[b0bb]

  I think YSDZ is more like this DAC than LKS, same remote, same usb board (listed as XMOS)

Is there a link to this other non LKS DAC similar to the YSDZ you are referring to?

 

[kazcou]

I forgot to put the link : http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.172.tFEFUm&id=43696131338&ns=1&abbucket=9#detail
It's another DAC, but they use the same remote and same usb board, and you can see clearly is a XMOS board

 

[kimmkimaster10]

,

 

[b0bb]

Next installment of my LKS MH-DA-003 mods
 
High voltage Schottky rectifiers, these devices are fast recovery, compared to conventional diodes these use the majority carrier conduction mechanism.
 
These are 100V 8A devices from Vishay.
 
Analog side.

 
Digital side

 

[b0bb]

Nichicon FPcap R7 aluminum polymer caps for the DAC  3.3 Analog Vcc and 1.2V digital suppliers
 
These are capable of delivering peak currents of 5A/
 

 

[b0bb]

Evox/RIFA PHE series precision (1%) metalized 33nF polypropylene.
 
This is part of the output filter for the unbalanced section.
 
NJR Muses01 fet  opamp is visible on extreme left of picture.
Rectangular black box next to opamp is a 100pf Corning Glass capacitor used for bypassing the opamp powersupply
 

 

[b0bb]

TI TPS7A4700 Ultra low-noise regulator for the DAC AVcc pre-regulator.
 
This replaces the LT317A regulator.
 
The TPS7A4700 is comparable to the LT317 for power supply ripple rejection but very low noise, about 5uV vs about 200uV for the older LT regulator.
 
This regulator operates over a wider bandwidth up to 10MHz vs the 100kHz bandwidth of the LT regulator.
The adapter board is made by TekDevices and they have a WebShop and an Ebay Store.
 
Regulator before output filter cap is reinstalled

 
 
Picture of regulator with mounting completed.

 

[prot]

sounds like youre building a new DAC there .. got some sound imressions too ?

 

[kimmkimaster10]

I will try to do the tuning
Is history about the tuning and tuning pictures and tuning parts and give sent by e-mail?
kimmkimaster10@gmail.com

 

[b0bb]

  I will try to do the tuning
Is history about the tuning and tuning pictures and tuning parts and give sent by e-mail?
kimmkimaster10@gmail.com

 
The opamps are the easiest to replace as they are socketed.
 
The big discrete opamp is from is the Ticha 994 from Sonic Imagery Labs
http://www.sonicimagerylabs.com/products/Model994DiscreteOpAmp-Ticha.html
 
The unbalanced output uses the NJR Muses01
http://www.njr.com/MUSES/MUSES01.html
 
The major modification parts listed below.
 
The Nichicon FP Caps 16volts 470uF R7 part numbers are RNE1C471MDN1PX.
Available from Mouser or Digikey

 
The Schottky rectifier diodes are 100V 10A from Vishay part number MBRF10H100-E3/45
Available from Mouser or Digikey

 
The Blue 63V 0.033uF/33nF 1% polypropylene is from EVOX/Rifa. Part number PHE426DJ5330FR17T0
Available from Mouser or Digikey

 
The Vishay 249ohm Z-Foil resistors are part number TX2575 249R00 0.05%
Available from Texas Components (www.texascomponents.com)

 
Vishay 10K foil trimmer partnumber 1260W 10K000 5.0%
Available from Texas Components (www.texascomponents.com)

 
TI TPS7A4700 5V regulator from TekDevice
http://tekdevice.com/chapter2/index.php?route=product/product&path=25&product_id=87
Note: Requires rework of connections to fit LT317 footprint

 
The Crystal oscillator is the Crystek CCHD950X-25-100
Available from Mouser or Digikey

 

[b0bb]

sounds like youre building a new DAC there .. got some sound imressions too ?

Parts of the DAC rebuilt with higher quality components and to fix some of the loose ends in the LKS implementation.
I bought the LKS with this specific purpose.
 
Sound quality comments are subjective.
 
I am looking for a neutral DAC that works with my LCD-3F, HD800 and SR009.
 
The latest set of mods improve the instrumentation separation and soundstage, I am getting front to back separation in addition to side to side separation, quite nice on the live recordings.
 
The bright forward presentation commonly associated with Sabre32 implementations has been eliminated, this is accomplished without compromising the fine resolution and exceptional microdetails of the Sabre32.
 
Loud complex passages do not suffer from compression and image blurring that was common with the unmodded LKS and unmodded Yulong DA8.
 
