Mini Dac TDA1543 X 4 NOS
Mar 6, 2011 at 6:22 PM Post #241 of 1,063


Quote:
I have just received mine, and I can say the sound is very good!!
But it really tire my ears..I think it is to harsh and grainy.
Well I would love to mod then ( everything its possible), anybody could give me a hand on what could I change? or where to start?
Thanks alot!!
biggrin.gif


i found it grainy & harsh too at 1st but it did calm down significantly after a few days of cooking - prolly atleast 100hrs or so. so just keep it playing no matter & it gets much better. as far as modding goes, there are other gurus here that can chime in. i only recently changed the output coupling caps & am also using a battery as power source. i found the battery gave a darker background & a slight expanded soundstage. the film caps gave it an even larger soundstage. goodluck & go for it. its seriouly fun & theres no beating the rush from the 1st mod! goodstuff!!
 


Quote:
 

TDA1543   +--Cap-- -  RCA-Output
 
 
 
I tested using RMAA.
From left to right.
Film Capacitors 4.7uF, Nichicon MUSE-ES 10uF (BP), Nichicon KW 33uF, Nichicon FG 10uF 

 

 
CEC CD3300R play the test signal, MINI DAC in the DA conversion.
CEC CD3300R - COAX -> MINI DAC - RCA -> EDIROL UA-3FX -> WindowsPC (RMAA)

 
 

 
 
Frequency response
 

 


thxs for the freq response graph IIZUKA. so the slight attenuation of bass slam isnt just a figment of my imagination. luckily i dont have bass lite cans in either the HD650 or HE5-LEs so it actually ballances the sound pretty well. i also use vintage amps to drive my cans & all of them have hardware tone controlls to boost bass & treble at the very least. sometime i even like using the 'loudness' control for full impact on r&b/techno genres. LOL. strangely i find the tone controls or even the loudness do not affect the over sound quality except boosting the affected freqs.
 
i woulda matched the original 10uf if i could find any that fitted & these were the only ones at the EE store that even came close. as it is, it just makes it after some funny wire hookup routing. i must say that these caps do bring an "organic" feel to the sound & the much enlarged soundstage is most endearing. however i do hear some vocal sibilancessssss (& its only on vocals) that i didnt when stock but only on the HE5-LE as the smoother & less resolving HD650 glosses over it.
 
but its still early days yet & the sound mite still change some as the caps burn-in.
 
 
Mar 6, 2011 at 8:05 PM Post #242 of 1,063


Quote:
 

TDA1543   +--Cap-- -  RCA-Output
 
 
 
I tested using RMAA.
From left to right.
Film Capacitors 4.7uF, Nichicon MUSE-ES 10uF (BP), Nichicon KW 33uF, Nichicon FG 10uF 

 

 
CEC CD3300R play the test signal, MINI DAC in the DA conversion.
CEC CD3300R - COAX -> MINI DAC - RCA -> EDIROL UA-3FX -> WindowsPC (RMAA)

 
 

 
 
Frequency response
 

 


 
Excellent work with these measurement, cheers.  Who knew rolling output caps can so dramatically alter the bass balance.  Nevertheless...I thoroughly enjoyed mine stock, and I was using the LCD2 plugged into all sorts of amps, including full tube, solid state, midrange and hi-end.  I had no problems with either bass roll-off or treble rolloff.  The graph makes the treble rolloff worse than it really sounds, its only down 1.5db at 15khz.  With a good cap the bass is only down 0.5db at 20hz.  Overall, this dac is still more neutral than any other headphone in existance.
 
I get the feeling that people that are sensitive to digititis is able to pickup frequencies above 15khz.  This is probably where the electronic haze permeates in lower end gear, introduced by the DAC so it cannot be EQ'd away on the computer.  From my experience, to get a DAC that measures flat all the way from 20-20 and not have this digital fatigue costs in the thousands and in my experience this was the Bryston and Reference 7, both close to 2 grand.  The is also fatigue free for only sixty bucks and I have never heard a dac that can yet match it in vocal presentation and midrange awesomeness.
 


