[Quiet Earth]

Well, I got the Black Gates in there today. I used all FK polarized except for a couple of Ns. I turned it on just to verify that it's working and now I'm letting it burn in. I'll post back later with impressions of better, worse, or the same. Maybe in a week.

I have high hopes for this little DAC. 


Here's a peek of the inside now . . . . http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/Quietearth/?action=view&current=DSCN6485.jpg

[Les Lammers]

I think you will like what the Black Gates will do. Were they difficult to install? 

[Quiet Earth]

It was it a bit of a job to remove the original electrolytic capacitors. Not difficult, just time consuming. The Black Gates were easy to install after that. One of them is just a hair too tall. It will touch the top of the case. I will have to put a little spacer under the lid to prevent that. No biggie.

The new caps are still cooking. I check on it from time to time but refuse to "listen" for at least a week. I've been through this capacitor break in thing before, and it's just too much drama to sit through. I'll just let 'er cook for a while.

[Les Lammers]

Yes, burning in caps is a trying experience. Black Gates are going to take more than a week to settle in. Sometimes 3-4 hundred hours is needed. It will be worth it though.

[rajacat]

It was it a bit of a job to remove the original electrolytic capacitors. Not difficult, just time consuming. The Black Gates were easy to install after that. One of them is just a hair too tall. It will touch the top of the case. I will have to put a little spacer under the lid to prevent that. No biggie.

The new caps are still cooking. I check on it from time to time but refuse to "listen" for at least a week. I've been through this capacitor break in thing before, and it's just too much drama to sit through. I'll just let 'er cook for a while.

Did you use the same values for all the electolytics?

[emac]

It was it a bit of a job to remove the original electrolytic capacitors. Not difficult, just time consuming. The Black Gates were easy to install after that. One of them is just a hair too tall. It will touch the top of the case. I will have to put a little spacer under the lid to prevent that. No biggie.

The new caps are still cooking. I check on it from time to time but refuse to "listen" for at least a week. I've been through this capacitor break in thing before, and it's just too much drama to sit through. I'll just let 'er cook for a while.

I agree w/ Quiet Earth about the electrolytics.  Just takes a while to swap all of them out because there's around a dozen to do, and you want to make doubly certain you have the right polarity.  I used Rubycon ZLs rather than the Black Gates, but the burn in period still applies.  You're putting in some large value caps here, so it takes a while.  You can tell a difference off the bat, but it settles in over time. 

And from the looks of your pic there Quiet Earth, you're still using the MHDT Labs foil and film caps.  Switching them to something better can also help. 

Also, I added bypass electrolytic caps across the 2 main power caps.  Forget what the value was, but it was 1% of the power caps.  I felt this helped somewhat as well. 

And for Rajacat, I used all of the same values for the capacitance.  For the voltage, sometimes I couldn't find the same value, so I used caps with a higher voltage.

[Quiet Earth]

 

And from the looks of your pic there Quiet Earth, you're still using the MHDT Labs foil and film caps.  Switching them to something better can also help. 
 

And for Rajacat, I used all of the same values for the capacitance.  For the voltage, sometimes I couldn't find the same value, so I used caps with a higher voltage.

Yes, the rest of the MHDT caps are still in there. I thought that I should do this swap out experiment one phase at a time. First the output caps went. Just as a test, and only because I already had the AN coppers on hand. Wow, what a huge difference. Now the PS electrolytic caps. Only because once I put the AN caps in, I realized that this little DAC has some serious potential. Maybe next, the MHDT bypass. To be honest with you, if the MHDT cap are bypassing the Black Gates, then maybe just removing them might be the way to go. I don't think that Black Gates (FK) generally benefit with a bypass cap. I will look closer into it in about a month or so. One step at a time.
Also, if the BGs run in and everything sounds good, then I may just stop right there. I wasn't really trying to make this thing into the ultimate DAC, I just needed something that I could rely on for my amateur home recording studio. I think that I have found it with this DAC. It sounds very natural and unhyped. It is very close to what I am used to hearing, which is the Audio Note DAC2.1x special. Not just as good as the AN, but it has the same basic character. I am pleasantly surprised.

 I tried to use the same capacitance values. but there were a couple that I could not get the exact same value. I got as close as I could with those. The voltage values were always the same or higher.

More later guys!
 

