I had a pot of Walkers SST and used a bead of it between the ends of the output cap legs on the underside of the pcb. No heat, no hassle, no danger to the pcb and easy to reverse.
Walkers SST is great stuff. I use it all over the place, where appropriate
I had a pot of Walkers SST and used a bead of it between the ends of the output cap legs on the underside of the pcb. No heat, no hassle, no danger to the pcb and easy to reverse.
Walkers SST is great stuff. I use it all over the place, where appropriate
Looks like the Walkers SST Extreme you got there, Scottiebabie, the ordinary SST does the same job fer less. The good thing about it is that you can effectively upgrade most of your existing kit. Interconnects are the only weak point. I have used it in scart connectors, mains leads, the legs of valves, the Phillips dac chips(removeable of course) in my cd player, the plug in connectors in the cd player and so on.
If you consider 'budget gear' to compete with $1000 gear then I agree. I have listened to several cd-players and dacs the last few years, ss and tubed, and aside from different tastes: this little engine CAN. It is a serious contender and not just a toy. Looks can be deceptive...
A couple of years ago I had a $1000 Myriad CD player that did all it could for the price 10y ago (90%). That never really did it for me though. Not compared to my vinyl rig. I was looking for a Chinese NOS cd-player (like the 47-labs). Then I heard the MHZS cd33 with passive mod and I was blown away. I bought one myself and sold the old one for allmost the same price (but 10y older). I then did several mods on it, first the tubes and removing opamps, changing coupling caps from fakes> Clarity Cap SA (94%)> Sprague PiO then extra current to the tubes (96%), better output caps(97%), and last but not least the CS4398 dac board like Lampisators (99%). Everytime i had a significant improvement. I even had Lampisators big commercial DAC here. That costs about $2000 (100%). I have put percentages after each description for comparison. I rank the shorted Muse at 97%. So if you want the extra 3% you will have to invest on the slippery slopes of diminishing returns.
If you would like to run the Muse mini DAC on PiO's... you can try. But 10µF PiO's tend to be the size of beer cans. I have some 5.6µF and they are 2x as big as the Muse. So good luck with that.
What you might try is Obbligato caps. They are not cheap MKP's but VERY good and a manageable size. (like 2" length and 1"circ) I put them in a Lite NOS DAC recently. Works well.
Sounds like this shorted caps mod is the way to go. Stock I felt the same wrt to comparison with megabuck DACS, it plays very hard into their strengths. Other mid level sub K dacs had no chance.
Got mine up and running. Fed by AudioGD Digital Interface. Modded right away with 4.7uf ClarityCap SAs I had lying around and powered by an inexpensive but robust linear power supply. Just a few minutes in and it holds its own against the DAC19MK3 very well so far. I'll reassess after 100 hours. I really want to replace the TDA bypass caps though. They have to go. And then the resistors.
I also switched the Muse PS from my main HT power conditioner (APC H10) to a Felix - a DIY CLCLC filter popular on AudioCircle - and now the Muse gets a Huge thumbs up. Can't wait to power it with the Salas LV Shunt-regulated PS on diyaudio once they ship.
I've tried to get into the Walker SST and equivalents like SIlclear, etc. and I just hear too much of the 'silver' in the sound. I can see how many would dig it though, it does expand the sound, more 'open'. My ears are just too sensitive to upper frequencies.
to be perfectly honest, i too cant hear much of a difference btwn the SLA juiced short'd mod Muse mini & the exactly mod'd MF VDAC (which btw is 6x more SRP2SRP). that said, after an extended listening session, i 'get' a upper treble fatigue with the Muse that i dont get with the VDAC. closest i get to putting it in words is a high treble (phase?)incoherance - perhaps its due to the much discussed deficiencies of NOS dacs but waddaikno!
OTOH i fully admit that its quite possible i could be delusional
. anyone else as delusional as moi? anyone?? earth calling anyone???
to be perfectly honest, i too cant hear much of a difference btwn the SLA juiced short'd mod Muse mini & the exactly mod'd MF VDAC (which btw is 6x more SRP2SRP). that said, after an extended listening session, i 'get' a upper treble fatigue with the Muse that i dont get with the VDAC. closest i get to putting it in words is a high treble (phase?)incoherance - perhaps its due to the much discussed deficiencies of NOS dacs but waddaikno!
