[Ektalog]

OK, DJ. I am giving this pair of Elna S-II a few more hours at their current position this week. This is on the strength of your observation that they may take 300+ hours. Encouragingly, there does seem to be  some improvement with the additional 50 hours or so. Yet, I can't wait for 300+ hours on just this pair when there are other phases. LOL, I have patience but not an extra lifetime to do this. I think I'll be close enough, though.

Interesting, I did have to backtrack from the OTHER cap. This is the one that replaced the WIMA that I damaged so...craftily.

  The new WIMA arrived yesterday. By that time I was already unhappy with having used the other cap.  I can't recall the brand but it is not audiophile stuff. It simply had behaved very well as a pinch hitter in another similar circuit.
 
Anyway, in went the new WIMA...and we're back in business. A time when the WIMA will be pitted against a better cap may come up later. Obviously, that position -- Pin 14, Vcom, on the analog section of PCM1793  -- is quite sensitive. So, it could explain Fab_flix's observation that a Mundorf MKP may improve things there.
 

 

[djdopson]

Excellent that you got the stock WIMA back in there..   and good to hear that you observed positive gains with added time. Any final conclusions? 

I haven't had much time for comparisons but this DAC does work very well as a transport. It greatly improved the sound of my NOS MHDT Paradisea+ (over its own direct USB connection..). I must say though.. even after all of the upgrades, the Paradisea is more refined overall. Its in another entire league really.. (despite the whole NOS vs upsampling etc.) but, given the price difference that is to be expected! 
 
Kudos to both products though.. as I believe they are both excellent values at their respective price points! 

 

[Ektalog]

Well, by Sunday the sound had fully recovered back to where things were after the improvements with the opamp had happened. The caps had racked up about 280 hours of play. The slight warm up noted earlier stayed stable and repeatable when making close comparisons to the CDP. It is not of a strength that would be evident in normal use, but it is there.
 
I'll see how it goes the rest of the week just as it is. I was too busy to move on to the next change this weekend.
 
There are 2 other items of "change" that I should mention in view of your effort to fight digital glare.
 
One is that a while ago, I changed the power cord to one that is shielded. At first, I did not expect -- nor get -- SQ changes in the Musiland 02 from this. It was merely so that I could route the power cord closer to other equipment. The factory cord had too strong a field. If I left it close to signal cords, it affected SQ (of other items).
 
To be sure, the "shield" in this shielded cable does not enter the Musiland. It is left unterminated just outside the box. Well, it worked...which only means that SQ remained the same even if the power cord is now closer to analog signal  areas & cables.
 
But wait!  Additionaly: This change allowed a notable benefit later on. It turns out that the Musiland 02 itself can be affected by the fields of other equipment. Long story short is that I moved it from its normal location to a temporary spot, right on top of the Denon player one day. Not good. Imaging suffered and so did SQ in general. However, I had no choice. The surprisingly easy solution: a jumper between the normally unused "shield" stump in the new power cord and one of the screws on the case. (the paint on the case is non-conductive, btw)
 
The other "change" is really more of a "par for the course" kind of thing. You may already have it. The Musiland 02 stopped being a contributor to digital glare once I hooked it up to the power conditioner that has the isolation transformer. Other types of power conditioners did not help the Musiland (or the other pre-amp stages) as much.
 
I mention all this because you said that you had wanted to deal with digital glare when you modded the Musiland. I did not have as much of an issue on this count. So, maybe some of the above may give you ideas of where to look next. RF/EMI sources in general are a threat, and so is the power grid in some places (mine is murder).

 

[djdopson]

Interference is something that I have noticed the MM02 is susceptible to as well. I have it positioned as far away as possible from any other equipment. It definitely calmed down some of the scratchy highs but I feel I can still do more in regards to this. I run my computer off of a large transformer (US vs Europe power differences..). I will have to look the transformer up to see if it, or the powerstrip that I have is isolated. I didn't think about modding the power cord as you suggested either. When I have the time I will look into this.. 

I just recently acquired an OTG (On-the-Go) cable for my Samsung Galaxy S3. When feeding a signal to the Paradisea DAC (NOS= jitter prone..) directly I noticed a large difference in sound quality vs the MM02. I don't have any other transports to compare it to but the modded MM02 certainly does a much better job. Sorry I can't go into more details about this atm since my comparison was done rather quickly... but for me to post about it it's definitely immediately noticeable! This gives credibility to the fact that a transport really matters in my system. I feel I'm not yet done tinkering with the MM02...

 

[boinger]

Can anyone share the 2.4.1 drivers?
 
I can't seem to connect to the musiland site.

 

[Ektalog]

Boinger, check PM.
 
Also: http://dl.musiland.cn/MlCyMon_2.4.1.0_build20120822.exe is working
 

 

[Ektalog]

At this stage we are past the 300 hours. It looks like:
1. The opamps change is still the overwhelming driver of improvements
2. The 2 caps next to the DAC chip can be changed to Elna SII (of same voltage but 4.7uF instead of .33uF)
  - No damage in SQ
  - The slightest gain in warmth may be noted
3. It does appear that changing the WIMA 1.0uF to something else WILL change SQ more readily.
 
Given # 3, I am inclined to order some good caps that "fit in there". Since you already have the Mundorf MKP, which is compact enough, I'll see what else is available of that same approx size & comparable quality.
 
In the meantime, I think I'll use the 2 Panasonic FM 1200uF to replace the current 1000uF ones, this weekend.

 

[mfaughn]

Hi all,
Wondering if anyone could answer a couple of questions for me?
 