Quote:
I have just received mine, and I can say the sound is very good!!
But it really tire my ears..I think it is to harsh and grainy.
Well I would love to mod then ( everything its possible), anybody could give me a hand on what could I change? or where to start?
Thanks alot!!
biggrin.gif


That was my conclusion when I first bought it...when I didn't really believe in burn-in or jitter.  With some usage and a better transport, the sound for 60 bucks was heaven sent.
 
 
Mar 7, 2011 at 9:47 AM Post #243 of 1,063
Hey Scottiebabie.
Nice to hear that, here in Brazil SLA batteries are very cheap, gonna try a battery approach.
How long do they last in listening? How do you charge yours?
Thanks!
 
Quote:
i found it grainy & harsh too at 1st but it did calm down significantly after a few days of cooking - prolly atleast 100hrs or so. so just keep it playing no matter & it gets much better. as far as modding goes, there are other gurus here that can chime in. i only recently changed the output coupling caps & am also using a battery as power source. i found the battery gave a darker background & a slight expanded soundstage. the film caps gave it an even larger soundstage. goodluck & go for it. its seriouly fun & theres no beating the rush from the 1st mod! goodstuff!!
 



thxs for the freq response graph IIZUKA. so the slight attenuation of bass slam isnt just a figment of my imagination. luckily i dont have bass lite cans in either the HD650 or HE5-LEs so it actually ballances the sound pretty well. i also use vintage amps to drive my cans & all of them have hardware tone controlls to boost bass & treble at the very least. sometime i even like using the 'loudness' control for full impact on r&b/techno genres. LOL. strangely i find the tone controls or even the loudness do not affect the over sound quality except boosting the affected freqs.
 
i woulda matched the original 10uf if i could find any that fitted & these were the only ones at the EE store that even came close. as it is, it just makes it after some funny wire hookup routing. i must say that these caps do bring an "organic" feel to the sound & the much enlarged soundstage is most endearing. however i do hear some vocal sibilancessssss (& its only on vocals) that i didnt when stock but only on the HE5-LE as the smoother & less resolving HD650 glosses over it.
 
but its still early days yet & the sound mite still change some as the caps burn-in.
 



 
 
Mar 7, 2011 at 6:44 PM Post #244 of 1,063
Just changed the coupling caps to some 22uF elna, wich I were laying on my desk.
Dont know if they alredy burnt, but it sounds smooth now.
Im not a master in coupling caps, but the sound really improved.
=D
 
PS: It not sounded detalied as the default 10uF =(
 
Mar 8, 2011 at 2:11 AM Post #245 of 1,063
good for u Chefano! do give it sometime to cook before passing any judgements though. next step would be the PSU mod using SLA 12v car/truck battery. u can recharge it using any ol battery charger. i personally use a 12v car battery booster power pack which has a built-in charging circuit using a standard 12v walwart. O & it has dual cig lighter type accessory power outlets which is perfect for my need as all i did was hook up 2 standard cig lighter plugs with the appropriate tips to power both the Muse Dac & a MF V-Dac.
 
its last me quite a while - atleast 24hrs but i usually plug in the walwart during sleeptime or even the days when im at work. that way. the battery booster is always full when i need it. goodluck
 
Mar 8, 2011 at 5:41 AM Post #246 of 1,063
brief update on the film output caps mod: for a while there, i was getting a tad concerned with the sibilancesssssss in vocals as it was getting abit grating so much so i was listening more to the HD650 rather than HE5-LE. also i did mention about the seemingly attenuated bass slam (more so than a lack of bass). well folks, an even more resolved version of bass slam made a come back tonight & sibilancesssssss took a hike (hopefully for good). the much enlarged soundstage, improved micro details & organic (for lack of a better word but i guess smooth & analoguish mite also suffice) siggy made a permanent home. all this is current & tentative subject to any further changes to the "cookin" process.
 
motto is dont be afraid to experiment folks. for sure film caps is way better than electrolytic as coupling caps even though 3.3uf isnt as per mfgr's specs. only downside's im pumpin up the jam to an even higher vol due to the smoothness - not so good for hearing loss deterrance. heh
 
O & another strange phenomenon: i believe i did mention how the Muse Dac unit itself ran significantly cooler than normal since i did the cap change. well tonight it went back to pre-mod temps ie warm to the touch instead of cool. quite weird & is perhaps linked to the improved sound. perhaps the mod gurus mite chime in on this.
 
