Black DAC FX Wifi vs older III

i had a gen iii model, sent it in to wally/chris j at parts express for their level 1 upgrade, was in it for over a grand with the upgrade

did not like the sound, was more detailed and extended, but sibilant, sometimes too aggressive, changed from stock tubes to various old stock ones that were smoother but i could never get the upper mids up to sound sufficiently non-digital - had other dacs in the same rough price range at the time, a schiit gumby, ayre codex and mhdt tube dac, all to my ears were more musical and transparent...

sold it after trying various things, and messing with it for over a year... often wondered if it could be improved by bypassing the volume pot

oh well, glad others seem to enjoy it ...

often wondered if it could be improved by bypassing the volume pot

Sorry, kind of late to chime in:

Surprising, there are some of you unaware of the flexibility this DAC has.

The gen III model`s volumne pot can actually be removed out, by turning it fully clock-wise, provided there is another volumne knob downstream ( a preamp).

I have the FX Tubed DAC III as my go to headphone rig, and have used it as a standalone DAC, using the method described. By the way, this method was suggested to me by Underwood Wally.

BTW, Underwood Wally no longer sells Black Ice Audio products.

But great advice on the volume pot. Thanks.