ESS ES9008/9018 Sabre dac

[leo]

Hey Leo,

Did you replace the XO? The supplied one is of very low quality. With 20-50$ you should have already something v. good.

The 80mhz crystek XO isn't bad, problem is finding a suitable SMD replacement type.
Using a through hole XO on a separate board sounded worse even when it was wired as close as possible to the dac, I have tried it

I've compared XO's from Tent and Trichord before when modding cdp's , using a high quality low noise regulator the different XO's only made a small difference , much smaller than the differences between regulation

[Telstar]

I dont have first hand experience, but replacing the XO in the buffalo was one of the top mods suggested by people in the huge thread over diyaudio boards.

Personally i think the psu is more critical.

[leo]

Just a few updates

I've changed the wiring to the regs for the AVCC slightly, I now have the input and ground wires twisted and running to VA and G socket

I also refitted IC3 (LM4562) and added small track cuts on the op-amps output, doing this saves having to desolder and remove the op-amp as it isolates its output from the regs, I also removed the SMD resistor supplying the op-amps input, the track can also be linked back up if needed

Since the mods and after plenty of run in this remains one of the best dacs I've had in my system, just need to find a case now

[leo]

[fault151]

Id love to hear this compared to my stock version of the buffalo. Are there any audio meet ups or events going on any time soon?

[leo]

I'm tempted problem is it'll be only a few days before temptation gets the better of me to start fiddling transfering the Paul Hynes regs over etc http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/buffalo.aspx

[jkeny]

I'm new here & just read through this thread - Great review of mods, Leo - the most comprehensive mods I've seen so far on this DAC.

Looks like you've nearly optimised the PSUs. Only area for improvement I can see is a separate very low noise 3.3V supply for the clock. At this level of refinement I believe it will make a noticeable difference.

You now have to try the Counterpoint discrete IV stage or a different IV stage!

[rolls]

There is a totally different approach:
no regulators
no mains
no IVY, passive I/V stage
seperate supply for digital, clock, analog left, analog right.
I have done it and will never return to transformers/regulators
regards
rolls

[jkeny]

Rolls, what do you mean no regulators? - you need regulated supplies for all the different Ps feeds.

I can understand your preference for transformer IV rather than active IV (especially op-amp ones). What trafo are you using?

[NRG]

Batteries.....?