Update, I just spoke with Larry Owens. He calibrates the DEQX, and modifies them. He said my unit does have a potentially noisy SMPS. The 4 is Linear, the 5 is a high end SMPS that does not have the same issues. Other hardware in my unit is not on the same level as the 4 and 5. I am not sure how mine differs from the PreMate. I mostly listen to music via my Core Audio Kryptos music server. His suggestion is to try and keep everything in the digital realm for me. That way the power supply will not affect my sound near as much. I had to send him some pictures of the mother board in my unit. He is looking to see if he can add a SPDIF input/output to my unit. Boards differ on the year they were built. I would then install the Mate between my music server and my DAC. He believes that would get me a lot of bang for the buck. If I want Digital to Analog/Analog to Digital, I am going to need to isolate that part of the system from the noisy power supply, and add a new clean power supply. Something he can do, but more money. Just an FYI.
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Good info, Kingrex. Thanks! BTW, although it undoubtedly has no relevance in the case of your Mate, I'll mention that according to a communication I had with Alan Langford of DEQX last year, incorporation of Larry's mods into a unit that is under factory warranty will invalidate that warranty. Best of luck as you proceed. Regards, -- Al |
Kingrex here again. Some more insight if I may ask. I am interested in experiences with people using their unit as SPDIF in and SPDIF out to the DAC. For a very reasonable price I can get my Mate upgraded to process the signal in the digital domain only and it should have the same sonic quality as the higher level models. I am interested in what others have experienced with tonal shifts when installed this way. I currently have a First Sound Preamp and Transition Audio Monoblocks. My gear is all tube and has a lot of harmonic warmth and richness. My system is not designed to be high in analytical clarity. Its all about a big warm engaging blanket of good clean sound. In others experience, if you are using tube equipment, did you feel you lost any of the warmth and harmonics, or was it so transparent nothing changed when in bypass as compared with physically pulling the unit out of the signal path. You know, compare the tone with the DEQX in the system, in bypass, then take it completely out. Once again this would be with digital in and out only. Thanks for any input. |
I'd be very curious to hear about other folks who are using the digital output too, and curious to hear what DACs seem just comparable to DEQX (similar sound or a sideways move), and those that are a big upgrade over the DEQX internal DAC. As some of you may have seen, John Darko is doing a multipart review of the DEQX Premate+. Part 1 (with popular KEF LS50): http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/06/next-level-kef-ls50-with-the-deqx-premate/ Part 2 (with ELAC B6): http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/07/get-a-room-deqx-correcting-the-elac-debut-b6/ One more part (on room correction with LS50) to come. I'd asked Darko to comment on the DEQX DAC quality compared to others he's tried or has in house, but he said that it wasn't likely that he'd do that as part of these reviews. He chose to focus on the speaker and room correction functionality. |
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