I bought a Monitor02 that was shipped to me on Jan 2, 2010.  I never upgraded the firmware or installed any drivers other than the ones it shipped with.  I lost the CD long ago but am 99% sure that the driver install executable was 1.0.3.2.  The timestamp on this exe (downloaded from Tam) seems to support this.  It has been quite a while since I actually installed this DAC on a computer and I know I only ever used it with XP.  I never had any troubles with it.  I recently sold the DAC and the fellow can't get it to work.  I sent him a link to download the 1.0.3.2 installer.  Is there anything other than the following that needs to be done?
 

• Run .exe to install drivers (DAC unplugged)
• Plug in DAC
• Select DAC as output device
• Play music

 
What is missing?
 
 
FWIW, I only sold it because I have completely abandoned Windows.  Its a nice DAC.
 
Thanks!

 

[djdopson]

mfaughn -
 
You can send him this link:
 
http://www.musiland.com.cn/downloads/drivers/
 
That has many different versions of the drivers. I've experienced similar issues. He can install any that have -M1CyMon- in the file name.. I would suggest to try an earlier one then one of the latest drivers if that doesn't work. You can read through the thread to see which ones people have found to be the most compatible. I find the latest ones to be the most compatible with my system... He must also make sure that he removes previous installations of the drivers prior to attempting to install a newer one. I have had issues with that in the past. Also, its important to restart between each install. Let us know if this helps...

 

[mfaughn]

Wasn't there a point after Jan 2010 at which updating your drivers required a firmware update as well?

 

[djdopson]

mfaughn - Not that I remember.. Maybe someone else can help you out with this. From what I recall, and its been awhile, I was able to install the really old drivers (pre-precision mode etc.) on up to the newest drivers with no issues at all. I remember this because I had AMD compatibility issues that required testing each software version.. Hope that helps.

 

[Ektalog]

mfaughn 
 
DJ may have bought his M02 much later than I got mine. So, his unit's firmware may have been upgraded by then.
 
I did have to upgrade it. I had to send an email to Musiland, including the unit's serial#. They replied with a password to install the upgrade. The firmware file itself was available from the seller's (coolfungadget) website. He is still on eBay, BTW.
 
After this firmware, the drivers all worked (on XP and Win 7, so far. There's one for Win 8 also, I believe)
 
I think I know who you sold the unit to. I'll try to help him directly this evening but ask CoolFG or Musiland for help, just in case.
 

 

[Ektalog]

mfaughn -

I just sent this to the party that I know. Here it is just in case it is not the same person you are helping...or someone else needs it.  This is from a 2009 web page that I saved then...but the links work just fine.

 

Musiland Monitor 01US/01USD/01MINI/02US Firmware Update Guide

- Caution -
1. Monitor 01 MINI does NOT need this firmware update or the driver update.
2. Protect your serial number and license file. They can be only used to update one unit.
3. Strictly follow this how-to to avoid unnecessary problems.
4. Only update the firmware once.
5. Without this firmware update, you can't use the new driver or any future driver updates.
6. The firmware update program only works on 32-bit Windows. Please run the program under 32-bit Windows.
7. The sound card driver works on both 32/64 bit versions of Windows.
- Steps -
1. Disconnect your Monitor series sound card from your computer.
2. Uninstall the old driver from Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs
3. Download and install the new driver from Here. (Version 1.0.6.0 is recommended)
4. Restart the computer and connect your Monitor series sound card. Your will see the sound card control panel shows 'Warning: License invalid' on the title bar. If not, your sound card has the new firmware already.
5. Download the Monitor series firmware upgrade program from Here. Extract it to a folder and name it "MlCyMonAct".
6. Run "MlCyMonUser.exe" andit will create a file named "license.dat".
7. Send and email to "activate@musiland.com.cn", with "Activate" in the subject, include the file "license.data", specify your product model 01US/01USD/02US/01MINI, and include the serial number of your sound card (e.g. ML-PC0000000001).
8. You will receive an auto response email and a reply from Musiland that contains a file "license.key". Save it to the 'MlCyMonAct' folder.
9. Run "MlCyMonProg.exe" in "MlCyMonAct", it will update the firmware for you. Close the program window when it's done.
10. Disconnect and reconnect the sound card. Restart the computer if you are asked to.

Driver Version: 1.0.6.0 | Release Date: Oct-25-2009 | This Page Last Modified: Nov-14-2009
Visit My eBay Store http://www.coolfungadget.com/

 

[djdopson]

Ektalog-

Have you chosen a replacement for the WIMA 1.0uF cap?

Any thoughts on the higher value uF Pannys? I originally bought larger value caps for these two positions but they all wouldn't fit (b/c of the 470's..)..
 
Maybe we could even locate which position makes the largest difference (out of all the caps..)?

 

[Ektalog]

The Panny's install was delayed...wife demanded "her time"... I may do it this evening if I can get home early.
 
The replacement for the WIMA has turned a bit trickier than I thought. As it turns out, the Mundorf's size is about as big as one can go, because of the case. Perhaps it may still have to be the one. All the other desirable candidates that I've looked at are too large. Well, I have to recheck but it may be that an AudioCap Theta can fit in there.
 
Also, I have to look again at the Sonicaps Gen I sizes. These Gen I may not be the ultimate in SQ in other applications but they are very good for this kind of thing and very fast. I use these as coupling to ground in the low pas of my bi-amp PLLXO. Nothing has beat them in allowing for the best transient/impulse, and their price is right..