[drmike]

quiet earth,
where did you get the bg caps?
thanks,
drmike

[Quiet Earth]

Got the BGs at Partsconnexion. Shipping was a little steep but they have the inventory. Very nice to deal with on the phone. I don't know why they don't have a shopping cart. Must be a small operation.

http://www.partsconnexion.com/catalog/CapacitorsElectrolytic.html

[Les Lammers]

The MHDT DACS are apparently sensitive to power cords as well as transports. I was using a Harmonic Tech AC 11. I ordered a VH Audio
Flavor One with the OIMP caps. He recommends this cord for digital. I let it run in on another piece of gear and, FWIW, in my rig made a big difference. It just made everything 'right'. He has a 30 day trial and the cord is not expensive. 

[emac]

The MHDT DACS are apparently sensitive to power cords as well as transports. I was using a Harmonic Tech AC 11. I ordered a VH Audio
Flavor One with the OIMP caps. He recommends this cord for digital. I let it run in on another piece of gear and, FWIW, in my rig made a big difference. It just made everything 'right'. He has a 30 trial and the cord is not expensive. 

You're right that these DACs are sensitive to the power cords.  I'm using a Volex 17604, which works well for myself on my budget.

[Quiet Earth]

I'm using a Volex too, but I have an AC balanced power transformer that seems to be doing all of the work.

[Quiet Earth]

ordered a VH Audio Flavor One with the OIMP caps. He recommends this cord for digital.

I noticed on the VH site that the flavor one is recommended for components with a safety ground. To quote :
"The VH Audio Flavor 1 power cable is designed for digital and video components that require a safety ground. To determine if your digital component requires a safety ground, simply unplug your current power cable from the back of your component and see if there are two or three male IEC prongs on the component. If there are 3 prongs, then this is the appropriate cable for you!"

My Constantine+ does not have a saftey ground. It does have the 3 prong IEC, but I noticed that the earth ground is not connected to anything on the circuit board. This probably doesn't matter, your power cord should work fine. But you may want to relay that info back to VH to see if he recommends a different cord. (Maybe after you check yours to see if it's the same as mine.)

[Les Lammers]

I just checked and the Paradisea does not have a saftey ground connected either. I do run the DAC through a PS Audio power regenerator. I will ask Chris about the issue and post his reply. I ordered just one cord because I never used it before. However, I have a Softone CDP coming and can use the grounded cord on it.

[emac]

Well, I got the Black Gates in there today. I used all FK polarized except for a couple of Ns. I turned it on just to verify that it's working and now I'm letting it burn in. I'll post back later with impressions of better, worse, or the same. Maybe in a week.

I have high hopes for this little DAC. 


Here's a peek of the inside now . . . . http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/Quietearth/?action=view&current=DSCN6485.jpg

Quick question for you Quiet Earth.  What did you use to replace the two 3300uF 35v caps over by the transformer?  I've replaced most of the electrolytics w/ Rubycons, but they don't make 3300uF caps at that voltage.  You'd mentioned that you used Black Gates, but at that capacitance, it looks like it would cost quite a bit to use Black Gates.  Thanks.

[tanchiro58]

Hi Emac,

You can replace with Nichicon Muse which have good sound and cheaper too.

[Les Lammers]

I just checked and the Paradisea does not have a saftey ground connected either. I do run the DAC through a PS Audio power regenerator. I will ask Chris about the issue and post his reply. I ordered just one cord because I never used it before. However, I have a Softone CDP coming and can use the grounded cord on it.

I ordered a Flavor 3 for the DAC. I got the Softone CDP yesterday. It is an excellent transport and is good as the 47 Labs Flatfish I was using. The Softone and Paradisea will be staying around for a long time. I sold the 47 Labs gear.

QE, are the caps you replaced soldered in? It seems like they would be a pain to remove.

The Volex cord looks pretty good. Here is a link for anyone interested.

http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=93K2606&CMP=AFC-TL10000001

[Quiet Earth]

Hi guys!

emac,
Inside of my Constantine+, the two rectifier caps (below the transformer) were Nichicon Fine Gold (not Muse) and they were 35v, 2200uF. So, I replaced them with BG (FK), 35v, 2200uF. The other cap next to the transformer was also a Nichicon Fine Gold, and it was 16v, 1000uF. I replaced that with a BG (FK) 50v, 1000uF. That BG is the one that is just a hair too tall. I measured the space that I have, and I read the physical measurements of the BGs, but somebody goofed. Probably me. No biggie, I can still get the lid on.

Les,
The caps are soldered so you need some soldering skills and a little bravery to do the mod.

[Les Lammers]

Thanks QE,

In my case it would take a lot of bravery.

[Quiet Earth]

 

That was funny . . . .