[Les Lammers]

I have played around with the Paradisea + DAC for a couple of months and it is a great experimenters platform. All I have done is change the output caps to OIMP V caps, replaced C11 with 2 parallelled Russian K40 .1uf pio's. I also got 2 German AHP fuses, one gold, one copper and a Furutech fuse. Each sounds different and so far *I* think I prefer the AHP copper. They are directional and you just have to play with them. IMHO it is worth experimenting with fuses. Which caps etc. you prefer will depend on the rest of your system. I am tempted to try the Reference Audio Mod opamp but would have to use a Jensen cap at C11 for it to fit.

[djdube525]

Quick question... with the Paradisea (I have the original)... C19 and C24 (electrolytics by the Tube) are listed as 22uF on the posted BOM... but the one I had was populated with 47uFs...

Was wondering if that may have been what he happened to have on hand at the time, or if future revisions went to 47uF... Was wondering what most people had here...

Thanks!

Dave

[kbuzz3]

Curious, has anyone compared the paradisea to the promethieus dac. I have the paradisea }+ in my office system and am considering a new dac for my home rig

[Starfall]

Does anybody use the Paradisea with a tube amp?  Would a tube dac paired with a tube amp give too much of a tubey sound?  Is the Paradisea  best paired with a solid state amp?

[Scott F.]

Actually no, I have used it in several fully tube systems and it sounds great in each of them. The Paradisea doesn't have that classic 'tubey' sound at all. It's relatively clean sounding stock and if you go in for some easy mods, (apparently) the resolution level rises up a few notches. That said, I haven't modded mine yet thought I do have some V-Cap OIMP's sitting on the side waiting for me to install them.

[toobluvr]

Actually no, I have used it in several fully tube systems and it sounds great in each of them. The Paradisea doesn't have that classic 'tubey' sound at all. It's relatively clean sounding stock and if you go in for some easy mods, (apparently) the resolution level rises up a few notches. That said, I haven't modded mine yet thought I do have some V-Cap OIMP's sitting on the side waiting for me to install them.

I agree with Scott.  I use my Paradisea in an all tube system, and it is fine.  Music is very fluid, full and textured yet still detailed w/o being clinical.  For the $$, a very nice DAC.

[s1rrah]

Fantastic thread. Like a goldmine to me as I just yesterday received my Paradisea (non USB/v. 1.0).

I picked this up after trying a Musiland MD-10 that was just *way* too bright for my Grado RS1's.

Right off the bat I love the Paradisea. It totally synchs with the Grados and hugely tames some of the RS1's (Grado in general) tendency to get fatiguing with high frequency sounds. A very good pairing the Paradisea and Grado RS1!

I have both GE 5670W and WE 396A tubes (came with the deal) and so far I'm leaning towards the much cheaper GE tube as it's noticeably more detailed and the soundstage is a bit wider. The WE 396A is very lush/"tubey" sounding compared to the GE tube but seems to sacrifice a bit of detail and soundstage.

Anyway. Totally enjoying the preliminary listening.

...

What I'm wondering, and considering the length of this thread (haven't read through the whole thing) ...

Could somebody who has been around the block with the stock, v.1.0 Pardisea recommend the most effective/minimal mods that might affect 1st: Soundstage/imaging and 2nd: Improved detail.

I've found that switching to the GE tube nearly doubled the detail over the more expensive WE tube ... but I'd still be interested in any mods that specifically affect soundstage and 3D positioning as this (to my very subjective ear, anyway, is the stock DAC's biggest weakness).

Sweet little DAC. Love how changing tubes affects the sound so much.

Thanks in advance for any assist!

.joel

[emac]

What I'm wondering, and considering the length of this thread (haven't read through the whole thing) ...

Could somebody who has been around the block with the stock, v.1.0 Pardisea recommend the most effective/minimal mods that might affect 1st: Soundstage/imaging and 2nd: Improved detail.

