[penguin69]

b0bb
 
Any thoughts on XO's from bliley?
 
http://www.bliley.com/​
 
Needless to say, I don't have the skills to understand whether their kit is good or not, however I do like the enthusiasm and educational material they provide on XO's.

 

[b0bb]

  b0bb
 
Any thoughts on XO's from bliley?
 
http://www.bliley.com/​
 
Needless to say, I don't have the skills to understand whether their kit is good or not, however I do like the enthusiasm and educational material they provide on XO's.

Looked at their product range when I compiled my list of XOs , did not see anything for the LKS that I found interesting.

 

[fjc36]

Dear Bobb,
 
It is not fair, but I still like to ask a stupid question. It seems to me, LKS release the next version of MH-DA003, the MKII, preserve main XO, the I/ V OP, diodes, and many other items. They or their R & D engineers must read this forum and made some test. What would you think the sound may vastly improved just because use a ESS 9028pro ? If not so, I must say, the east and the west do have different ear structure or ideal for a good Hi-Fi sound. Your comment ?
My idea is it should still sound harsh if nothing except switch the DSC chip to a higher level, because there is no magic solution. So sturboon, this time? Or they disagree everything in the very beginning. Your comment.

 

[b0bb]

  Dear Bobb,
 
It is not fair, but I still like to ask a stupid question. It seems to me, LKS release the next version of MH-DA003, the MKII, preserve main XO, the I/ V OP, diodes, and many other items. They or their R & D engineers must read this forum and made some test. What would you think the sound may vastly improved just because use a ESS 9028pro ? If not so, I must say, the east and the west do have different ear structure or ideal for a good Hi-Fi sound. Your comment ?
My idea is it should still sound harsh if nothing except switch the DSC chip to a higher level, because there is no magic solution. So sturboon, this time? Or they disagree everything in the very beginning. Your comment.

9028Pro is designed to drop in to boards made for the existing 9018S, how well that will work is an open question.

 

[fjc36]

There is one Canada exasound  ES9028pro  USB DAC on the market, cost around US$ 2500-3000., more expansive than the $1300 on LKS MH-DA003 I think. Sound quality?
see 
 http://www.exasound.com/StartHere/exaSoundDACs-Features.aspx
It has no internal power section, something good or inconvenient?

 

[-Felix-]

  https://world.taobao.com/item/540405847037.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a21m2.1.0.0
 
Here is the link, it is all Chinese, may be you can find a  link at the US site that sells LKS. This is a TaoBao site sells many many commercial items including Hi-Fi or mid-Fi gears and parts. 

 
Interesting! Unfortunately, the link is not working for me. But I found these links:
http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/l-k-s-audio-mh-da003-mk2-es9028pro-dac-usb-dsd-femto-clock-110v-to-250v.html
http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/_/-/_-14_3_1.jpg
https://translate.google.de/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiendy.com%2F%3Fp%3D8226
http://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/data/attachment/forum/201611/02/145052hd4oa74klfanglad.jpg
 
What I can guess from the low-res images is that the pcb itself is completely unchanged, the power sections look unchanged (components could be replaced by others with similar appearance), the right digital section seems unchanged too (option for the new USB module), however, there are minor changes regarding the caps on the left side next to the ES9028pros, two caps missing in the I/V sections (?!) and also four red WIMA caps replaced by green (WIMA?) caps in the next opamp sections.
 
Inspired by b0bb's modifications? 

 

 

[Ric Schultz]

Here are some of my thoughts on the output stage:
 
Usually less is better.  If the schematic is similar to the one B0bb showed then I think the sound is being compromised.  The filter parts and the summing op amp are compromising the sound of the balanced outs.  If you are using the balanced outs then remove the summing op amps and all the resistors and caps to ground in its circuit.  Then I would remove most of the output filters from the balanced outs.  You can simply use a 100 ohm resistor directly from the IV converter to the output jack pins.....nothing else.  You create a single pole filter by placing an appropriate sized cap across the feedback resistor in the IV circuit.  The IV stage can drive a cable directly without problem.  I have been doing this for years and years.  The output current that the IV converter would be using to drive a cable is practically nothing.  2 volts rms divided by say a 10K load is two tenths of a milliamp.....The IV converter has no problem with this.
 
If you are using unbalanced out then just use the positive phase output from the IV converter and don't use the negative phase.  Summing circuits all wreck the sound.  This is my direct experience for years. Probably no one will try any of this and that is fine.  Just letting you know my experience.  I may get one of the new 9028 ones in here and if I do and do these mods then I will let you know what I experience.  Have fun.

