With the “
RWA-Z1ES-1”(Red Wine Audio Z1ES Level 1 Upgrade) completed, verified, and with A/B listening tests between the RWA-Z1ES-1 and the stock unit that I also have burned-in, it’s time for an update:
From the first listen to over 24 hours of total listening later, I find that the dual tube output stage addition has delivered a much higher level of soul and vitality to the music. It’s not an “in your face” change that makes it sound like a totally different machine (and I wanted to retain the positive attributes of the stock unit) but definitely NOT subtle either.
The midrange no longer has that somewhat dry character that the stock unit has. There is more tone, more texture, and more life to both vocals and instruments. The overall level of realism has improved with the tubed output stage doing its thing. Be it piano keys striking, guitar strings being plucked, or hearing the body that should be attached to the person singing, everything sounds fuller and more real.
There was another tweak that I did on the audio board (a bypass of sorts) that I found helped tighten up the low freq. bass response. In its stock form, I was hearing a little bit of congestion around 60Hz and below region – this bit of lumpiness in the notes. It turns out that an electrolytic cap in the signal path was solely responsible for that, and it also turns out that it was not needed anymore with the tube output stage. So now the bass articulation is fantastic and pretty much spot on.
As far as the soundstage, there is more of it with the modded unit. It goes from having good depth and “pretty good” width and height to something that is more expansive in all three dimensions. With well-recorded DSD and high res PCM material, you can hear more into the room of the recording. For example, quite a few of albums on the Chesky label were recorded at St. Peter’s Church in NYC. I’m hearing more of that church now (same it true with CJ’s Trinity Sessions), like the subtle nuances that help trick your mind that you are “there” listening in.
What happens with the modified player is that I want to keep listening because I get connected to the music better. It’s that connection with the music that I found a little lacking with the stock player. It’s not that the stock player is not enjoyable to listening to because it is, but it’s a different level of enjoyment for me with the tubes doing that voodoo that they do so well, and that is what has kept me up much too late listening on a few occasions already. When I’m in that zone, I know everything has moved in the right direction and I heard it the first evening of listening to the RWA-Z1ES-1 - and in the first track that I played (speaking of tracks, when I have more time I'd like to list some tracks that I've been testing with so hopefully some of you that know them will get a better idea where I am coming from. But this will take some time).
The “airiness” and fine detail retrieval has not changed, neither has the overall good sense of balance that the stock player exhibits. Now there is just more to the music that I love and the overall sound has a heightened sense of realism. It’s juicier now, with more tone, more texture, more space. It’s a more sophisticated presentation that I connect better with. I found that I do lose some of that when switching back to the stock player (that already is a high achiever), and it is easy to notice when it goes away.
I’m confident that the RWA-Z1ES-1 it will have no problem being compared to much more expensive units - and I have no reservations in making such a statement.
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Where am I going from here?
1A) I need to gear up for RWA-Z1ES-1 modifications. They will be offered for either the SE or BAL outputs. I still need to finish up testing the balanced output version. Pricing needs to be figured out. A webpage on the RWA site needs to be added with more details of the modification and some pics need to be taken. I hope to have this all set up and ready by early next week.
1B) I still need to look into add-on options such as the volume controlled output (and analog input) for those who expressed interest in feeding directly to a power amp. This isn't a "next level" of modifications. It will just be an added option that the user can choose based on their needs.
1C) Look into an SSD upgrade option.
2) For the next level, which would be the "
RWA-Z1ES-2" I'll be focusing on improvements to the power supply sections. Higher grade filtering and decoupling capacitors, ultra-fast recovery diodes to replace the stock diode bridges, and lower noise voltage regulators will be explored.
With better quality power feeds to the various sections, I suspect that the gains from the RWA-Z1ES-1 modification can be further realized.
3) Beyond that, I'll be looking into a partial battery powered conversion via a customized Black Lightning LiFePO4 power supply. Maybe it will be the "
RWA-Z1ES-3". This would feed the d/a converters, the clocks, and the tube output stages. By replacing the analog transformer and power supply board with an external battery unit, there will be even more space inside for some other ideas that I've been thinking about!
ALSO - I will try to be open to other things that might be on your "wish list." Someone emailed be about a headphone stage and a lower powered amplifier stage already. We'll see. Keep the ideas coming. I don't want to promise anything yet, but I will look into them.
As you probably have gathered, I strongly believe in this unit. It is an exceptional platform to work on and I have already proved to myself that it really takes well to modifications. I admire its build quality, ease of use, and "sleeper" style in that it basic and not too flashy on the outside, but is serious on the inside where it really counts. I have bought one for my own use and plan to even bring it to shows. Even more, it now has me working in parallel on some improvements to one of my own products because I see that this modified Sony is surpassing my own!
Vinnie
