering - Replace all voltage regulators. - Eliminate AC-coupling and tune-out DC offset - Improve digital input coupling - Eliminate one Op-amp - Rewire externally some signal paths - Replace fuses with 3 amp all rework performed by an engineer, not a tech, using silver-loaded solder.

Sounds nice.. When I get my DAC1 what upgrade would you recommend for under 500.00?

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds nice.. When I get my DAC1 what upgrade would you recommend for under 500.00?

The minimum mods go for $250 and then the next level Turbomod is $1200.

I suppose the minimum mods ($250) plus the dual op-amp upgrade ($300) = $550.00

Steve N.

 

[woodcans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig /img/forum/go_quote.gif i mean that there will be instants that the music will be stopped for a quarter of a second due to usb issues.

I am using a SD Transporter via ethernet cable. Not one click in several months of use.

Quote:

Sounds nice.. When I get my DAC1 what upgrade would you recommend for under 500.00?

As far a my experience goes: the more mods, the better. But at the very least go for the rewiring option.


Quote:

The mods do seem a bit expensive. I'm sure they really improve things, but at that price you start expecting discrete outputs and such.

Maybe, but the sound is fantastic, no matter what type of outputs are sending out the signal. If there is anyone in eastern NC who is interested in a mini-meet, just send me a pm. I would love to compare my dac1 to some other dacs in both my system and others.

wc

 

[darkless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioengr /img/forum/go_quote.gif All USB converters have this potential problem, with the exception of maybe the Audigy 2 NX.

I have never had any problems with my Audigy 2 NX. Before I received my RME card I was using the Audigy's optical output to feed my external DAC. Since I primarily run linux, I had to make a few hacks to the Audigy part of the driver in order to get it to output in pure 44.1 KHz.

 

[Veniogenesis]

Woodcans, nice impressions.

I bet you're rather happy with the new modifications. Just wondering, which cans are you using and are you using the DAC1 straight out of its headphone jack?