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MDAC First Listen (part XXV)

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John,

If I understood correctly L3 and L4 improve the stability of certain units. Anything I need to worry about with my L2?
 
JohnW said:
OK - so finally managing to get acceptable :) performance out of "troublesome" units - so there will now be a L4 Toy - there are no "bad sounding" L3's (as we retained any units that did not meet the performance requirements) - just that the L4 build should insure greater constancy among units.

Now just to see if I an fine tune the L4 for even greater performance :) but the good news is I believe I've resolved the core issue.
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That's good news indeed! ... Yeah, it's like christmas. Except that I can't cheat this time! :( :D
JohnW said:
Dont worry about the heat, its about 50DegC which is fine :) you have 4x classA stages operating under the lid!
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If anything, my (company) laptop goes as high as ~95C on the CPU when in a dock. Yeah, that's really high (bad design).
 
fusion5 said:
John,

If I understood correctly L3 and L4 improve the stability of certain units. Anything I need to worry about with my L2?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there was a much larger variability in the SQ of the L2 units - it was this "Discovery" that has caused so much headaches and delays - its important to note the variability is in the original units SQ – the L2 upgrades just built upon this variability. A few of the very first L2 units also had horrid resistors fitted, but I’ve since reworked these units.

Its important to note that despite the variability all units sounded better then there original form – thus the objective of improving performance has been achieved – its just not good when there was so much inconstancy.

Your L2 Fusion is really a one of unit – great care was taken to insure results – JohanH has the only other Fusion and its built to L3 spec which as a slightly different balance of virtues…

MDAC2 the next step forward – too much time has been spent struggling with an inherently “Limited” platform (despite its excellent performance :) ) – its why we are offering L2,L3 & L4 owners the MDAC2 upgrade “at cost”.
 
JohnW said:
In standard form I'd describe your unit as sounding restrained and "Dark"... the upgrades have opened up your unit with "lovely" smooth resolution :)
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That would explain my impression of the unit now being brighter.
Thanks for the insights.
I intend to make a new casing from perforated aluminum to help cool it; not necessary as I know now but I will feel more at ease.
 
Steven Toy said:
The compulsory comment was tongue-in-cheek. Your misspelling of my first name suggests mild irritation on your part.

The internet lacks nuance.
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Indeed, but on this occasion it was nothing more than a slip on my part. Irritated, not at all, but I do get the sense that many people choose music to suit the hifi rather than music for its own sake. I have done it myself on occasion, but it's not something I want to be doing, ever, really.

Anyway, I am on holiday for a week without any audio, but will be doing fun stuff with the kids and thoughts of MDAC will be banished for a bit :)
 
Hi, I lost a bit track about the time schedule now.
Originally I was on the upgrade list at about no. 50, so I guess I missed the Toy/Fusion upgrade for 10 steps :(.
John, your aren't doing any L3/L4 upgrades after the current batch any more I suppose. Any suggestions when the building of the new platform for MDac2 will begin after that? What comes next?
 
JohanH said:
I intend to make a new casing from perforated aluminum to help cool it; not necessary as I know now but I will feel more at ease.
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Remember what John was saying about the sound stage collapsing in 'the metal case' try using timber or solid surface material.
 
Hi John,

Could you add me to the MK2 list please.

I'd like to go for a MDAC MK2 PCB (black) upgrade + Toy (or Fusion, not decided yet) + XLR balanced headphone connection

Thank you
 
Asphaltradler said:
Hi, I lost a bit track about the time schedule now.
Originally I was on the upgrade list at about no. 50, so I guess I missed the Toy/Fusion upgrade for 10 steps :(.
John, your aren't doing any L3/L4 upgrades after the current batch any more I suppose. Any suggestions when the building of the new platform for MDac2 will begin after that? What comes next?
Click to expand...

Once I completed the last of the units that have been sitting behind me for months - I'll start to work on the design of the MDAC2 PCB :)

I hoping it well be ready for a nice Christmas present to gift ourselves :)
 
JohnW said:
Once I completed the last of the units that have been sitting behind me for months - I'll start to work on the design of the MDAC2 PCB :)

I hoping it well be ready for a nice Christmas present to us all :)
Click to expand...

I've decided to spend some of my Christmas earnings thus. :)
 
JTC said:
This XLR balanced headphone option: worth it for HD800?
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I have already went ahead and purchased a 4-pin male XLR terminated balanced cable for my HD800, ready to use with the MDAC2! I have also purchased a 4-pin female to 2x3-pin female XLR adaptor cable, for use with the Toy MDAC (which will be dedicated for headphone duties once the MDAC2 arrives in the speaker system)... can't wait!
 
Does the XLR headphone option add a new pair of XLRs or alter the existing ones (which I need for the ATCs)?
 
JTC said:
Does the XLR headphone option add a new pair of XLRs or alter the existing ones (which I need for the ATCs)?
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It's on the wiki: http://mdac2.referata.com/wiki/Main_Page#Proposed_features

Yes, it's an additional 4W XLR.

edit: Probably similar to http://www.neutrik.com/website/uploads/images/01/660x/nc4fd-lx.jpg?v=1. Stock balanced cable for the HD800 is still quite expensive, though - http://www.headphone.com/accessories/cables/sennheiserhr-4-pin-balanced-stock-hd800-cable.php (plugs into a sennheiser amp). You're better off with making your own .. should be way easier than my AKG K702 as you only need to make the cable (probably just replace jack by XLR), not rewire the headphones inside the earcups.
 
jirij said:
That's good news indeed! ... Yeah, it's like christmas. Except that I can't cheat this time! :( :D

If anything, my (company) laptop goes as high as ~95C on the CPU when in a dock. Yeah, that's really high (bad design).
Click to expand...

You just have to stop playing Diablo with it.
:)
95C is too much (even if those are core temperatures). It wouldn't last long, you're aware of that probability, right?

To get on topic, my Mdac really gets hot, but only when I'm using it. Maybe because is suffers also from exhaust from the PS3 sitting next to it.
When idle, it's just mildly warm.

Michael
 
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