OTOH i fully admit that its quite possible i could be delusional
. anyone else as delusional as moi? anyone?? earth calling anyone???
I do get this sensation of a strange hi frequency "sensation" that is very slightly fatiguing, but I only hear it in direct comparison with my Reference 7 dac, in other words its a non issue on its own. Similarly, I never heard "digital glare" until I had better source that didn't have as much of it, and this was only audible to me when I got into magnetic planars. Still, I find cheaper sigma deltas to have a digital glare or nervousness in the uppermid that is far more offensive to my ears. The sensation of the Muse is not unlike a sineweep at the limits of my limits of high frequency detection, where I don't actually hear a tone anymore, but a sensation in the mind. My Dacmagic, DIY and Pioneer SACD sources were more devastating to my perceptions.
I fail to see how the "digital glare" of mid level dacs or the Muse anomaly could be of relevance for anything but the most fastest of output transducers. If other people can detect these outcomes with mid level headphones, then I yield to their superior golden ears.
I wonder if the Muse glare has a culprit in the chip bypass caps which appear to be cheap tantalum and tend to have that signature. With the Felix filter so far there is no glare and the sound is quite smooth.
I've been listening to the single TDA1543 version of this dac since the first of the year and am very happy with it. I use a linear power supply from Parts Express that was recomended for use with the Squeezebox - 3V - 12V @ 2 amps. Wushuliu, I would like to add a Felix to this and wonder what value cmc is best? Did you put it before the power supply or between the power supply and dac?
I've been listening to the single TDA1543 version of this dac since the first of the year and am very happy with it. I use a linear power supply from Parts Express that was recomended for use with the Squeezebox - 3V - 12V @ 2 amps. Wushuliu, I would like to add a Felix to this and wonder what value cmc is best? Did you put it before the power supply or between the power supply and dac?
A 3 or 4A cmc should be fine. I placed it before the power supply, though I suppose if you wanted to be thorough you should have one both before and after.
I do get this sensation of a strange hi frequency "sensation" that is very slightly fatiguing, but I only hear it in direct comparison with my Reference 7 dac, in other words its a non issue on its own. Similarly, I never heard "digital glare" until I had better source that didn't have as much of it, and this was only audible to me when I got into magnetic planars. Still, I find cheaper sigma deltas to have a digital glare or nervousness in the uppermid that is far more offensive to my ears. The sensation of the Muse is not unlike a sineweep at the limits of my limits of high frequency detection, where I don't actually hear a tone anymore, but a sensation in the mind. My Dacmagic, DIY and Pioneer SACD sources were more devastating to my perceptions.
I fail to see how the "digital glare" of mid level dacs or the Muse anomaly could be of relevance for anything but the most fastest of output transducers. If other people can detect these outcomes with mid level headphones, then I yield to their superior golden ears.
not sure i can describe as digital glare, metallic sheen just plain vanilla grainy harshness or wateva as i cant quite put my finger on it. its not missing any details nor dynamics nor extension but instead of missing, its like mismatching high freq info - an incoherant anomaly (albeit slight but fatiguing in due time nontheless) of some kind that shows up as listening fatigue. best analogy would be like a transporter teleportation accident resulting in not quite 100% duplication of original - YESSS im a trekkie & watch way too much sci-fi! LMAO.
no it doesnt happen on my mod MF-VAC as i can listen to it for hours and a big YES, i hear it using my hifiman orthos (not coincidental im guessing LOL). that said, its wont surprise me if someone 'proves' its all in my head. LOL. to be honest, im not sure it isnt as there doesnt seem to be much (if any) reported cases which is why i hesitated for the longest whether to even bring it up. o well, guess my ears arent wired for NOS Dacs.
at the cost of a dinner for 2, whatcha waiting for. instead of going out, cook 1 dinner for your date & voila....u just saved enuff to own the Muse Mini. if u find it not capable, be nice & make a present of it to another hifinut. u can both be a hero & save the earth by recycling. how koools tat!?? LOL
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