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In Reply to: RE: Finally got my Lampizated Kinergetics KCD-55 Ultra DAC working posted by morricab on May 06, 2015 at 04:30:11
There are a lot of 1990s vintage CD players and DACs out there that would be killer if the stock output stage were to be replaced with a good output stage.....
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Exactly. The Kinergetics wasn't some Japanese mass market stuff it was a $4K attempt at SOTA. It was using the best DAC modules from that era and they still go for quite a lot of money just for the modules used.
I was able to pick up this relatively unknown DAC for 400 bucks. Add another 250 for the upgrade and for well under $1K I have something that will destroy most dacs with redbook.
I would look for an old Krell or old Theta etc. and try Lampizating it. You are unlikely to ever find a Kinergetics like I did...they apparently didn't make very many.
It is hard to find other DACs with the UA modules for a low price...I got lucky. The Sonic Frontiers models can be found for reasonable money as can the Resolution Audio Quantum DAC. However, the SF already has a tube output and both are using the UA digital receiver...which is prone to failure and then your DAC is dead. Mine has a bog standard Yamaha reciever chip that they apparently modded a bit to reduce jitter further...or so they claimed.
Others with UA chips are Manley "The Wave" (1st generation and rare), Manley and VTL reference DACs, Mark Levinson No30 and 35 (pricey), STAX X1-T(tube and pricey), Threshold DAC 2 (rare), Audio Research DAC1-20(rare).
A Theta DS Pro Gen V would be a great one to upgrade but they still go for very decent money used...as do old Wadias.
It's rather like the whole idler turntable scenario. At one point, you couldn't give them away.A decent market (as opposed to one-off examples) in vintage CD players will stabilise sufficiently for skilled modifiers - *who have amassed enough stock* - to derive a decent income from them. I'm not ready to give up on Red Book CD just yet and there's plenty of used discs out there to buy.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Edits: 05/06/15 05/06/15
> > I'm not ready to give up on Red Book CD just yet and there's plenty of used discs out there to buy. < <
tons of old CD's around ... pennies to the dollar cheap too ...
No matter one's DAC preferences :^)
I've started at the edges by seeking out the strange, rare and unusual and am working my way in to the centre (pop, et al). Enjoying the journey.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
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