I just modded my DAC60! (PICS)

Bequerel · « **on:** 23 Apr 2006, 02:40 pm »

As I promised in another thread, I would give my DAC60 a "full treatment".

I ordered mine directly from DIYClub since I live in Norway. (There are no local dealers for Lite Audio products in Europe I think.) I paid approx. the same as GR Research charges, so obviously there is no heavy markup in the US on these DACs.

I did not want to ship the DAC across the Atlantic from Norway to the US to have it modded, so I bought the parts I did not have in my parts-bin from SonicCraft and PartsConnexion.

The mod took quite some time. The most tedious part was desoldering and removing the caps.

This is what I did:

- Replaced the B+ rectifier with a HexFred bridge
- Replaced the first B+ caps/resistor with a Jensen 4-pole/choke/BlackGate combo
- Replaced most of the low voltage caps with BlackGates
- Replaced the coupling caps with Sonicaps Gen1 with Platinum bypass
- Replaced the the wiring from the pcb to the analog outputs with gold alloy wire
- Replaced the connectors with a NextGen for the digital input, and solid silver connectors for the analog outputs
- Replaced the ac-inlet with a cryo-treated Jena Labs version
- Applied Silclear to the fuse
- Re-routed some of the wiring
- Replaced the feet
- Applied damping and ERS-cloth to the lid

Enjoy the pics:

Overview 1:
An army of BlackGates!

Overview 2:
Jensen 4-pole just behind the choke.

Lid:
Damping and ERS-cloth.

The mod was completed earlier today. I will let it burn-in for a few days before critical listening, but I have allready cheated a little bit.

crooner · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 12:16 am »

Thanks for posting. Excellent mods. Unit looks fantastic!
I'm sure with sound to match!

What was the total cost of the parts?

JDUBS · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 02:35 am »

Awesome pics Bequerel!! Thank you for sharing.

Can't wait to hear your impressions after it breaks in....which may be a looong time from now given all of those Black Gates!

-Jim

Bequerel · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 06:50 am »

Quote from: crooner

Thanks for posting. Excellent mods. Unit looks fantastic!
I'm sure with sound to match!

What was the total cost of the parts?

I did (as usual) not keep track of the costs, and I had a lot of what I needed allready in my parts bin.
I suppose that $150 would take you a long way.

Bequerel · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 08:31 am »

Here is another pic of the Jensen/choke/Blackgate combo. I put a little bit of thin rubber under the choke, and between the BlackGate cap and the PCB.

nhtran · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 02:04 pm »

Bequerel,

What rectifier bridge did you use?

Bequerel · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 02:35 pm »

Quote from: nhtran

Bequerel,

What rectifier bridge did you use?

If memory serves me right I used this one:

http://www.partsconnexion.com/PDF/l362.pdf

However, it is quite an overkill, and you can probably find much cheaper alternatives. I used it because I was lazy, and it was easy to mount.

outlawrocketman · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Apr 2006, 05:26 pm »

Hi any details on what you used for damping and ERS-cloth and where to get it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bequerel · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Apr 2006, 11:38 am »

Quote from: outlawrocketman

Hi any details on what you used for damping and ERS-cloth and where to get it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Outlawrocketman,
I bought the ERS cloth and SoundCoat from PartsConnexion.

David Ellis · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Apr 2006, 11:56 am »

Quote

The mod was completed earlier today. I will let it burn-in for a few days before critical listening, but I have allready cheated a little bit.

If it worked - great! Congratulations on your successfuly soldering!

Regarding the sonics, I have found on 3 separate occasions that Black Gate capacitors sound quite dull/heavy before break-in. After @100 hours everything becomes very crisp, full and clean. I don't know the reason for this. Can anyone help?

Dave

persolo · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Jan 2007, 04:07 pm »

Quote from: Bequerel on 23 Apr 2006, 02:40 pm

Overview 1:
An army of BlackGates!

I had a look at the pcb and see the stock caps are 2x 25V 100uF and 12x 63V 47uF. Did you use BlackGates rated exactly the same or did you use other types of caps here?

PS! Just trying to find out what is feasibly without doing anything too advanced for a newbie.