Eastern Electric DAC mods

Wayne1 · « **Reply #100 on:** 2 Dec 2010, 03:48 pm »

I marked one side on the fuse, on the ceramic. I installed the fuse in the holder with the mark towards the outside of the chassis. I listened to it for a bit. I turned the DAC off and swapped the fuse around so the marked end was towards the inside of the chassis. I heard a difference.

I put the fuse back with the mark towards the outside and preferred that sound.

The orientation of the fuse, may be different in each system. This is the first time I had tried thatlittle listening test. I have sent a fuse out with a marking on it. I hope each person that listens to the DAC tries it and reports their observations.

It is a simple enough test. If you are comfortable with removing and replacing fuses in your own gear, try it out. See if you can hear a difference with the stock fuse direction.

A less expensive version of the ACME silver plated fuse is the Cooper Bussman S501 series fast acting. This is the physical size of fuse required by the EE DAC. It uses a ceramic tube rather than glass for less mechanical noise transmission.

ajayrav · « **Reply #101 on:** 2 Dec 2010, 10:24 pm »

Wayne,

Is your modded unit coming out west? If so, I'd love to compare it to my stock EE DAC. I'm assuming this won't happen till around Jan/Feb next year at the earliest... BTW, really liking the Touch digital mod.

Thanks,
Ajay

Wayne1 · « **Reply #102 on:** 2 Dec 2010, 11:21 pm »

Ajay,

Thanks for your comments on the Touch mods.

The modded EE is in the midwest for the next month. Then it is headed east. NYC, LI, and then south.

Maybe in March it might be ready to head west.

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #103 on:** 3 Dec 2010, 01:25 am »

This is so long overdue,been so busy trying to finish up my other work before the snow flies and then all the other things in a busy life, plus breaking in our new Avant preamp along with our new M88 integrated/amp that the system has gone through a few changes so I had to wait to comment with all said changes. No work tomorrow so while I've finally found a spare moment

Wayne, I apologize for the tardiness.
The DAC ,literally from the first 5 notes that it breathed has been so organic and full of body that it puts a huge smile

on this sour puss every time I turn it on.Deep tight bass lines that truly distinguish any blur from oblivion.Bottom end that just kicks major booty.With four 15 inch TAD 1601A drivers rocking my bottom end I know what a fat bottom looks

and sound likes and what this DAC can now do can only be describe as taut and seperated.

The midrange besides being clean as a bornagain obsolved of his or her sin has taken on a dimensionality that previously was very good but now the 3rd dimension of presence of performers is touchable.If I had to guess it would be because Eastern Electric (Alex) does not push the tube to its limit, if anything,he tends to run the tubes on the low side of the medium range , where Wayne I believe likes to run the 12au7(in this case) at pretty much it's peak.You can tell , tube life may not last as long but it seems to really bring the tube flavour to the table.

The treble has extension that is borderline phenominal.Smooth yet so non fatiguing. Cymbals & bells ,tophats that just sound like they are suppose to. Having run the sound board at church many years ago, the greatest thing was going to practice the days before the service and rehearsing.It gave me my greatest experience in hearing what instruments sound like being played by some great musicians.I would say this DAC comes closest to getting the piano right as anything I've ever heard. All three of my sisters played growing up.
If you've purchased the EE DAC then by all means, get on the tour list to hear what Wayne has done to an already great DAC.(my biased opinion

)

BTW; I have no financial interest in anything that Wayne does besides being the North American distributor for Eastern Electric.
I was just lucky enough to have Wayne ask if I'd like to have him mod my DAC. I figured ,why not, couldn't hurt. Talk about stumbling into something special in the audio realm of things

Why did I send the extra DAC for the tour

? Because I like Wayne!

Later,
Bill

finsup · « **Reply #104 on:** 3 Dec 2010, 01:40 am »

I just read this thread from start to finish. The excitement over this DAC mirrors what I have read elsewhere: Audiophilia, Dagogo, and various threads on Audiogon. Couple that with these impressions of the mods and it seems something really special is in the making.

I wondering if Wayne would post a description of the Level 1 and the mod Bill received (along with current prices) for easy comparison?

ajayrav · « **Reply #105 on:** 3 Dec 2010, 02:33 am »

Quote from: Wayne1 on 2 Dec 2010, 11:21 pm

Maybe in March it might be ready to head west.

Great! Put me on the list then, please.

Cheers,
Ajay

Wayne1 · « **Reply #106 on:** 3 Dec 2010, 05:22 am »

The modded DAC on tour has what I am going to call Level 1 mods. It will sell for $800.00 including the Pavane 12AU7-T tube and silver fuse.

Bill's DAC has most of the changes I did with the Level 1 plus 7 of Paul Hynes power supply regulators.
It is close to what I would call Level 2 mods. That mod would cost $2000.00.

There will be a Level 1.5 for $1.5K. That would have new regulators for the DAC chip and op-amps.

The Level 1 DAC offers a lot of bang for the buck. Going to using the PH regs adds a lot of cost. It will take 6-8 weeks to order in the regulators. The labor required to add the regs is also a factor in the increased cost. The performance improvements are quite dramatic.