I've found that switching to the GE tube nearly doubled the detail over the more expensive WE tube ... but I'd still be interested in any mods that specifically affect soundstage and 3D positioning as this (to my very subjective ear, anyway, is the stock DAC's biggest weakness).

Sweet little DAC. Love how changing tubes affects the sound so much.

Thanks in advance for any assist!

.joel

I'm speaking for the Constantine since that's what I have, but it's basically the same set up.  A couple of simple mods really do help out these DACs.

1.  If you have an early Paradisea, it probably uses an opamp that isn't well suited for the DAC.  Trying a different one may make a significant difference.  I'm using an OPA2107 in mine and like the warm sound it produces.  Not an easy mod, but well worthwhile.  Made a surprisingly large difference in terms of bringing the soundstage forward and making it more alive.  Decoupling the opamp also helps. 

2. Output caps: There are a lot that can be tried, and peoples' results can be found in this thread.  I forget what value the Paradisea uses.  1.0uF may be?

3. Power caps: I've replaced all of the electrolytic caps in my Constantine, but I think the ones w/ the most improvement were replacing the power caps.  For me, they were 3300uF.  I put in Rubycons, though ones like Panasonic FM's would work well too. 

4. Stillpoints ERS around the transformer.  I've had some very good success w/ using the Stillpoints around various transformers.  This helped to clean up the sound.  Not immensely, but somewhat.  I've found that Stillpoints works even better around larger, higher powered transformers. 

[ebolean]

Hi,

The company no longer lists the Paradisea (original) on their site.  Can someone describe the differences between the original and the Paradisea+.

Thank you,

Bob

[Starfall]

Hi,

The company no longer lists the Paradisea (original) on their site.  Can someone describe the differences between the original and the Paradisea+.

Thank you,

Bob

The newer paradisea and paradise+ use higher quality parts for some of the components.  The newer ones also used one toroidal transformer while the old ones used two E-I transformers.  Some people say that the two E-I transformers are better though.  Although, I've heard that overall, the newer toroidal transformer equipped paradisea dacs sound better.

[s1rrah]

I'm speaking for the Constantine since that's what I have, but it's basically the same set up.  A couple of simple mods really do help out these DACs.

1.  If you have an early Paradisea, it probably uses an opamp that isn't well suited for the DAC.  Trying a different one may make a significant difference.  I'm using an OPA2107 in mine and like the warm sound it produces.  Not an easy mod, but well worthwhile.  Made a surprisingly large difference in terms of bringing the soundstage forward and making it more alive.  Decoupling the opamp also helps. 

2. Output caps: There are a lot that can be tried, and peoples' results can be found in this thread.  I forget what value the Paradisea uses.  1.0uF may be?

3. Power caps: I've replaced all of the electrolytic caps in my Constantine, but I think the ones w/ the most improvement were replacing the power caps.  For me, they were 3300uF.  I put in Rubycons, though ones like Panasonic FM's would work well too. 

4. Stillpoints ERS around the transformer.  I've had some very good success w/ using the Stillpoints around various transformers.  This helped to clean up the sound.  Not immensely, but somewhat.  I've found that Stillpoints works even better around larger, higher powered transformers. 

Thanks.

I'm shipping the DAC to a friend who is going to apply the mods for me.

So far, I think I'm going to simply stick with installing an OPAMP socket and switching out the output caps.

RE: Output caps, ... I'm assuming those are the two largest yellow caps in my stock Paradisea v1.0 (older model)?? The ones sitting right behind the tube?

Could someone who has noticed improvement via switching out the output caps instruct me on exactly what caps I should order/try? I'm digging through the thread but it's a lot of reading.

Thanks in advance.

.joel

[s1rrah]

I've decided to go with Mundorf Silver Oil caps ...

But I'm totally confused as to which ones I should order.

Can somebody with a bit more Paradisea mod skillz than I (I have zero, BTW) please instruct me as to which of these caps I should order to replace my main two output caps:

Here's a link to the order page:

http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/c/Mundorf-Silver-Oil/Mundorf+Silver+Oil.html

All those VDC and SUV and QTVP designations are freaking me out!

