MHDT Orchid or Lampizator Amber 3?

Do not use the cv181 tube and adaptor as it is not the best combo for sound and can sound bright.  No Duelund caps needed.  
Vcap Odams on output 400v 2.2uf. Add Vcap Cutf .01 uf as bypass for more detail and air.  Not a must, but a nice option. 

Use a mix of resistors for best sound.  Vishay Nude ZFoils for the 100R. Audio Note non-magnetic tantalum and Shinkoh for remaining positions. 

Careful desoldering the old parts. Easy to lift pads if not careful on this unit. Very easy! You can ruin the board. 
Use WBT silver solder. 
1/2 watt resistors are fine. Audio Note leads on 1 and 2 watt resistors will not fit in the pad hole. 
I do these units for customers and at a price close to what you will do it for. I can do this for you if you are not skilled with desoldering etc...

Other upgrades can be done for a tad more improvement. 
Take care. 

Bill, I appreciate your answered my questions. I live in Canada and there is an experienced technician here who I suppose  could make these modifications. I would like to avoid sending back and forth the unit but nonetheless I will think about your proposal as I trust your knowledge of this dac I will let you know. You can send a me message to detail what you are offering.
About the cv-181 tube, at first, like others users, you seemed exited by the sound of this tube, what changed your mind, bad tube? some report these tubes are not reliable.

I reported on the thread that over time it sounded forced and a tad bright. That tube also pulls more current than the other tubes folks are trying and I think it is pushing the limits of the small tranny. I would not use it. It pulls more current than a standard 6sn7 tube as an FYI.

That tube also pulls more current than the other tubes.


The cv181 has a heater current of .95 amps and the 6sn7 is .6 amps. Quite a few transformers were being destroyed when that tube was being sold as a 6sn7 alternate.

Good evening everyone, first post on Audiogon. 

After following this thread with great interest, I finally picked up an Orchid and have done several of the upgrades mentioned by Grannyring (and others). I am enjoying the whole process of upgrading and hearing the changes and improvement so much so that I finally decided to post on this forum to say a big "THANK YOU" to all who have contributed. 

The Orchid is a great DAC and it is easy(ish) to work on.
 
Changes done so far: 
R38, R52, R36, R54 Vishay Z foils  0,60W 100 Ohm
R34, R58 -- Caddock MK232 0.75W 390K
R37, R53 - Audio Note Tantalum 1W 4.7 K
Jantzan Superior Z - 2.2uf 
Duelund CAST-PIO-Sn/Cu   0.01uF 630Vdc
Various tubes - current favourite - Philips Miniwatt E188CC (7308) SQ with adapter.

Upcoming changes:
Ordered the V-Caps (arrived today) looking forward to hearing the diffierence
R3, R4 - Ordered a set of Caddock MK23 and Amtrans AMRG Carbon Film 0.75W to try out. 
Possibly upgrade fuse to???

Really enjoying the sound now. I would be happy to live with the Orchid the way is now but I like to tinker and ask "what if I ..."

Great stuff. Great fun 

Any other upgrade/change sugguestions are welcomed.