[Mad DOg]

First off, I want to thank Dan Wright of ModWright for completing the Level 2 mods so quickly!    Next I want to curse UPS for delaying delivering on the DAC...

But now that i have the level 2 modded DAC back in my grubby little hands, it's all good as my system is primed and ready for some serious music listening!    

So how does it sound? Please keep in mind that I wasn't able to a/b the level 1 and level 2 units back to back so the differences that I'm about to share are the ones that were most obvious to my ears...

The one that that I am certain the Level 2 mod does is reduce grain and glare. When I went from my Rogue Magnum 99 preamp to the Aragon Aurum, I detected more sibilance and a bit more grain and glare as the level of "brightness" reached higher levels than before. I was willing to accept what I considered a minor step back with this added harshness for the improvements I was getting in bass response, better dynamics, better transparency and lower noise floor...everything else was simply better w/ the Aurum other than this slight increase of "harshness"...i'm sure you're asking, "so what's this got to do with the Level 2 mod?"    and that's a good question!

well, with the Level 2 mod, this grain that i heard before is almost all but gone! this was so very apparent when I threw in Diana Krall "Live in Paris", Norah Jones "Come Away w/ me", and Sara Lee's "Pound Cake"   , it was so much smoother than before...thinking that harshness might be volume related, I started turning up the volume to see if it would reappear...There still was a slight bit of hardness being introduced to the voices and piano key strikes but it has been reduced to the point that I believe the remaining harshness is inherent in the recording...what i can definitively conclude now is that the Aurum is more transparent than the Mag99. the grain and glare that was present in the Level 1 DAC was being masked by the Rogue.

is the soundstage any deeper than before? probably but hard to say without a direct a/b comparison...same thing w/ bass, levels of blackness and so on...the one thing that was so apparent to my ears w/o the luxury of being able to conduct an a/b comparison is that the Level 2 DAC is cleaner sounding w/ less grain and glare...

so was it worth the money? considering that the cost to upgrade my DAC from Level 1 to Level 2 status was $100 + shipping both ways, I definitely think so! most changes to reduce grain and achieve a smoother sound will cost a lot more than that! happy listening!!!

[modwright]

Thanks for the PF and the excellent review.

Take care,

Dan

[audiojerry]

Welcome to the club, Mad Dog. I've had mine for 2 years now: anything I hang on to for that long means it's really good.  

Do you have the Monolithic power supply? If not, it should be your next upgrade. It improves the sound significantly. I followed that up with the addition of the P-1A. I've read comments from owners that were not impressed with the P-1A, but not from me. I think that the P-1A really benefits from the Monolithic, and Dan's Level 2 mods better reveal the benefits that P-1A provides. In a nutshell, the P-1A results in a smoother, less digital sound.      

Finally, worthwhile improvements resulted by placing the P-1A and P-3A under Pandafeet. That reminds me to order more Pandafeet from Gary.  

[Mad DOg]

Thanks for the PF and the excellent review.

Take care,

Dan

Dan,

You're quite welcome! Thanks for taking me one step closer to audio nirvana...

[Mad DOg]

Welcome to the club, Mad Dog. I've had mine for 2 years now: anything I hang on to for that long means it's really good.  

Do you have the Monolithic power supply? If not, it should be your next upgrade. It improves the sound significantly. I followed that up with the addition of the P-1A. I've read comments from owners that were not impressed with the P-1A, but not from me. I think that the P-1A really benefits from the Monolithic, and Dan's Level 2 mods better reveal the benefits that P-1A provid ...

Hello Audiojerry,

I really like my P-1/A...I spent some time listening last night and something just didn't sound right...the music was just not real and organic enough...so I checked the P-1/A and sure enough somehow it had been switched to bypass mode...with a push of the button, the digititis was gone...i find the differences the P-1/A makes to are most apparent on vocals...

I do not have the Monolithic PS...and yep, that's the upgrade i'm considering next!   I know that power is critical to great sound...Heard it firsthand in my setup when shokunin brought his Shunyata Hydra 6 over and we plugged my PT gear into it...big difference. speaking about power, i replaced the stock power cord on my CD transport with a Onix Master pc and WHOA!!! Big gains in clarity...bass is clean, taut and tight. highs are very defined. seems like a haze or film has been wipe away...i also replaced the stock PCs to my amps w/ absolute sound PCs and noticed a smoother sound w/ better bass response...not as big a difference as swapping the PC on the transport...not sure if this was due to the nature of the component or the quality of the power cord or a combination of them both...

Guess I'll have to start saving my pennies for the Monolithic now...

[jackman]

Another option is the power supply from Channel Islands.  From what I understand, the P3A improves more with the Monolythic than the P1A.  Dusty makes a single version of the Monolythic for the P3A.  You may want to give him a call.

I agree regarding the Modded P3A/P1A and their sound. Audiojerry's are amazing, although he has more than the Modwright modifications and has lots of gizmos like Triphasers and Bybees all over everything!  Jerry's digital gear is the most analog sounding stuff I have heard.  

Glad to hear you are enjoying your purchases!

Jack

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

I just thought i would chip in as well.

Mad Dog,

Thankx for keeping us in the loop with your modifications to you p3a  ,
it really does help someone like myself to decide to upgrade from the level 1 mod to level 2.  I will be doing this mid year as firstly i have to save for a holiday.

Jackman,

You will have to also keep us in the loop and let us know how your ram cdp sounds.

regards

rod

[Chris_B]

Maddog,

Your post reminded me that I have to get the level 2 mod.  I bought the DAC with the level 1.  Still, I wish my digital front end was a little more organic and less "bright" sounding.  Still, I am a detail lover and the P-Tech gear delivers detail in spades.  I am in the midst of a speaker upgrade.  Once the speakers settle in, I will get with Dan for the level 2.

[audiojerry]

I still wonder how the Empircal P3-A mods sound. If I didn't have to front the deposit, I'd definitely give it a try.

[Marbles]

Talk to Steve when he gets back from CES, maybe you guys can work something out.

I really think it would be worth an A/B of your ModWright level 2 and the Empirical moded unit.

With the Empirical, you don't need any external power supply other than the original wall wart and you don't need the  P1a.

I didn't want to buy it because it is pricey, but once I heard it, it was like the Sirens song calling me to it.

[Mad DOg]

Talk to Steve when he gets back from CES, maybe you guys can work something out.

I really think it would be worth an A/B of your ModWright level 2 and the Empirical moded unit.

With the Empirical, you don't need any external power supply other than the original wall wart and you don't need the  P1a.

I didn't want to buy it because it is pricey, but once I heard it, it was like the Sirens song calling me to it.

interesting...so instead of saving my pennies for the monolithic, i should sell my P-1/A and use that money for the empirical mod...now that's a thought...

i'd love to a/b the two first before making a decision...

[Sa-dono]

interesting...so instead of saving my pennies for the monolithic, i should sell my P-1/A and use that money for the empirical mod...now that's a thought...

i'd love to a/b the two first before making a decision...

But then you'd be missing out on SOCS and ROCS I would still like to compare with the Empirical modded P-3A as well, but still have to get around to doing some other mods first...