Mar 8, 2011 at 5:53 AM Post #247 of 1,063
PSU arrived.
I bought it for ONKYO ND-S1. However, I am just good for MiniDAC.
 

 
"TeraDak" Teralink-X2 / X1 Linear Low noise Power Supply 
 

 
DC5V to 10V range can be changed.
 

 
 
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/170867-teralink-x2-power-supply-unit.html
 
 
Mar 8, 2011 at 8:55 PM Post #250 of 1,063
I'm an apostate. I sold mine. :rolleyes:
Made the add. Went to bed. And when I got up it was sold.

But don't worry, I can buy some more now. I'm not done tweaking. :cool:
 
Mar 9, 2011 at 1:53 AM Post #251 of 1,063
O no Jeep'dude u were the one that turned me on to changing the coupling caps to films with your funky MKTs & bypass caps. my mod Muse took a change for the better & is sounding very fine right  now - smooth detailed, extended highs, very tight bass combined with the humongous soundstage is putting an ear to ear smile on my face. hope u get back to a Muse & show us more cheap mods to make it from good to great!
 
IIZUKA very nice PSU & USB-Spidf converter. i gotta tryout one of those thingys to see what the hoopla's all about. just a question though - am i the only person using a car battery booster pack as PSU? i checked my local Craigslist & one can pick 1 up for about $50 or so. its an easy matter to hookup a coupla cig lighter plugs to power our Dacs. SLA's must be better than any linear reg PSU no? plus one can also use it to boost a dead battery & start a car as its meant to. wonder why no one else's into this cheap way to get battery power. LOL
 
Mar 9, 2011 at 5:54 AM Post #252 of 1,063
SPWild used a car battery - but his Muse died... We have a theory (mine died as well) that the overheating was the issue, that it killed the reciever-chip, since that was the first thing that malfunctioned. With 9V, the unit does not get warm, so I'll never use 12V again, at least not leave it plugged in for more than a couple of hours. 
 
Mar 9, 2011 at 9:48 AM Post #253 of 1,063


Quote:
IIZUKA very nice PSU & USB-Spidf converter. i gotta tryout one of those thingys to see what the hoopla's all about. just a question though - am i the only person using a car battery booster pack as PSU? i checked my local Craigslist & one can pick 1 up for about $50 or so. its an easy matter to hookup a coupla cig lighter plugs to power our Dacs. SLA's must be better than any linear reg PSU no? plus one can also use it to boost a dead battery & start a car as its meant to. wonder why no one else's into this cheap way to get battery power. LOL

 
I focused on convenience. :)

Automotive battery voltage of 12V or more for?
 
 
Japan's "TIMEDOMAIN" people who have intensive use of car batteries.
http://www.timedomain.co.jp/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/tackbon-0831/archives/51687717.html
 
Mar 9, 2011 at 12:48 PM Post #254 of 1,063

 
Quote:
 
I focused on convenience. :)

Automotive battery voltage of 12V or more for?
 
 
Japan's "TIMEDOMAIN" people who have intensive use of car batteries.
http://www.timedomain.co.jp/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/tackbon-0831/archives/51687717.html


 
Hey T.IIZUKA.
Have a few questions.. if you dont mind
biggrin.gif

1. The panasonics ECQV  are in the signal path?
2. If I use a 47uF coupling caps would extend/improve the bass?
3. Im willing to buy 4 more TDA1543 and parallel then using de backside of the pcb, would it work using the defaults caps.. or do I need to recalculate somenthing?
 
Thanks again =D
 

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