[borrego]

I don't know about you but I get fatigued auditioning new components/ firmware and endlessly trying to describe sound differences. Ultimately I just want to listen to music, relax, and not think about it. So today will just listen for sheer pleasure and let the oscillators cook. .... .

And not to mention the same exact setup can sound stringent and agressive in one day when you come home from a tough day of work, but sound mellow and lack of slam on a lay back Saturday morning. Definitely find time enjoying music after all the soldering and firmware loading work!

 

[JaMo]

And not to mention the same exact setup can sound stringent and agressive in one day when you come home from a tough day of work, but sound mellow and lack of slam on a lay back Saturday morning. Definitely find time enjoying music after all the soldering and firmware loading work!

Good reflection. We are human beeings and personal life, lack of enough sleep sometimes, stress at the job and other "human things" affects us so the perception varies. The moments of an inner harmony when listening to a high end setup is one among the highest occasions I get in life. Wouldn't miss it for anything. It gives me loads of positive energy. Over time we all put in rather big money in it but for me (/us) it worth it.

For me I get help from my music listening to stay in a feeling (Happiness, sadness...) or just to stay in a present emotional state to think allthrough without disturbance or distractions like a "carrier" in telecom.... And when I feel the thoughts have done their job and the time is ready, I brake the "feeling state" and put on another music with a complete different energy. It helps me alot in my life. Besides this "carrier" function for me I love the moments when I just get stunned by the excellent perfomance...


/Jan

 

[FredA]

Good reflection. We are human beeings and personal life, lack of enough sleep sometimes, stress at the job and other "human things" affects us so the perception varies. The moments of an inner harmony when listening to a high end setup is one among the highest occasions I get in life. Wouldn't miss it for anything. It gives me loads of positive energy. Over time we all put in rather big money in it but for me (/us) it worth it.

For me I get help from my music listening to stay in a feeling (Happiness, sadness...) or just to stay in a present emotional state to think allthrough without disturbance or distractions like a "carrier" in telecom.... And when I feel the thoughts have done their job and the time is ready, I brake the "feeling state" and put on another music with a complete different energy. It helps me alot in my life. Besides this "carrier" function for me I love the moments when I just get stunned by the excellent perfomance...


/Jan

Yeah, these awesome listening sessions with perfect planet alignment: deep bass and smooth and resolved treble. It helps me to relax. Also it gives me energy as well, and inspiration. It rarely occurs on Saturday nights, by the way. Friday is statiscally my worst night.

 

[mivarpet]

Hi all,

R8/M1/M3 review here - https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/spdif-dac-reviews/audio-gd-part1/

 

[DACLadder]

The Accusilicon oscillators have taken control of the M7S. I'm just sitting back and enjoying the ride. Day 5 since upgrade - all is good and in harmony with the universe. The M7S is now becoming more transparent. Still warm but very low grain. Huge sound with wide stage and depth. Great highs, excellent vocals, and always dynamic with solid bass. Asy f/w, OS 8x. Never sounded better.and the best upgrade ever for the M7 Singularity DAC.

It appears the Asynchronous firmware (TDA Asy) needs better oscillators to function as intended. The Singxer F1 on IN6 sounds great as does the Gustard U16 with IN5 HDMI I2S. Less variation now between these two sources (M7S w/ Accusilicons installed).

Kingwa also reminded me today and is concerned about the Accusilicon upgrade by customers. The procedure requires skill and deft hand at soldering the new oscillators. Kingwa recommended to me (and me only until proven) to just remove the supplied oscillator sockets and solder direct to the PCB. This requires additional skill as room to work is more limited. I will attempt to rework the R7 in the next day or two and provide some pictures. And will inform about difficulty of no sockets versus soldering to the sockets as in the M7S. But think if I can get rid of the sockets and clear the four PCB holes then it will be fairly routine to solder the new oscillators to the PCB pads from the top. Access is key though.

And Kingwa is testing a R7 DSD fix for the noise with DSD266 playback. Will require upgrading the four Xilinx parts on the analog modules. He is also working on DSD pops when sampling rates change track to track. Busy man!

 

[aljordan]

Will these new oscillators work with the standard Master 7 (2013 version but with the updated firmware from a year or two ago).

Thanks,
Alan

 

[DACLadder]

@aljordan No unfortunately. The old M7 has a single oscillator of different frequency but is probably archaic by today's standards. A better oscillator would most likely improve sound in the old design. You may want to ask Kingwa if such an upgrade exists.

And no soldering required I believe for the old M7.

 

[DACLadder]

I corrected my original statement this morning about DSD fixes... Kingwa is testing DSD256 noise fix that requires upgrading the four Xilinx parts on the analog boards. PCM is not affected by this firmware change.

