[MartinWT]

far less than changing to quality interconnect and power cord.

Yes, agreed. Good power cord, running from a regenerator, makes a big difference. So was changing from single-ended to balanced cables, good ones.

 

[MartinWT]

I just disconnect the power supply leads to the Amanero

Thanks, I'll do that.

 

[RLugo]

Dear All

I have a practically new MH-DA004 with USB AMANERO UPGRADE for sale .

If someone is interested please let me know .

Many Thanks .

-Marin Rene.

 

[sanvara]

Pangea HDMI is recommended

Which one is recommended? Audio Advisor sells two:

1. Premier $29 for .6 meter - OFC Copper
2. Premier SE $60 for .6 meter - 6% silver plate Cardas Copper
Also:
3. Audioquest Chocolate $99 for .6 meter - 2.5% silver plate

Is here an audible difference between #1 and #2? Specs on #3 seem worse than #2 with less silver at higher price. But I see people posting they are very happy with the Chocolate. Other people say there is no audible difference between cables if they are well constructed .

So should I just buy any well constructed .6 meter HDMI cable like the $29 Pangea and be done with it and not pay attention to silver content?

 

[Whitigir]

I would pick #2 all day long . Can’t go wrong with Pangea construction, silverplating and Cardas copper

 

[Xoverman]

Dear Forum Members,
for 2 years I am now a LKS 004 owner. I was overwhelmed by the sound quality. And I still am. I am also a DIY Speaker builder. So as my speakers got better and better,
I thought maybe I could improve something else in the Chain. So first I added a ifi iUSB micro witch made a huge improvement in soundstage focusing!

Then after searching for 004 tweaks I ran across this forum. So I read this forum and the 003 forum twice. Very interesting, so I tried some of the tweaks that where published here.

Here are my findings :

- I do have a USB upgrade board installed in the 004. The default PS is with OP177 and LED. First I measured the output voltage and was very surprised, it is 4V NOT 5V.
Well anyway, tock the LT3042 PS I ordered in China and replaced the OP177 board with it.
Hocked everything up and listened to my reference music. It was disappointing.
Sound was lacking Bass and upper Bass. But resolution was better. I remembered that someone in the forum wrote that the 004 is very sensitive to HF. I decided to shield the AC cable that supply’s the LT3042 PW Board, and added some Tantal Capacitors to the Clock Board. Thigs got better but still poor Bass performanceL.
I ended up switching back to the OP177 PS Board. ( What did I miss ?? )

- Sense I am a Design Engineer for electronics, and I used to develop high resolution ADC’s,
I know that vibration is a big problem with ultra-high accuracy circuits. So I decided to install a dampened Sandwich bottom to the 004 DAC. All femto clock and ultra-low noise Application notes mention that Seismic vibration is one of the biggest problems in measuring the specs of these circuits.

Wow what a difference. Big soundstage, very clear. Very stable imaging.
BUT: much too much high’s. Too much high frequency energy L ( What am I doing wrong ?? )

I now ordered a Singxer SU 1 to find out where the problem is.

 

[littlexx26]

Dear Forum Members,
for 2 years I am now a LKS 004 owner. I was overwhelmed by the sound quality. And I still am. I am also a DIY Speaker builder. So as my speakers got better and better,
I thought maybe I could improve something else in the Chain. So first I added a ifi iUSB micro witch made a huge improvement in soundstage focusing!

Then after searching for 004 tweaks I ran across this forum. So I read this forum and the 003 forum twice. Very interesting, so I tried some of the tweaks that where published here.

Here are my findings :

- I do have a USB upgrade board installed in the 004. The default PS is with OP177 and LED. First I measured the output voltage and was very surprised, it is 4V NOT 5V.
Well anyway, tock the LT3042 PS I ordered in China and replaced the OP177 board with it.
Hocked everything up and listened to my reference music. It was disappointing.
Sound was lacking Bass and upper Bass. But resolution was better. I remembered that someone in the forum wrote that the 004 is very sensitive to HF. I decided to shield the AC cable that supply’s the LT3042 PW Board, and added some Tantal Capacitors to the Clock Board. Thigs got better but still poor Bass performanceL.
I ended up switching back to the OP177 PS Board. ( What did I miss ?? )

- Sense I am a Design Engineer for electronics, and I used to develop high resolution ADC’s,
I know that vibration is a big problem with ultra-high accuracy circuits. So I decided to install a dampened Sandwich bottom to the 004 DAC. All femto clock and ultra-low noise Application notes mention that Seismic vibration is one of the biggest problems in measuring the specs of these circuits.

