There are those moments when you know that you really don't know much and there is so much more to learn. I had thought my modded Oppo was nearly complete.....well....I installed two Bybee Music Rails and I am now hearing things that I have never, ever heard before. The noise floor drops tremendously leaving all kinds of delicate subtle sounds and details. You will hear the back walls, the slightest movement of the performers, low level grundge from old ADC converters(I guess that is not such a great thing...he he), beauty, dynamics, bass, clarity and separation of instruments, depth, etc....you get the idea. Now my modded Oppo has 15,000 uf of Jensen 4 pole caps in the raw supply for the output board.....followed by exotic super low impedance wide band shunt regulators....I thought this was about as good as it gets. Not so, the ESS DAC and my zero feedback output stage now sound way, way better.
I have never been a fan of cascading regulation (pre regulator followed by another regulator...also called double regulation). I always heard a loss of transparency and the adding of more "electronics". So it was with some doubt that I tried the Bybees......would adding this thing actually make is sound better? Even cascading regulators reduces the measured ripple and noise just like the Bybees do. Well, the Bybees deliver. Way lower noise floor, more dynamics, more information and yes.....more music. Not veiled, just more real!
Please go to
http://www.bybeelabs.com to read more about these things. Please read the two articles referenced on the Homepage (especially the article by Wayne Donnelly where he describes the sound improvement after having 4 put in his $16,500 dual mono VTL 7.5 Mk II preamp). Same exact things I am hearing in the Oppo!
What are the Bybee Music Rails?: They are DC filters that go in the DC rails in the power supply. They can go directly after the main filter caps or directly on the circuit (after regs or whatever). They can also work on the output of switching supplies. They are available in 2 amp and 15 amp versions and plus and minus voltage versions of each of those (4 different versions total). They can be used up to 30Vs without external parts and used to 550V using 3 external parts to float them above ground. Anotherwords, they can be used in anything....from a low voltage solid state mic level device to high powered tube amps.
They are not being sold directly to end users for DIY use. Only OEMs and modders can buy these things and install them in your equipment. These devices must be installed correctly or product failure or human injury could result. The pricing on the Bybees to the OEMs and modders is $55 for the 2 amp module and $60 for the 15 amp module. $20 more gets you the parts that allow you to float them above ground for use above 30 volts.
I will install the Bybee Music Rails in every piece of equipment known to man (60lbs or less) for the price of the Bybees plus $85 per hour labor ($50 minimum). I will make no money on the Bybees.....just my labor. A super great deal. Later this year I will raise my labor rate to $100 per hour.
Let say you have a preamp, DAC or Squeezebox that has an external linear supply. If the space allows and it is easy to install I might be able to install one 2 amp Bybee in about one half hour. This would cost you $55 for the Bybee, and $50 for my labor plus return shipping. You would be blown away at the difference. Of course, many things are not easy to work on and you will more than likely want more than one installed in your solid state, tubed or hybrid preamp/amp/integrated amp/CD player/SACD player/Universal player/transport/server/DAC/ADC/Jitter remover/digital xover/linear xover/phono stage/tuner/cassette deck/reel to reel/Mic preamp/guitar amp/PA amp/etc. etc.
As far as I know, the Bybees have not been tried using battery power. I would bet some money that they would do the same thing there. My experience with batteries is that you want super low impedance ones bypassed by a pile of low impedance caps bypassed by a Teflon and a Blackgate for best sound. Then you need more caps near the circuit. I bet any battery followed just by the Bybees would be better....we shall see. If anyone with a battery powered whatever wants to find out......I will install them and if it does not sound better then I would return the stock unit to you and charge you nada (except return shipping). Batteries already get you far off the grid....but what if the Bybees take the sound to another whole level?!......this could be fun!
The Bybee Music Rail revolution has begun! What these things do to an already super tweaked system is amazing!
Please email me at ricevs@comcast.net or call me at 831-338-2896 to arrange to have your unit sent here for Bybee Music Rail installation. I am open now but as these things get reviewed there will be a back log.
I have not wanted to get back into manufacturing anything large but I am tempted to make an external linear power supply using the ByBee Music Rail technology that could be configured from 6-24 volts..........maybe even plus and minus voltages too. This could be used with your Zodiac DAC, the Squeezboxes, other small DACs, etc. I could put a 45 Watt tranny mounted on wood off the chassis, soft recovery diodes, lots of main filter capacitance, my modded Wima bypasses, a super low impedance tweaky dee regulator and the Bybee Music Rail inside. I could probably sell it for around $4-500. Heck, for another $65 I could put another Bybee before the reg and one after.....yikes! I will make a proto and maybe send it to one of you guys (let me know who is interested and at what voltages) and it could be sent around the country on tour.
One thing I can do optionally with the Bybee install is to put our zero feedback output stage in a DAC or Player that has a Voltage out DAC (ESS, AKM, Cirrus Logic, Wolfson, some Burr-Brown). This zero feedback buffer will only give one volt RMS per phase so may not be compatible in a passive based system but anyone with a preamp or integrated will be fine. The output stage is $100 and again the installation is $85 per hour. The Minimax is one such DAC that could have this done. All Oppo Blue Ray players (83, 83SE, 93, 95) can also benefit from this highly transparent output stage.
In a couple of months I will have a circuit board with a super I-V stage on it so I can put a super transparent output stage on all DACs with current out (most Burr-Brown and Analog Devices), as well. However, the zero feedback buffer stage mentioned above is availabe right now (in fact, I am installing a pair of Bybees and my zero feedback output stage in an Oppo 83SE now).
Ric Schultz
EVS
http://www.tweakaudio.com