DSD pops are being address in a future Altera firmware release. Kingwa is working on that now. Too many changes and so little time to test!

 

[FredA]

Hi all,

R8/M1/M3 review here - https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/spdif-dac-reviews/audio-gd-part1/

Awesome review!

I read it in diagonal, i was at the office. Did you give 6 months to the m1/m3 pair? That is what is needed to fully stabilize. Cause the bass should be rather big in the end from a couple of reviews i read.

 

[holco]

Thanks for the link, Exactly the combination I have

Hi all,

R8/M1/M3 review here - https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/spdif-dac-reviews/audio-gd-part1/

 

[DACLadder]

Oh man! Someone else report! I need to rest and enjoy my two new DACs! The Accusilicons are installed in the R7. May the burn-in process begin (again).

Here are some pictures. The XOs are installed with no socket straight to the board top. The yellow Kapton tape in the photo is heat resistant and used to protect adjacent components from a wandering solder iron. You may need some protection as I had to go at solder pins from every direction and angle. And no need to remove the chassis wall divider..

My old oscillators were soldered flat the board and were difficult to remove. Ended up just very carefully ripping them out. Using a pair of pliers from the top twisted them back and forth/ side to side until something snapped and thankfully not the PCB board. Be cautious! 98% of customers probably have the socket pins which are fair easier to remove.

After PCB cleanup installed the oscillators as shown. 98M pins 1 & 14 first. Then pushed the oscillator down to complete the job with pins 7 & 8. The 2nd 90M oscillator was more difficult as space gets tighter and access more limited. Taping off is highly recommended. See last photo LOL...

 

[JaMo]

Oh man! Someone else report! I need to rest and enjoy my two new DACs! The Accusilicons are installed in the R7. May the burn-in process begin (again).

Here are some pictures. The XOs are installed with no socket straight to the board top. The yellow mylar tape in the photo is heat resistant and used to protect adjacent components from a wandering solder iron. You may need some protection as I had to go at solder pins from every direction and angle. And no need to remove the chassis wall divider..

My old oscillators were soldered flat the board and were difficult to remove. Ended up just very carefully ripping them out. Using a pair of pliers from the top twisted them back and forth/ side to side until something snapped and thankfully not the PCB board. Be cautious! 98% of customers probably have the socket pins which are fair easier to remove.

After PCB cleanup installed the oscillators as shown. 98M pins 1 & 14 first. Then pushed the oscillator down to complete the job with pins 7 & 8. The 2nd 90M oscillator was more difficult as space gets tighter and access more limited. Taping off is highly recommended. See last photo LOL...

Congrats. Scott!
Some small casualties are expected in these delicate jobs.
Nice work.
/Jan

 

[DACLadder]

@JaMo Thank you as always Jan. I've been burning parts with a soldering iron since I was 10 years old. Nothing new and my signature calling card.

The yellow tape (kapton) is heat resistant but not necessarily heat proof. Its the same as you see on spacecraft and satellites. But works wonders when you bump the solder iron against parts. A little extra insurance.

 

[mivarpet]

Did you give 6 months to the m1/m3 pair? That is what is needed to fully stabilize. Cause the bass should be rather big in the end from a couple of reviews i read.

@FredA this wasn't my review, so I can't comment unfortunately. I have a Google alert for "Audio GD" (yes, I think that makes me a fan) and it came up yesterday.

 

[mivarpet]

Oh man! Someone else report!

@DACLadder I'm loving my Accusilicon crystals in my M7S too. They have been playing since I put them in last Monday, so that's about 140 hours or so. To share here so you're not a lone voice - the sound is "better" - more detail, more air, less distortion & harshness and much improved imaging. The crystals have taken a layer off the sound revealing a more pure version of my M7S.

I only get to listen unfortunately at the end of the day, so I'm usually tired and maybe missing nuances, but I have not heard significant variations day on day. That could also be due to the fact I'm listening to different music, but that is a sign of a good upgrade - you go back through your collection to rediscover it!

After the new digital board, new firmware and now the new crystals, the M7S has evolved to be a wonderful DAC. We really are blessed to have Kingwa providing such good after-sales support.

Thanks Scott for the photos too. You've given me commitment to remove the digital board (having had experience when I installed it) and desolder the crystals from the bottom side of the PCB (I have a vacuum pump desoldering station, so low risk). Do the crystals need any clearance off the PCB? My original crystals were not soldered and the pins of the new ones are smaller than the socket holes, so the mechanical fit is not great.

You mentioned that Kingwa said it was better to have them soldered. Was that because of the mechanical fit and/or leg length (inductance) concerns?

Many thanks Scott for all your contributions

Michael