 

A bit pricey, but the reviews online are quite favorable and since this is going to be my "go-to" DAC for the next couple of years ... I figured I'd invest a bit.

Thanks in advance.

[s1rrah]

I've decided to go with Mundorf Silver Oil caps ...

But I'm totally confused as to which ones I should order.

Can somebody with a bit more Paradisea mod skillz than I (I have zero, BTW) please instruct me as to which of these caps I should order to replace my main two output caps:

Here's a link to the order page:

http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/c/Mundorf-Silver-Oil/Mundorf+Silver+Oil.html

All those VDC and SUV and QTVP designations are freaking me out!

 

A bit pricey, but the reviews online are quite favorable and since this is going to be my "go-to" DAC for the next couple of years ... I figured I'd invest a bit.

Thanks in advance.

Okay Paradisea pros. Some of us are just discovering this little gem and still need your help! 

Can anyone recommend some replacement caps from the quoted bit above? See the link to the Mundorf order page. I'm just not sure which caps to get.

BTW: my stock Paradisea caps say 2.2u/250V ... does this sound right for a Paradisea v. 1.0? I was under the impression the earlier Paradiseas came with 1.5u output caps. (???)

[s1rrah]

One Strange Paradisea(tm)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay.

So I'm holding down the aged Paradisea thread all by my lonesome.

Anyway ...

More strangeness associated with my particular (bought used) Paradisea v.1.o.

Seems that it not only has rather exceptional (I mean, relative to the published specs) 2.2uf output caps, it also seems to be completely free of any OPAMPS.

I'm utterly perplexed.

 

...

2.2uf MHDT Built Output Caps?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First. My output caps are MHDT stock 2.2uf caps.

I was under the impression that my older Paradisea should have 1.5uf caps. In fact, the MHDT website seems to indicate that the later versions of the Paradisea have only 2.0uf caps.

So why do you think my early version Paradisea has 2.2uf caps?

...



...

What would the sonic differences be, anyway? I'm no expert and to be honest 1.5 is no different to me than 2.0 or 2.2uf caps. 


I can find no OPAMP at all...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is by far the strangest quality of this particular Paradisea.

Of course ... again ... I'm no electronics expert and so I may just be overlooking it ...

But for the life of me ...

I can find NO OPAMP of any kind on this DAC.

The much discussed and well regarded Phillips TDA1545A DAC chip is very evident.

In fact, until I got my magnifying glass out, I was thinking the Phillips DAC chip was actually the OPAMP.

Anyway ... please let me know if, in my ignorance I am just overlooking the obvious presence of an OPAMP in my DAC.

I won't take it the wrong way, promise.

Here's some photos showing the Phillips DAC and the apparent lack of any OPAMP in my Pardisea:

...





...





...


So can you spot an OPAMP anywhere in there?

Also, here's a link to a very high res image of the same overview shot: HI Res Overview Image.

...

The funniest thing ever is that I was about to mail this to a friend of mine for some mod work. Among the changes was going to be the installation of a socketed OPAMP (incuding installing Mundorff output caps).

Seems the mod plans are on hold as I don't think there's any OPAMP to mod.

 


Otherwise...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otherwise ...

I couldn't be happier with the sound of this DAC.

The "Blackground" effect is phenomenal.

I have other DACs here at the house which are just as musical and nearly identical in timbre ... but none of them can match this DAC in the transparency department.

It's just utterly transparent.

Another thing I love about how this DAC sounds is the soundstage and bass.

Such a wide and 3 dimensional stereo image. It's really pretty neat to listen too ... especially doing direct A/B comparisons to other DACs I have (high end Sony CDP/Auzentech Prelude).

Whole lot of 'air' and space around the instruments.

And, as I mentioned, the bass response/image is phenomenal. Really tight and up front. Not the slightest bit woolen/fuzzy/bloated. Just a nice solid bass impact. Head and shoulders above anything else (un EQ'd) that I've heard.