As it stands, the  modded LKS exceeds my Soekris DAM1021 R2R DAC running the latest filters.

 

[stuart1927]

bObb mentioned "The bright topend of the ES9018 is made much worse by the use of the Crystek CCHD575, this is a femto clock.
The sound is hard and etched. I replaced it with Crystek CCHD-950X which give it a more balanced presentation"
 
Is changing out easy to do? I.e. is it a plug in or does it need soldering etc?
 
I already changed the opamps to the sonic imagery and noticed quite an improvement. It seems this might be the next biggest potential improvement...but I'm not experienced with soldering!
 
Many thanks!
 
 
 
Stuart

 

[b0bb]

  bObb mentioned "The bright topend of the ES9018 is made much worse by the use of the Crystek CCHD575, this is a femto clock.
The sound is hard and etched. I replaced it with Crystek CCHD-950X which give it a more balanced presentation"
 
Is changing out easy to do? I.e. is it a plug in or does it need soldering etc?
 
I already changed the opamps to the sonic imagery and noticed quite an improvement. It seems this might be the next biggest potential improvement...but I'm not experienced with soldering!
 
Many thanks!
 
 
 
Stuart

The original crystal is surface mounted (SMT), removal required the use of SMT rework tools, I used a temperature controlled hot-air wand to remove mine and I replaced it with a 14pin socket so that I can try out various crystals.
It takes about 15mins to slowly heat up the board on both sides, the crystal can then be picked up with a pair of tweezers once the solder melts.
Slow heating prevents the board from warping.
 
Changing the crystal will change the sound signature of the LKS quite significantly

 

[b0bb]

This is the Abracon ABLNO femto clock with a jitter spec of 50fs (12kHz-20MHz) with a nominal 12ppm stability.
http://www.abracon.com/Precisiontiming/ABLNO.pdf
 
I have had this one few a few months but was never satisfied with its performance up until now, in many ways it is similar to the Crystek CCHD575 that came stock with the LKS.
 
The sound was overly bright but the low end extension was much better than the CCHD575, overall the LKS was not as satisfying to listen to as the CCHD950X.
 
I decided to give it another try after installing the TPS74A7 ultralownoise regulator and the Sanyo OSCON-G caps, these are the purple ones in the picture.
 
After about 36hours, the presentation of the LKS really opened up, in particular the pace, rhythm, attack and timing (PRAT).
The slight veil on the LCD-3F lifted and the bulky phones started to disappear, on the HD800 and especially the SR009 the bass slam became harder, lower and deeper
 
Overall an unexpected improvement, it is quite finicky as far as powersupply is concerned.

 
Some of the more interesting specs, in all cases lower number is better
 
XOs I like.
ABLNO 50fs jitter, 12ppm stability, -93db@10Hz close in phase noise performance
CCHD950X 500fs jitter, 25ppm stability, -86.4db@10Hz close in phase noise
 
Original XO:
CCHD575 82fs jitter, 50ppm, -90db@10Hz
 
Abracon specs the jitter up to 20MHz but Crystek measures the jitter over 80MHz, so the advantage of the Abracon is not as much as it appears to be.
 
The LKS performance with the  CCHD575 did not improve with the new regulator.
I might try another bypass mod to see if it helps things.

 

[b0bb]

New USB interface from LKS. This is a modified Amanero USB interface using the Crystek CCHD957 low jitter clocks and ultra-low noise regulators.
 
This is what I was hoping Amanero would have offered from day one, no software change as it still looks like the Amanero interface to the host computer.
I got this from Volent in Hong Kong.
 
Unit comes with its own power supply, not sure if it is a Volent or LKS design.

 
Side view of assembled board stack with power supply on top and the USB interface below.

 
Interface installed inside the LKS MH-DA003.
It is a perfect fit as expected for an accessory board from the manufacturer.

 
I am running mine with its own separate 10VA 7V AC transformer, this preserves the galavanic isolation provided by the LKS DAC.
 
Sound impressions:
-Widens the already big soundstage of the MH-DA003, bringing a greater sense of breadth and depth.
-The wooly low-bass has been cleaned up, it is a lot more solid  and defined, on the LCD-3F, the apparent weight of the bass is both heard and felt, there is an obvious visceral impact.
-This change is one step closer to the elimination of the ES9018 tizzy top end, with the new USB interface, the rendering of the clash of cymbals is clear with all the transients intact, without being overly bright.
-Overall more analog sounding, much of the digital etch and glare is gone.