difabio,
I'll not be upgrading anymore MDAC's once I've completed the current commitments - the upgrade path has proved not the best approach due to the amount of time required to be spent on each unit - instead we will start the design of a new MDAC2 PCB which allows owners to upgrade there MDAC to MDAC2.
I'm hoping the upgrade MDAC2 will start shipping around Christmas.
From the MDAC2 Wiki:-
http://mdac2.referata.com/wiki/Main_Page
Upgrading M-DACs would then consist of a relatively simple entire Mainboard swap for a new one. Something that takes little time and could be carried out by 3rd parties or indeed on a DIY basis. While this would obviously necessitate time for development and production, at the end of the day this would enable much higher throughput and lots more upgraded M-DACs finding their ways to many more people - unlike the current scheme which is confined to EU customers only.
Being able to have a brand new Mainboard would allow not just streamlining of existing circuits upgrade - it would be a perfect chance to push the envelope even further with a pair of ES9018 in Dual Mono instead of just a single one in stereo for the ultimate performance, it would enable us to upgrade the USB chip to a High Speed USB 2.0 enabling 32 bit resolution at up to 768kHz as well as 64Fs and 128Fs DSD support.
The PCBs would be built in EU and fully tested & qualified by myself to guarantee consistency.
MDAC2 will feature:-
Imprved Sound quality!!!
Dual ES9018 Sabre32 DAC ICs
HS USB Audio Class 2 with up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD support
Toy' & 'Fusion' Bulk Foil resistors supported on PCB
Passive AV bypass RCA inputs / OR:-
Option for additional 4Way Female XLR balanced headphone connection:- 1 left +, 2 left -, 3 right +, 4 right -, (Shell Ground)
No more Left Channel Crackling bug
Increased tolerance to nasty sources such as the ATV, AEX, Sonos etc.
If your intersted in pledging supporting for the development of MDAC2 then please add your name to the list