[Pingfloid]

Quote:

Awesome.
 
I'm going to have to break down and learn how to solder, I think. It's beginning to bug me.
 

You will not recognize your old Havana when I finish with it

 
I am going to show you what I believe is the most important mod. It is a preservative to protect the head of the very estimated Bendix 6385 
 

 
This modification is non-intrusive. You just need a cutter to cut the plastic bottle and four small "cable stipe holders" (I don't know the name of that things in English). Anyone can do it:

 
It is an essential mod for those who have the Havana in a place where accidents can happen, or transport it frequently from home to the office.

 

[s1rrah]

Quote:

 
It is an essential mod for those who have the Havana in a place where accidents can happen, or transport it frequently from home to the office.

 
 
 
Looks ghetto but functional. 
 
I don't move my DAC around at all so not a big deal. I enjoy seeing the tube poke through, also.
 
It would be sort of cool to try that with some sort of wire mesh, if one could shape it right. Aesthetically, the plastic leaves a bit to be desired.
 
How do you like the Bendix 6385, though? 

 

[robeeert1]

Quote:

 
[size=10pt]What values are recommended for the resistors?[/size]
 
[size=9pt]I am still wondering if I have to add resistors to use the direct output from pin 13. Will it work if I just bend Pin-9 before inserting the IC into the socket, and wire a link between pin 13 and pin 9 at the PCB?[/size]
 

 
You can use "Iout - 13th leg" of PCM56 connecting it to the ground by the resistor. Niamex suggested 181R.

 

[loserica]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
New to this thread.  I planning on getting the Havana DAC.  I have a question or two.  Do any of you pair this DAC with the WOO WA22 amp or does it pair better with Solid State amps?  Does anyone use a complete tube rig - or do you mix and match more than not?

Havana fits seamlessly with both, tubes and SS amps. Personally I prefer the Solid State version, eXStatA sounds better than Stax SRM-006tII. In dynamic headphone rig, I tested the Jan Meier Prehead-I with Havana and the result was again very good in combination with SS amp. Very good! It depends on personal taste, of course.
(I haven't tested anything from Woo).

 

[kendrab]

It was mentioned near the start of this thread that the Mdht Labs Havana dac can use the Analog Devices AD1865 series chipsets as well as the regular Burr Brown/TI PCM56P series. I believe someone tried switching them, and reported they were more "electronic" sounding, but I believe this was in a relatively unmodified Havana dac.
 
My question is this: "Has anyone tried the Analog Devices AD1865 chipsets in a fully modified Havana dac to see if the earlier testing result still holds true?"

 

[Pingfloid]

Quote:

How do you like the Bendix 6385, though? 

Since I had the Havana I have tried the following tubes:
GE 5670 > Raytheon CK5670 > WE 2C51/396A > Bendix 6385
I have the feeling of an improvement but it may be psychological. One day I will do a proper A/B test.
 
Quote:

You can use "Iout - 13th leg" of PCM56 connecting it to the ground by the resistor. Niamex suggested 181R.

 
Thank You for the information, Robert.
 
This is how I see the current Havana circuit:
 

 
If we connect Pin 13 output to ground with a resistor, isn't 181 Ohm a very low value? Perhaps Niamex meant 181K? Otherwise the signal is going to drop down.
 

 
BTW, I am surprised to see that R26 and R32 (33R2) are not in the list of resistors to substitute with better quality ones. They are right in the middle of the signal path!

 

[robeeert1]

Pingfloid,
 
You connect 13th leg directly to the grid, and to the ground by the resistor, we omit R26.
Resistance for I/V conversion for most Iout Dacs is in the range 30-500R. I think 180R maybe the right choice, but try close values.
BBPCM56 tolerates max 1k value. Test it by yourself. Lower value resistor - slower sound.
 
 
 

 

[Pingfloid]

Thank you!. I will try this with the existing J-grade chips as soon as I receive the new K-grade ones (I want to have a backup in the case that I barbeque them)

 

[robeeert1]

Quote:

Since I had the Havana I have tried the following tubes:
GE 5670 > Raytheon CK5670 > WE 2C51/396A > Bendix 6385
I have the feeling of an improvement but it may be psychological. One day I will do a proper A/B test.

 
I do not know how to understand this.  Does every tube sound the same?

 

[Pingfloid]

Quote:

 
I do not know how to understand this.  Does every tube sound the same?

I mean that I admit that the improvements that I have perceived so far could be psychological (or maybe not). I have not spent enough time listening to the different tubes to compare them by memory. Furthermore, it is very difficult to make a proper A/B test with tubes because of the time required to swap the tubes and wait for the new tube to heat up.
 
At the same time, I have also changed some components at my headphone amplifiers while I was swapping tubes, so I have not concentrated so much in listening to the tube characteristics. I will go back to the old tubes when I finish with all the modifications. And by that time, I will already have a better feeling about the flavor of the Bendix to compare it with the others.
 
