Golden Gate DAC arrives.

[Mike Lavigne]

The beauty of this mod is it can be easily restored back to stock, if the person who want's to buy it prefers higher jitter and noise. It's almost like changing out a sound card in a PC. Or changing wheels on a car. I suppose having it done by Lukasz would have a better ring to it though. But who knows what he would charge.

I would not buy a used dac that was hacked on. and I would never sell one and not disclose it. a catch 22.

 

[Blizzard]

I am not claiming you offended anyone Blizzard, I am only asking now that you made your point(s) on this thread to let it go and move on. I am sure that if some GG owners are interested in your ideas, they will think about it seriously. But some owners are likely not interested for all kind of reasons and that is equally fine.

I can't see how this is off topic. You guys are talking about a mod that made the PCM better. I'm talking about mods that will make both PCM and DSD better for much cheaper.

 

[Blizzard]

I would not buy a used dac that was hacked on. and I would never sell one and not disclose it. a catch 22.

I wouldn't call it a hack. It's just swapping out the USB interface. You don't even have to touch the DAC board.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I wouldn't call it a hack. It's just swapping out the USB interface. You don't even have to touch the DAC board.

a 'hack' is in the eyes of the beholder.

again; you have never owned expensive gear that has been modified and realized you need to be surgically removed from it. it's a painful experience.

 

[Blizzard]

a 'hack' is in the eyes of the beholder.

again; you have never owned expensive gear that has been modified and realized you need to be surgically removed from it. it's a painful experience.

So if Lukasz did the swap would it no longer be a hack? I guess upgrading the PCM board is also a hack as well.

 

[adyc]

To be fair to Blizzard, I think the mod is quite easy and reversible. If I'm correct, the Amanero board is top left if I look at it from the front. It is not covered by anything. I may ask my dealer to replace it and install together with R2R PCM module when it is available for balanced version.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

So if Lukasz did the swap would it no longer be a hack? I guess upgrading the PCM board is also a hack as well.

if Lukasz does it then it's factory and warrantable.

if you or someone else does it it's a hack.

or....you could set up a company, make your consistent mods, establish a brand, offer a warranty and a future value and an end game for participants. with spendy gear there has to be security somewhere. for most of us.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

To be fair to Blizzard, I think the mod is quite easy and reversible. If I'm correct, the Amanero board is top left if I look at it from the front. It is not covered by anything. I may ask my dealer to replace it and install together with R2R PCM module when it is available for balanced version.

the operative phrase is;

"ask my dealer".

no one (or at least I'm not) is disputing that Blizzard is right technically.

 

[Blizzard]

if Lukasz does it then it's factory and warrantable.

if you or someone else does it it's a hack.

or....you could set up a company, make your consistent mods, establish a brand, offer a warranty and a future value and an end game for participants. with spendy gear there has to be security somewhere. for most of us.

Yes I suppose for some doing a tire changeover at home instead of a dealer could be considered a hack as well.

 

[Blizzard]

To be fair to Blizzard, I think the mod is quite easy and reversible. If I'm correct, the Amanero board is top left if I look at it from the front. It is not covered by anything. I may ask my dealer to replace it and install together with R2R PCM module when it is available for balanced version.

Yes even this $1100 DAC has a better version of the Amanero in it. That would be the first thing to go if I owned one.

http://www.amazon.com/LKS-Audio-MH-DA003-decoder-silver/dp/B00RCACOD2

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Yes I suppose for some doing a tire changeover at home instead of a dealer could be considered a hack as well.

as I'm in the car business I do deal with modified wheels and modified suspensions. both void warranties on many levels and cause all sorts of repair issues....and makes those vehicles much more difficult to sell as they have disclosures that have to be made. the banks don't like them.

the young tuners don't think about it. hey; it's just wheels, tires and a few parts. but it creates lots of unforeseen issues. they never 'just do tires'.

non stock gets down-valued quite a bit. price out OEM wheels and tires or suspension parts. big dollars. and unless you live with that modified car for a while you don't know what other issues have been caused.

no different than modified electronics. how do you know what you don't know?

 

[adyc]

Both side should chill out. Lukasz is always open to suggestions. GG is born because owners of Lampizator DAC demand Lukasz to use better parts or best parts. We should ask Lukasz to investigate this idea to see whether it is worthwhile.

 

[Blizzard]

as I'm in the car business I do deal with modified wheels and modified suspensions. both void warranties on many levels and cause all sorts of repair issues....and makes those vehicles much more difficult to sell as they have disclosures that have to be made. the banks don't like them.

the young tuners don't think about it. hey; it's just wheels and a few parts. but it creates lots of unforeseen issues. they never 'just do tires'.

As long as they are the same size and speed rating, what's the difference? This is the case with the Amanero reclocker. But yes I do realize some people are clueless, and you need to be aware of this.

 

[Blizzard]

Both side should chill out. Lukasz is always open to suggestions. GG is born because owners of Lampizator demand Lukasz to use better parts or best parts. We should ask Lukasz to investigate this idea to see whether it is worthwhile.

Not sure if he would endorse Acko's product. But he does use several 3rd party products in his DAC's. Many parts he uses are popular with the DIY guys.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Both side should chill out. Lukasz is always open to suggestions. GG is born because owners of Lampizator DAC demand Lukasz to use better parts or best parts. We should ask Lukasz to investigate this idea to see whether it is worthwhile.

Amen to Lukasz approving and doing any mods. then GG's on the market in the future will be genuine and everyone won't be spooked that there are potentially bogus versions.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

As long as they are the same size and speed rating, what's the difference? This is the case with the Amanero reclocker. But yes I do realize some people are clueless, and you need to be aware of this.

it's never just tires. never.

 

[Blizzard]

Amen to Lukasz approving and doing any mods. then GG's on the market in the future will be genuine and everyone won't be spooked that there are potentially bogus versions.

It's not too hard to pop the cover off and clearly see what's been done. Just have to compare what you see with the pictures I posted.

I suppose coming from a background of building all my own audio components,(Speakers for 20 years, Amps for 8, and now DAC's) I have a hard time seeing things from the point of view people have that don't see things as they are when it comes to audio gear.

 

[adyc]

Not necessarily Acko part. But to investigate to use better part than stock Amanero USB board. I do not think there are many high end companies making their own components. Always OEM with specification.

 

[Blizzard]

Not necessarily Acko part. But to investigate to use better part than stock Amanero USB board. I do not think there are many high end companies making their own components. Always OEM with specification.

He might as well wait for the new Ravenna OEM Ethernet renderer board coming out soon. It will smoke any USB interface out there. You'll be able to choose your own clocks as well.

 

[Audiocrack]

It's not too hard to pop the cover off and clearly see what's been done. Just have to compare what you see with the pictures I posted.

I suppose coming from a background of building all my own audio components,(Speakers for 20 years, Amps for 8, and now DAC's) I have a hard time seeing things from the point of view people have that don't see things as they are when it comes to audio gear.

You are more or less starting to 'highjack' this thread. Maybe people indeed see things in a different way than you and that is fine. As mentioned before I would appreciate if you stop your unfruitful attempts to 'convert' everbody. Believe me, you will not succeed in this so please let it go.