Wow what a difference. Big soundstage, very clear. Very stable imaging.
BUT: much too much high’s. Too much high frequency energy L ( What am I doing wrong ?? )

I now ordered a Singxer SU 1 to find out where the problem is.

since you have ifi micro iusb. i suggest you to do this way i am doing.
order the standalone upgrade usb board. it comes without the power board. install it to lks004. it will get the power from usb port. buy uptone lps1.2 to power the ifi micro iusb which then power the usb board. you will get a super clean power supply for the usb board.
by this way, it sounds the best. i never have "lacking bass" which reported by the experts here. the bass is punchy, deep, full of power

 

[Xoverman]

Thanks for the fast answer. That’s a really good test !
But I think I can use my USB Board. I just have to solder 2 bridges or inductors in right side beside the USB socket. That’s a great idea. Thank you !

 

[Xoverman]

Dose anybody in this Forum have a schematic of the 004 ?

 

[b0bb]

Dear Forum Members,
for 2 years I am now a LKS 004 owner. I was overwhelmed by the sound quality. And I still am. I am also a DIY Speaker builder. So as my speakers got better and better,
I thought maybe I could improve something else in the Chain. So first I added a ifi iUSB micro witch made a huge improvement in soundstage focusing!

Then after searching for 004 tweaks I ran across this forum. So I read this forum and the 003 forum twice. Very interesting, so I tried some of the tweaks that where published here.

Here are my findings :

- I do have a USB upgrade board installed in the 004. The default PS is with OP177 and LED. First I measured the output voltage and was very surprised, it is 4V NOT 5V.
Well anyway, tock the LT3042 PS I ordered in China and replaced the OP177 board with it.
Hocked everything up and listened to my reference music. It was disappointing.
Sound was lacking Bass and upper Bass. But resolution was better. I remembered that someone in the forum wrote that the 004 is very sensitive to HF. I decided to shield the AC cable that supply’s the LT3042 PW Board, and added some Tantal Capacitors to the Clock Board. Thigs got better but still poor Bass performanceL.
I ended up switching back to the OP177 PS Board. ( What did I miss ?? )

- Sense I am a Design Engineer for electronics, and I used to develop high resolution ADC’s,
I know that vibration is a big problem with ultra-high accuracy circuits. So I decided to install a dampened Sandwich bottom to the 004 DAC. All femto clock and ultra-low noise Application notes mention that Seismic vibration is one of the biggest problems in measuring the specs of these circuits.

Wow what a difference. Big soundstage, very clear. Very stable imaging.
BUT: much too much high’s. Too much high frequency energy L ( What am I doing wrong ?? )

I now ordered a Singxer SU 1 to find out where the problem is.

The stock 004's high strung characteristic (poor bass but exceptional imaging) is partly due to the CCHD575 master clock, I have both the 003 and 004 and they both suffer this limitation.

My fix is to replace it with something better like the Crystek CCHD950X or Abracon ABLNO. ABLNO is more aggressive presentation, Both are stocked by the likes of Mouser for less than 50USD.

If you want to go further consider the OCXOs like the Abracon series @Whitigir is using. I use the Pulsar but that is very hard to get these days. Depending on the revision of the 004 you may need to change the regulator as the OCXOs take up to 1A on start up with an average of 300mA when operation. The 950X run around 50mA in contrast.

Consider also thermally coupling both halves of output stage on the I/V converter, these are the TO-126 transistors. They are emitter followers and the thermal tracking keeps helps stabilize the current gain as it warms up. Audio wise it sweetens the midrange and takes the edge off the sound.
(LKS is inconsistent here, some revisions have it heatsinked to the case, the newer revs seem to have removed the heat sinks again).

I use the SU-1 and it will not help your current situation without doing some of the work described above. You will see similar issues to the USB regulator board swap.
SU-1 tends to make the top end even more prominent, this is not desirable in the your case.

 

[gruvytune]

Is the CCHD950X a direct plugin?

 

[Whitigir]

Yeah, definitely upgrade your main clock as the lks004 hugely benefit from it , the 950X is drop in, but some soldering works needed

 

[b0bb]

Is the CCHD950X a direct plugin?

Yes, as @Whitigir mentioned, remove the 575 and solder in the 950X

 

[rettib2001]

Yes, as @Whitigir mentioned, remove the 575 and solder in the 950X

Is it best (or more importantly easier) to mount the 950x onto an adapter or can it simply be soldered directly?

I'm interested in your suggestion of 'thermally coupling both halves of output stage on the I/V converter.'

Is this a procedure you've explained in a previous post, if so I'll try and track it down?

If not, what exactly does it entail?

Cheers.

 

[b0bb]

Is it best (or more importantly easier) to mount the 950x onto an adapter or can it simply be soldered directly?

I'm interested in your suggestion of 'thermally coupling both halves of output stage on the I/V converter.'

Is this a procedure you've explained in a previous post, if so I'll try and track it down?

If not, what exactly does it entail?

Cheers.

Solder it directly unless you want to experiment with different XOs.

Put the 2 halves of the output stage on the same heatsink, not necessary if your DAC has transistors mounted on a heatsink.
Take care to insulate the bare metal backs of the transistors from each other and the heatsink.