sMart DIO in new chassis & deluxe DIO Power Supply

Lost81 · « **on:** 14 Apr 2003, 10:03 am »

I've completed the transplant of the sMart DIO to a larger new chassis. I also constructed a deluxe power supply for it.

Transformer is a 115-to-9V Toroidal with twin 6.67A secondaries in parallel.
Secondary power couplings are Neutrik XLR.
IEC socket is a Schucter (sp?).
Internal power wiring for both PS and DAC chassis use Belden 19364.
Secondary Power cord uses 5 feet of Belden 19364 with Neutrik XLR connectors.
Shield is grounded on the PS end only.

I plan to add two Bybees (one for 'live' and one for 'neutral') later to the Power Supply chassis.

I did not extend the original functionality of the DIO chassis to the new chassis as the CAL Delta sounds best with the DIO in external sync mode--hence the single green LED only, and the lack of the push-button selector.

The hard anodizing for the chassis is thick and very hard. Almost ornamental quality. Its Rockwell Hardness is 65.
(Useless fact #5457: Katana blade = Rockwell Hardness 61)
Make sure you use a new and sharp bit.

Chassis can be ordered from www.consite.com
or purchased from Frys Electronics.
Both are Split Body Enclosures

Power Supply chassis:
Part Number: 4012
Price: US$18.95

DIO Chassis:
Part Number: 6016
Price: US$34.95

Shots of the internals:

Cheers,
benny

Marbles · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 12:42 am »

Very nice.....Ba ba ba Benny and the Jets's!

Wayne, are you paying attention?

The D/IO case is so small you cannot get bybees to fit into it, this is a nice solution.

Benny, you are crazy, and I like it

JoshK · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 12:47 am »

Looks sweet. I would do the same if I have a DI/O....somehow the original packaging I find leave something to be desired in cosmetics.

Jay S · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 01:40 am »

Personally, I like the case of the DI/O since it is so so compact. Amazing sound from such a small package. And, it fits in tight spots.

That being said, I can see how a larger case opens up lots of possibilities. Besides Bybee filters, this may give the space to add an upgraded clock (assuming it would work in a DI/O). Check out www.lcaudio.com. Click on CD and DVD Upgrades then click on DAC/Transport. This requires work on the transport as well but may be worthwhile to some people.

If you're going to mod the transport, maybe the thing to do is to just pop the DI/O inside the transport so you can ditch the receiver chip and the digital cable and its various connectors (as has been discussed before). Hmm, take Pioneer DV656A CD/DVD-A player ($200), upgrade the power supply, damp the transport, and put in the circuitry from a Mensa DI/O.... If you don't care for hi-rez you can rip out the analog output stage.

karthikn · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 03:16 pm »

Jay, your post about the DV656A caught my eye. Do you know of any websites that talk about DIY modifications to the power supply of the 656A ? I have one that I pair with my own modified DIO.

Jay S · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 04:41 pm »

Kartik,

No I don't unfortunately. But, www.tweakaudio.com does list the mods that they do to the 656A. I hope this helps somehow.

How do you feel the 656A does as a transport. I am using a Cary 303/100 as a transport for my DI/O, which strikes me as a waste.

karthikn · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Apr 2003, 11:43 pm »

Jay, I had looked up tweakaudio. I was looking to do it myself but as I just started on DIY I can only follow instructions. No original thinking yet.
With regards to the 656A I am happy with it and I can see that it sounded a wee bit more pleasing with the DIO than the Sony DV-something that I have. But honestly, I went with the 656A more on faith due to the good comments it got on HD coupled with its low cost. I actually paid about $70 more @270 to make it region free when buying. My system and ear dont demonstrate large differences. Yet.

ABEX · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Apr 2003, 01:06 am »

I like the small footprint of the DIO.I would rather have a SOTA system of Mini components than a huge system that takes up alot of space. I searched for small footprint speakers that go as close to full range as I could get and I found them in NEAR M50's.

I wish I had a more compact CDP ,but I like my Phillips CDP using it as a transport.

My FT Audio Passive is small.The other components stack about 3.5feet total,but it still seems like alot becasue the Cass.,Tuner and TT are old.I would rather have them though to be old than to buy newer stuff that I seldom use.The radio stations here suck and I have older music that I would rather not buy on Cass..

I like the small profile of the ART.Infact I had it behind other equiptment before recently out of sight.It's like my outboard XO's.I will not be adjusting them so why would I need it being seen.

JMO

mgalusha · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Apr 2003, 03:19 am »

Nicely done, gives you room to build a new output stage if you wanted or install Bybees as Marbles suggested.