With the Jantzen capacitors I am confident of what I have said about the improvement, because I used crocodrile clips for quick A/B changes and compare them before soldering them into the board.

 

[loserica]

Quote:

Horace,
You're tempting ! I will try them as soon as I finish my new NOS DIY DAC based on TDA1541A. In a month time or so...
 

 
Back after about 3 weeks of running Oscon's capacitors: is undoubtedly one of the most important upgrades to Havana. Not only with excellent quality-price ratio, but from my point of view, I dare to call it critical! I cannot seem to believe how much additional information is able to reveal this dac,..

From here, I can only conclude that it is very limited in details and transparency, and the implementation substantially open the sound! (disappears and the slightest trace of dark..)
Texture increases greatly with the first signs of running Oscon's capacitors, a wealth of micro details and harmonics. I didn't until now that difference can make it. High-audio playback in terms of consistency and realism (but have patience to burn capacitors, as of course you realize). the result after is..more than satisfactory.

 

[robeeert1]

Quote:

 
Back after about 3 weeks of running Oscon's capacitors: is undoubtedly one of the most important upgrades to Havana. Not only with excellent quality-price ratio, but from my point of view, I dare to call it critical! I cannot seem to believe how much additional information is able to reveal this dac,..

From here, I can only conclude that it is very limited in details and transparency, and the implementation substantially open the sound! (disappears and the slightest trace of dark..)
Texture increases greatly with the first signs of running Oscon's capacitors, a wealth of micro details and harmonics. I didn't until now that difference can make it. High-audio playback in terms of consistency and realism (but have patience to burn capacitors, as of course you realize). the result after is..more than satisfactory.

You convinced me to try.

. http://int.rsdelivers.com - temporarily out of stock. I see they are hard to find. (4,7uF 10V -os-con Sanyo)

 

[kendrab]

I had my Havana D/A convertor updated recently. It is back in my home, and has about 50 hrs on it. I can already tell it is vastly improved over the original unit. A friend of mine has a Naim CDS II CD player with Naim XPS power supply, and the modified Havana being fed from my PC is pretty much its equal BEFORE the required 300-500 hr break in (Blackgate Capacitors and V-Cap CuTF capacitors take quite a while to break in).
 
I know upgrading can get expensive, but the results seem well worth it. I am still working on the cosmetics of my new chassis, but once it is finished, I will post pictures.
 
I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. Without your ideas and feedback, this project would have never got off the ground. I particularly want to thank Roberteeer1, Naimex, and Loserica...

 

[s1rrah]

Quote:

I had my Havana D/A convertor updated recently. It is back in my home, and has about 50 hrs on it. I can already tell it is vastly improved over the original unit. A friend of mine has a Naim CDS II CD player with Naim XPS power supply, and the modified Havana being fed from my PC is pretty much its equal BEFORE the required 300-500 hr break in (Blackgate Capacitors and V-Cap CuTF capacitors take quite a while to break in).
 
I know upgrading can get expensive, but the results seem well worth it. I am still working on the cosmetics of my new chassis, but once it is finished, I will post pictures.
 
I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. Without your ideas and feedback, this project would have never got off the ground. I particularly want to thank Roberteeer1, Naimex, and Loserica...

 

[loserica]

I had my Havana D/A convertor updated recently. It is back in my home, and has about 50 hrs on it. I can already tell it is vastly improved over the original unit. A friend of mine has a Naim CDS II CD player with Naim XPS power supply, and the modified Havana being fed from my PC is pretty much its equal BEFORE the required 300-500 hr break in (Blackgate Capacitors and V-Cap CuTF capacitors take quite a while to break in).
I know upgrading can get expensive, but the results seem well worth it. I am still working on the cosmetics of my new chassis, but once it is finished, I will post pictures.
I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. Without your ideas and feedback, this project would have never got off the ground. I particularly want to thank Roberteeer1, Naimex, and Loserica...

 
I am very glad to hear it! I expect pictures and I imagine it looks great ..

I can only say whenever I get: Havana upgrade at full and Havana-stock are two different things! Unbelievable how much can it improve to details, transparency, resolution, speed, dynamic, texture, etc..
 
Quote:

You convinced me to try.

. http://int.rsdelivers.com - temporarily out of stock. I see they are hard to find. (4,7uF 10V -os-con Sanyo)

 
I see, no longer in stock..and the same problem: space and matching. I looked and I, including on eBay, but I haven't find yet. Idea is that if he had a different model, you could mount them otherwise (I chose normal, or standing, but it can and invert to 90 degrees, only to carefully measure the available space in height, approx. 6 mm). Mine are the right ones, as you've already noticed.
 

 
I hope you find the right size!