I'm totally pleased with the DAC.

(I just wish I could pick the builders brain regarding some of the anomalies I've discovered! (as discussed above).

...

So for now ... all my mod plans are on hold.

I really want to figure out the origin of this particularly strange, seemingly OPAMP free, Paradisea.

Maybe after I get some technical spec/info stuff out of the way, I might start investigating mods.

...

Any comments?

[s1rrah]

Aww sweet god I'm gay.

I just found the OPAMP.

It's on the back side of the board!!!

 

[denjo]

s1rrah

I checked my Paradisea and found it has a pair of 1.5 uf output caps!  
I think it is a truism that there may be minor variations in the parts supplied between units and most manuafacturers will say that they have the right to change, alter, modify parts, etc as they deem fit (usually with constant improvemement as their justification). Yes, but like you, I am rather intrigued with these changes and wonder what the purpose (if any) such variations hope to achieve. Hey, the uniqueness of your DAC should alreay add a few $$$ to the price should you want to resell!!  

As to the Paradisea's musicality, I stood down my Altmann Attraction DAC (full monty) and switched to the Paradisea and can say (as I have in my previous posts) that the Paradisea may be behind the Altmann but it is astonishing how close behind it trails!

Best Regards
Dennis

[s1rrah]

s1rrah

I checked my Paradisea and found it has a pair of 1.5 uf output caps!  
I think it is a truism that there may be minor variations in the parts supplied between units and most manuafacturers will say that they have the right to change, alter, modify parts, etc as they deem fit (usually with constant improvemement as their justification). Yes, but like you, I am rather intrigued with these changes and wonder what the purpose (if any) such variations hope to achieve. Hey, the uniqueness of your DAC should alreay add a few $$$ to the price should you want to resell!!  

As to the Paradisea's musicality, I stood down my Altmann Attraction DAC (full monty) and switched to the Paradisea and can say (as I have in my previous posts) that the Paradisea may be behind the Altmann but it is astonishing how close behind it trails!

Best Regards
Dennis

So now I know why the bass presence is so wonderful with this particular DAC.

 

I just got this email from MHDT labs:

...

Hi Joel,

The OPamp is beneth the pcb (smd type LM4562)
 
output cap can be 0.47uf ~ 10uf
 
Few Paradisea install 2.2uf, mostly 2.0uf.
 
The larger value of output cap resulting the lower low frequency of response (bass). 
Some will think 2.2uf is adequate, some think is too much bass, some even use 10uf.
Finally, I decide to use 2.0uf.
 
Thanks!!
 
Best Regards,
Jiun-Hsien
Mhdt Labs

...

I can't believe he finally responded to one of my emails!

 

[R Browne]

My Paradisea (original version, non USB) also had 2.2 uF output caps until I switched them for V-Cap OIMP 2.0 uF 250V caps.

For those interested, Positive Feedback recently posted a very complimentary review of the Paradisea + at: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue38/mhdt_paradisea.htm

[s1rrah]

My Paradisea (original version, non USB) also had 2.2 uF output caps until I switched them for V-Cap OIMP 2.0 uF 250V caps.

For those interested, Positive Feedback recently posted a very complimentary review of the Paradisea + at: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue38/mhdt_paradisea.htm

So I think it should be apparent enough that I totally missed the fact that the OPAMP on my unusual Paradisea DAC was mounted on the bottom side of the PCB.

Since finding it, I've managed to shine a light on it and with the help of a magnifying glass I find that the OPAMP model is: 2604AU

Does anyone know if this is the OPAMP advertised for this DAC?

[R Browne]

Since finding it, I've managed to shine a light on it and with the help of a magnifying glass I find that the OPAMP model is: 2604AU

Does anyone know if this is the OPAMP advertised for this DAC?

My Paradisea also has the same op amp. It is also listed on a Paradisea parts list I have dated June, 2006.