Recent content by MarkK02474

  1. M

    Measuring power line noise with the TriField EM100, and the impressive effect of Shyunyata products

    The MIT filter likely has MIT capacitors in it which are dampening the power line noise, even to another socket. Various makers have sold noise reducing wall warts which contain capacitors, at a lower cost. Your 12v LED power supply is not just a transformer. LED lights run off DC power, and...
  2. M

    Oppo Sonica DAC and with EVS mods.

    Ric, I never tried the diodes you named. I tried a similar and perhaps better one and also a surface mount one that was definitely inferior to the first- both were Vishay fast, soft recovery Fred, and yet the difference between them was large. I didn't try Schottky or SiC types (yet). Diodes...
  3. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Sadly, I think the "ultrasoft recovery" TO-220 Vishay Fred I tried sounds a little better than the "soft recovery" SMD Fred I tried. That is VS-HFA04TB60PBF sounded better than VS-3EMU06-M3/5AT. I wish it weren't so as a SMT device is so much neater. A difference between the parts is the 4A...
  4. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Seems I didn't get the ribbon cable fully seated, so don't have accurate results on the diode change. Sorting things out.
  5. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    My new ifi SPDIF iPurifier just came. Took maybe 2 seconds to hear a veil or two removed and the soundstage grow yet taller, wider, and deeper. $149.99 well spent. It came nicely packaged with adaptors and the 1uV noise, 5 volt iPower wall wart that I was thinking of using to power a clock board...
  6. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Yeah, this DAC has made my system sound better than ever, giving me imaging and details I didn't know possible. Didn't know the rest of my system was that good either. The imaging is so amazing with speakers that headphone listeners are missing out. I'm still pondering diodes. There are 2...
  7. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    I have read through every X20 thread on every site I could find and probably have lost track of it all. I wish there were more people exploring new mods, trying them out and reporting back. Maybe diyAudio is the place for that. What high-grade microwave coax did you use for the 100 MHz...
  8. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Today my Vishay 78-HFA04TB60-N3 diodes came in from Mouser to replace the 8 standard, "M4" (1N4004 surface mount) ones on the DAC/output board. I put them in and Wow. My soundstage exploded! Wider, deeper, taller. This mod is a must. I don't know if these are the best ultrafast soft recovery...
  9. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    I'm not using the steel top plate on my transformers. I replaced the top plate with a 3" diameter, 1/8" thick rubber washer that's fairly stiff, and on top of that is a 1.5" diameter nylon fender washer for added stiffness, with the nylon nut on that. A second nylon nut adds more strength as the...
  10. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Ric, I'm generally with you on ferrites as they can deaden the sound, but I suggest you just give it a try. Its easy with no soldering and miniscule time investment. A quick A-B test. For decades Philips engineers have been using resistors and/or ferrites to isolate loads having capacitor...
  11. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    New tweak: After finding my Molex tool kit, I removed the wires from the power connectors, cut off the tubing, twisted the power wires, and returned to the conectors. New tweak is putting a clamp-on split ferrite bead around the power wires going to the input/clock board, closest to the...
  12. M

    Modded powerful amps

    I have modified my now 25 year old 765 wpc@8 Ohm Crown Macro Reference amp over the years and am quite pleased with it. Stock, it had a noise measurement of -122db, which to this day is excellent for any power amp. Mods include: replacement of the 7815/7915 voltage regulators for the front end...
  13. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Oh my. With some warm up, break-in, and just a low-end AQ power cable, this thing is sounding even more full and 3d than my old EVS Oppo-83se. The filters are quite audibly different. I think I prefer the apodizing filter closely followed by L-slow for hearing the walls of the recording...
  14. M

    EVS modified Gustard X20/Gustard X20 thread

    Received X20u with new ES9028 Pro chips today My Gustard X20u came today (yes, on a Sunday) via DHL after some shipping delays with history revisionism (backdating of events after the fact when delayed leaving Hong Kong). This was my first time ordering anything directly from China. Initial...
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