Vulcan00 · « **Reply #107 on:** 3 Dec 2010, 07:53 pm »

You say the EE mod DAC is coming south?

I have a EE Dac. I am located in Birmingham, Alabama.

Harrison

Wayne1 · « **Reply #108 on:** 4 Dec 2010, 02:36 am »

Harrison,

The DAC won't be headed south until some time in late January, if all goes to plan. I'll let everyone know after it leaves the NY area.

goldlizsts · « **Reply #109 on:** 7 Dec 2010, 04:24 am »

Quote from: mjosef on 18 Nov 2010, 05:40 am

Mhnnn...I have been auditioning quite a few components lately, the Modwright KWA100 amp, the stock (sort of) EE DAC vs. an older Zhaolu (modded) DAC, a Sherwood SACD player, cables ... if no one steps up, maybe I can give it a listen...I am at the point where I just want to enjoy music without the weight of assessing one component vs another, so it will have to impress otherwise my comments may border on the blah.

How many are in the NYC area? Does anyone know?

mjosef · « **Reply #110 on:** 7 Dec 2010, 04:33 am »

Shek, it might just be you at this point...I will be gone all of January.

Levi · « **Reply #111 on:** 7 Dec 2010, 04:36 am »

Go for it Shek.

Vulcan00 · « **Reply #112 on:** 7 Dec 2010, 08:51 pm »

Thanks Wayne,

Harrison

Downsize · « **Reply #113 on:** 9 Dec 2010, 11:08 pm »

I hope it is ok to post this question here. It is this thread where I read that Wayne says the coax input does sound better than the USB input. My question is : Is there anything that will convert my USB cable from my laptop to coax ? Is there a USB to coax converter ?

Thanks

srb · « **Reply #114 on:** 9 Dec 2010, 11:25 pm »

There are a number of USB to S/PDIF converters. Here are a few:

M2Tech HiFace - 24bit/192KHz - $150 (RCA) or $180 (BNC)
http://www.m2tech.biz/index-3.html

Firestone Audio Bravo - 24bit/96KHz - $167
http://www.audiophileproducts.com/usb-to-spdif

Hagerman Technology HagUsb - 16bit/48KHz - $129
http://www.hagtech.com/hagusb.html

And others in this price range as well as more expensive ones from Analog Research Technology, Audiophilleo, Bel Canto, Empirical Audio, Halide Design, M2Tech, Stello, Wavelength and others.

Steve

Downsize · « **Reply #115 on:** 9 Dec 2010, 11:50 pm »

Quote from: srb on 9 Dec 2010, 11:25 pm

There are a number of USB to S/PDIF converters. Here are a few:

M2Tech HiFace - 24bit/192KHz - $150 (RCA) or $180 (BNC)
http://www.m2tech.biz/index-3.html

Firestone Audio Bravo - 24bit/96KHz - $167
http://www.audiophileproducts.com/usb-to-spdif

Hagerman Technology HagUsb - 16bit/48KHz - $129
http://www.hagtech.com/hagusb.html

And others in this price range as well as more expensive ones from Analog Research Technology, Audiophilleo, Bel Canto, Empirical Audio, Halide Design, M2Tech, Stello, Wavelength and others.

Steve

Thank you Steve .... Do these have different sound qualities, or are they all the same, or will they even affect the sound at all ?

srb · « **Reply #116 on:** 10 Dec 2010, 12:08 am »

Quote from: Downsize on 9 Dec 2010, 11:50 pm

Thank you Steve .... Do these have different sound qualities, or are they all the same, or will they even affect the sound at all ?

Well, you would hope so, since the more expensive ones sell for ~ $250 - $900! I don't have any personal experience with them, although there are a number of topics including reviews about the M2Tech HiFace here on AudioCircle.

This is not a recommendation from me, but many felt the HiFace offered performance comparable to some more expensive ones. But that didn't keep people from further electronically modifying them and running them on battery power!

You can search for "HiFace" as well as "USB to S/PDIF" to find out about others here on AudioCircle as well as on other sites like Computer Audiophile.

Steve

Downsize · « **Reply #117 on:** 10 Dec 2010, 12:19 am »

Quote from: srb on 10 Dec 2010, 12:08 am

Well, you would hope so, since the more expensive ones sell for ~ $250 - $900! I don't have any personal experience with them, although there are a number of topics including reviews about the M2Tech HiFace here on AudioCircle.

This is not a recommendation from me, but many felt the HiFace offered performance comparable to some more expensive ones. But that didn't keep people from further electronically modifying them and running them on battery power!

You can search for "HiFace" as well as "USB to S/PDIF" to find out about others here on AudioCircle as well as on other sites like Computer Audiophile.

Steve

Thanks for the VERY informative and helpful answers Steve !

Downsize · « **Reply #118 on:** 10 Dec 2010, 03:01 am »

One more question if you please : Has it been determined the EE DAC sounds better when using the AES/EBU as compared to the BNC or RCA input ?

Thanks

Gopher · « **Reply #119 on:** 10 Dec 2010, 03:07 am »

Haven't tried BNC, but I've preferred using an XLR to RCA cheater to use AES/EBU to using a custom digital coax from MAC into my EE DAC. IIRC Bill O'Connel favors this input over the others as well.