Weighty question about a DAC...

byteme · « **on:** 23 Oct 2003, 08:52 pm »

OK, I've got a Nixon tubedac. I've also been doing some research (or providing fodder for fights depending on your viewpoint

) on vibration damping, etc.

Concensus is that good damping of the DAC can be most effective. However, here's my issue on which I thought and thought and thought until my head hurt

How the heck do I weight down the tubedac so I can effectively use some kind of footers/spikes/etc under it??

For those not familiar, here's a picture

of the tubedac. As you can see, not much room on top of it. I've damn near doubled the weight by lining the interior and bottom with dynamat extreme. What else can I do? Any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe mapleshade heavyhat - but am open to other suggestions, like maybe smallish heavy stuff you can get at Home Depot??

Thanks!

Hantra · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Oct 2003, 01:43 pm »

B:

I don't know how you're going to accomplish this one. I'm in the same boat. Right now, mine is just sitting on my rack. I can put the Ayre blocks under it b/c they have lots of surface area, but right now, they are better under my other gear.

I'm not sure that adding weight to it wouldn't change the sound for the worse. That's been my experience with adding mass to gear for the sake of adding mass. .

B

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 Oct 2003, 02:24 pm »

What about a DIY version of the VPI Magic Brick??? The brick, I believe,
is simply lead inside a nicely made oak box---if you could find a container similar in size to the DAC top, you could fill it with lead shot (or sand??).

Cens · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Oct 2003, 02:26 pm »

Byteme,

If you have a local Symposium dealer, you might want to ask to try out two fat padz or rollerblocks under the DAC. I demoed several Symposium products with my system and was surprised by the improvement. Enough so that I coughed up the not small amount (even with a good discount) for an ultrapad (under preamp), rollerblocks (under CD player), and fat padz (under power conditioner). You definitely would want to do a trial first, however, because they are not for all pieces of gear.

Regards,

Chris

giorgino1 · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Oct 2003, 01:15 pm »

Byteme

I was fortunate enough to have the un-tubed SN DAC and so am able to use the "brick" directly on top.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/george.chirayus/zenpics/dackit.jpg
I do have 3 oakcones placed under the DAC and have found a great improvement in the sound.

Can you not get 3-4 dowels to raise the bricks over he tube?

_scotty_ · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Oct 2003, 06:06 pm »

Byteme, I like the brick idea with some sorbothane pandafooters under the DAC.You could try it as an experiment and not break the bank.

viggen · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 Oct 2003, 11:09 pm »

I got the Dackit. I used to weigh it down with a few small rocks I found on top of a local mountain. That was just to prevent the dac doing a wheely when the cables are weighing one side down. I don't think any spikes will benefit the Dackit though since th chassis is made of plastic anyways. Why not just use some double sided tape on the bottom of your tubedac if you need to weigh the chassis down

I actually sticked some ERS on the inside of the Dackit and found some benefit.

tmd · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Nov 2003, 11:32 pm »

I bought the DACKit circuit only. I plan on building it into a case. I will take care to keep damping in mind.
If you are adventurous, why not build a case for it that will be the least resonant and will also allow you to do whatever you want with regard to spiking and weighing it down?

byteme · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Nov 2003, 09:12 pm »

OK, based on some of the hints here this is what I've done to add a couple pounds to the DAC. Mapleshade conepoints are high enough to get the brick up over the tube and underneath (for now) I've got Audioprism Isobearings. I'm also going to try pandathumbs instead of the isobearings.

Thanks for the hints! Here's the pictures

gary · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 03:51 pm »

nice work, that's looking pretty good. please keep me updated when you swamp out the supports for the pandafeet i sent you.

-gary

byteme · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 04:16 pm »

Quote from: gary

nice work, that's looking pretty good. please keep me updated when you swamp out the supports for the pandafeet i sent you.

-gary

Gary, will do but the feet I've got are the heavy ones and even with the brick this DAC probably weighs 5-8 lbs. tops. So I'll use three feet in a similar configuration as the isobearings but they'll probably not be squished quite enough. I should be able to get a good read on them though.

arthur · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 07:06 pm »

wow that's one pampered dac

so did the sound change? better/worse? how apparent are the changes?

byteme · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 07:10 pm »

Quote from: arthur

wow that's one pampered dac

so did the sound change? better/worse? how apparent are the changes?

A little extreme isn't it??!

Actually I haven't had a chance to listen critically yet since messing with it. Hopefully tonight while folding laundry - I got a couple new CDs yesterday that I'd like to give a listen to.

viggen · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Nov 2003, 11:03 am »

Byteme,

That's some ugly setup you did to your Nixon. But, its the sound that matters the most. I did see an ad on audiogon where the seller has a picture of his dackit on herbie minifeet or something:
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?dgtlconv&1073265874

I have a question. Is that the 3XAC PSU for the tubedac? Care to share your it has improved the tubedac? I am contemplating on getting one for my dackit if they are compatible.

Thanks,

Ed

byteme · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Nov 2003, 03:25 pm »

Quote from: viggen

Byteme,

That's some ugly setup you did to your Nixon. But, its the sound that matters the most. I did see an ad on audiogon where the seller has a picture of his dackit on herbie minifeet or something:
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?dgtlconv&1073265874

I have a question. Is that the 3XAC PSU for the tubedac? Care to share your it has improved the tubedac? I am contemplating on getting one for my dackit if they are compatible.

Thanks,

Ed

Yup, that's the 3XAC alright! More juice provided a similar bump that doing the power cord on the Sony 7700 transport did. More punch, more weight in the low end, more natural highs, another touch of realism added to the whole thing!

And, yes, it's not the most handsome looking setup in the world, I agree. It may not last depending on listening tests hopefully to come this weekend.

arthur · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Dec 2003, 05:53 am »

byteme
did you ever do a comparison to hear if damping helped? i'm just wondering if the way that the case is, damping would even matter.

also, i wonder if the 3XAC is any better than what comes with the TubeDAC+ ?

back when i was buying my dac, i remember Scott Nixon telling me that i wouldn't hear a difference. than again there is much RF where i live.

Captain Humble · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Dec 2003, 02:42 pm »

byteme.
If this tweak works, you might consider painting the brick gold, black or even LSU purple and gold (Geaux Tigers!) to increase both the weight and WAF.