X-24K?

[dustychalk]

Anyone tried modding a X-24K yet?

[rickcr42]

Anything not ultra high end ultra $$$$$$$ can be modded though not all are an actual improvement,just tossing money at something to feel good.

Where just about any DAC that does not cost a small fortune can be improved is in the interfacing of the "box" so for instance adding a good pulse transformer to the SPDIF input,adding a 1:1 line transformer to the output then improving the external PS Box with a hash filter on the mains input,good rectifiers with proper compensation then a proper Pi Filter to filter the DC so that the "twitchy" digital circuits are not sent into cardiac arrest from the power source.

Optionally a battery supply with a capacitor bank to lower the DC Voltage impedance


Most DACs are essentially fine--it is the connections to the outside world needing the most help

[dustychalk]

Well, I have the X-PSU already -- and I presume modding it is another thread entirely.

By "connections to the outside world", you mean the SPDIF input and the analog outs? So you're saying leave all those capacitors alone, or save them for last?

[rickcr42]

Saying it is the spdif input and analog output that will bring the most noticeable audible benefit because these are the parts that interact with the outside world and combined with total elimination AC line hash and of chip power buss interaction (Pi Filters,big mama in the main DC feed,individual isolation of EVERY power supply line right at each chip supply pin) will go futher towards ultimate sound quality than the selection of what reistor or what capacitor to use.

sound mechanics first then you can start the "fiddle a bit here and there" process to dial in the sound you like.

Personal opinion ? The above makes a better DAC,a more "listenable" DAC than any topology choices which can ALL pretty much be made to sound good and even diminishes my one time opinion that a DAC must be Non-OS because truth is i have brought a lowly DITB using a AD1851 engine and having 8X overampling digital filter to equal or better sonics than my previous personal best Non-OS DAC effort and for a lot less cost.

All it took was slicing the output stage pcb traces to free up the DAC Current and Voltage pins so I could run a wire to the output jacks for an external analog stage,removed the opamp V-Regs so they did not interfere with the power supply buss then hit the box with a simple well filtered (at both ends) +8 volts DC for the digital circuits though could just as easily have used a battery/cap bank/pre-reg supply then adding a pulse transformer on the SPDIF input keeping the basic nature of this obsolete budget DAC intact.

I feed it with a "proper" length 1.5 meter coax cable to prevent reflections which comes from a very simple "comprimised" PCM2704 based USB DAC with a spdif coax out + a SPDIF coax pass "through" from a POS CDP and this modest digital engine that takes up no more than a 6x6x6 space (stacked PS/DITB/top mount analog box) is my digital section for the foreseeable future.No more experiments,no more searching for the ultimate just put it "in system" and forget about it.

My goal is was and always has been to get my "convenient" system,the digital,to play music as enjoyable as my analog system which means I should be able to go from source to source to source and not feel like i am totally changing the tonal character of the music depending on where it comes from (LP,45,CD,WAV with FM and AAC type compression formats being a step below the above but on equal footing with a well recorded cassette tape)

Mission damn close to accomplished for very little loot which allows me to not only be a memeber of but still team captain of "TEAM OLD CHEAP BASTARD"

Rickasaurus Rex........kinda like a Tyranasaur but different