StanleyB
26-12-2019, 18:49
The new Dorado II should be arriving early next week. It's currently with FedEx, but with the Christmas and New Year's days all bunched up together I don't know on what day the goods will arrive exactly. I already have a few people on the notification list. If you are interested to get on that list as well, please email me. Don't PM me if you want me to put you on the list.
The Dorado II has a few changes, and enhancements. The main change is that it is now set for 15V only. There is no 12V option on the MKII. But All the DACs I ever sold will work at 12V and 15V. It's just that the SEG prefers 15V, and the majority of Dorado buyers buy it for the SEG, or run it at 15V instead of 12V. Many agree that things sound better at the 15V setting, even on the older DACs of mine.
One enhancement is that there is an inductive filter in DC patch to reduce any mains borne HF and RF frequencies. That means that except for the SEG, or headphone use with the other DACs, you can get away with using the original 12V or 15V SMPS that I have sold my DACs with over the years. There is a 1.5V drop across the Dorado II circuit between input and output with SMPS. This voltage difference could reduce the headphone output level. But of you don't use headphones, especially at maximum level of the volume control, you can get away with using the SMPS to power the Dorado II.
Sound wise, the inductive filter in the Dorado II seems to make a minor improvement in the high notes on some of the recordings that I have tried it on. But note that this was tested on the Yamaha NS1000M speakers, which are unforgiving when it comes to detail in the high frequency band. It might not sound any different with other speakers. But the main Dorado performance is still there. And so is my performance assurance guarantee on the Dorado, which is, If you can't hear an improvement with the Dorado in your system within the first minute of listening, it's not working for you. It doesn't need you to burn it in, or spend hours or days doing A/B testing to find the improvements. One minute is all that it takes.
The Dorado II has a few changes, and enhancements. The main change is that it is now set for 15V only. There is no 12V option on the MKII. But All the DACs I ever sold will work at 12V and 15V. It's just that the SEG prefers 15V, and the majority of Dorado buyers buy it for the SEG, or run it at 15V instead of 12V. Many agree that things sound better at the 15V setting, even on the older DACs of mine.
One enhancement is that there is an inductive filter in DC patch to reduce any mains borne HF and RF frequencies. That means that except for the SEG, or headphone use with the other DACs, you can get away with using the original 12V or 15V SMPS that I have sold my DACs with over the years. There is a 1.5V drop across the Dorado II circuit between input and output with SMPS. This voltage difference could reduce the headphone output level. But of you don't use headphones, especially at maximum level of the volume control, you can get away with using the SMPS to power the Dorado II.
Sound wise, the inductive filter in the Dorado II seems to make a minor improvement in the high notes on some of the recordings that I have tried it on. But note that this was tested on the Yamaha NS1000M speakers, which are unforgiving when it comes to detail in the high frequency band. It might not sound any different with other speakers. But the main Dorado performance is still there. And so is my performance assurance guarantee on the Dorado, which is, If you can't hear an improvement with the Dorado in your system within the first minute of listening, it's not working for you. It doesn't need you to burn it in, or spend hours or days doing A/B testing to find the improvements. One minute is all that it takes.