 

[fjc36]

Dear Ric, 
Happy to see and anxious to read your findings at the LKS da003 with the ES 9028pro on it. 

 

[fjc36]

Flix, What a good observation, I have corresponded to the sales. Yes, there is no change on the circuitry. Few minor changes on the caps. Hidden firmware is rewrited for operation. No change on the power supply. They may have a 9038pro edition next year. For buying now, because at  the Nov 11 event (1111 meaning for singles fair in Tao Bao sells), they may have a small discount,(up to 10%) now. 

 

[penguin69]

  Here are some of my thoughts on the output stage:
 
Usually less is better.  If the schematic is similar to the one B0bb showed then I think the sound is being compromised.  The filter parts and the summing op amp are compromising the sound of the balanced outs.  If you are using the balanced outs then remove the summing op amps and all the resistors and caps to ground in its circuit.  Then I would remove most of the output filters from the balanced outs.  You can simply use a 100 ohm resistor directly from the IV converter to the output jack pins.....nothing else.  You create a single pole filter by placing an appropriate sized cap across the feedback resistor in the IV circuit.  The IV stage can drive a cable directly without problem.  I have been doing this for years and years.  The output current that the IV converter would be using to drive a cable is practically nothing.  2 volts rms divided by say a 10K load is two tenths of a milliamp.....The IV converter has no problem with this.

I am currently running my MH-DA003 with the stock output stage op amps removed, and Ticha 994 I/V's feeding the balanced out. I doubt I will change this approach as the balanced sound is so good.
 
It has also saves me a few quid (dollars) insofar as I don't need to purchase an extra pair of discrete op amps.
 
I am impressed at how (with expert and extremely generous guidance from b0bb) I have been able to change the sound of this unit from average at best to extremely good.
 
I wll be working to make more changes shortly. My technical knowledge of these areas is improving slowly, but I'm still not at a stage where I can make autonomous decisions. (I wish I had studied EE rather than computing at college all those years ago.  )

 

[Ric Schultz]

To make this more clear for balanced users:  What I am saying is that the balanced outs would sound better if you got rid of the summing op amp and ALL its filter parts AND you remove all excess filters from the output of the balanced outs and just use a 50-100 ohm resistor directly to the output jacks from the IV converter.  I understand that most people would not have the ability to do this as it is not just a parts swap.  Anyone can remove the summing op amps, if not in use.  However, there are still parts to ground affecting the sound in its circuit that should be removed for best sound.

 

[0t73r]

I've found instruction to change the usb module seem you can use unused output from LKS transformer. Instruction http://pan.baidu.com/s/1pJ7izLT . Is there a disadvantage if I just use this without using separate transformer?
 
EDITED: Apologize, read through earlier thread and found my answer.

 

[gaddabout]

  Hi B0bb,
 
Thank you for your reply. I will continue to upgrade my LKS accordingly.
I have the following problems using Singxer SU-1 and connect it to the LKS MH DA 003.
I connect the Singxer SU-1 to my LKS MH DA003 using HDMI/I2S ports. The setting on SU-1 is: Pin 2 and Pin 6-7 set to ‘on’. This works fine with PCM modes but become surprisingly unpleasant when I upsample music files (FLAC/WAV) to DSD modes using JRiver: the music from the left channel is switched to the right channel and vice versa (recently it seems that the sound becomes monophonic) There is also a loud “pop’ at the beginning/end of the song when I stop and re-start the music. How can I fix those problems?
I am very disappointed when Shenzhen Audio explained that is because of the LKS and not the Singxer and even suggested that I should replace the LKS using the Gustard X20 or PS audio dac instead which is ridiculous.

 
That's what i experience too...and i'm glad to read that i'm not alone: i use the gustard U12 with the LKS HDMI/I2S port...native DSD mode gives me mono output  and a blop at the beginning. i use luckit drivers for the gustard u12...

 

[0t73r]

From the product page https://m.shenzhenaudio.com/headphone-amplifier/singxer-su-1-usb-digital-interface-with-xmos-xu208-cpld-dsd256-dop.html it seem u need to fiddle with the dip switch not sure what is the correct setting though for LKS.

 

[penguin69]

https://www.shenzhenaudio.com/l-k-s-audio-mh-da003-mk2-es9028pro-dac-usb-dsd-femto-clock-110v-to-250v.html​
 
I may well order this after Xmas and work in parallel on my existing 003 and this 9028 upgrade. (Make up for lost time over the last 2-3 months, when I've been working away from home and not been able to tinker.)
 
Does anyone know of initial reactions/reviews of the new ESS chip - irrespective of container DAC?