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Hotrod your Hermes

I've owned the new 24/192 Kora Hermes for several months now. Right after I got it, I commented on one of the threads about the excellent performance of this DAC, especially at it's price point. I promised to provide a more thorough review of this DAC after it had some time on it. Unfortunately, I failed to do this. Reason being, I began modifications on this unit after observing the open architecture inside it. Since then, I have done the following:
1. Replaced the stock tubes with Seimans gold pins (Be careful doing this. The current Hermes has pin type tube sockets with springs inside them. Lose a spring, and your tube won't make contact. No warnings in the manual about this. This happened to me. Luckily, JC Audio exchanged my "missing springs" DAC for a brand new one. Great customer service!! In the future, Kora plans to change these sockets)
2. Top Hat tube dampers
3. Audio Magic 99.999 silver wire on all inputs and outputs
4. Shakti on-lines on the circuit board
5. Shielded the two transformers from each other and the circuit board using non-magnetic MU metal
6. Replaced all caps with a mixture of MIT, Hovland, and high precision oil caps
7. Shakti stone on the transformers
8. Replaced input and output jacks with WBTs
This turned this already excellent DAC into....A MONSTER!! Why? There is only one way to describe the performance of the Hotrod Hermes. IT'S ALIVE!!! The silence of the background is stunning. The images are more palpable and more full bodied. The soundstage is deeper and wider. The background is blacker, and details you never believed were on redbook CDs are now clearly audible. Yet this DAC remains extremely musical. This is by far and away the best DAC I've heard. Not an analytical bone in it's body. A friend of mine also modified his this way, and will add to this thread about his impressions. Jerry Ramsey of Audio Magic suggested many of these mods, and did the serious ones. He does excellent work if you need someone to do it for you. If you own a Hermes, you must consider doing all or some of these things. The potential to make an already excellent DAC into a world beater is huge with this thing. And the cost of the DAC and mods keeps you under $2500.
glreno
mrsilver's avatar
mrsilver
13 posts
 

Hi,

Audio Magic has 2 levels of modification for the Hermes,
The standard and the premium modification.

Standard: 600.00

1. Pure Silver flat ribbon conductors with our enhanced silver treatment, air dialetric- outputs- inputs aes/ebu
coax input only.
2.transformers are then shielded with our special blend MU metal from analog - digital board as well as each other.
3.Three differnt types of precision high voltage caps
[much higher quality than even kora's latest upgraded caps ].
4.Resonance control on Transformers, and analog board.

Premium: 800.00

1. Everthing listed above.
2. All inputs wired
3. Digital section shielded
4. Resonance control on digital board.
5. Enhanced Resonance control on analog board and Transformers.

Either up-grade will make your Hermes sound like no other
converter in the world including the newly up-graded
Hermes.

For Info: 303-369-1814
aud1omagic@aol.com
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
As noted, the upgrades are worth doing on the older units But I will dispute the value on a new Hermes. In addition it's different strokes for differnt folks in regards to which capacitor is the best. Many people who modify products feel the Auricaps are the best made regardless of price. There is a review of these caps at www.jenalabs.com and at www.altavistaaudio.com/ulytacaps.html and as I stated in my previous thread it is a matter of taste as to which caps are the best as there are plenty of opinions out there. Regardless, I maintain my original position that mods through Jerry are very valuable for the owners of older Hermes, Eclipse etc. but I think that upgrades to tubes and power cords will be much more significant than worrying about which capacitor is one persons favorite. Especially when all mentioned here are way better than stock.
mrsilver's avatar
mrsilver
13 posts
 

Hi Joe,

Not trying to get under your skin........

Yes, the Auri caps are very good, as we have been playing with them for the last couple of weeks, however, much to
my surprise we have found that not just one brand of cap
sounds the best [ in our opinion ] throughout the entire circuit, but a combination of three different brands of
caps, there is a real synergy [ which is so important in
any audio system ] with these caps, it's just magical.

In regards to the upgrades on the newer units, we don't just address caps, we do critical shielding with our special MU metal blend to the transformers and digital board, as well as resonance control to the digital, analog, and power supply [ this will greatly improve the sound of even the new unit ].So before you judge my upgrade please take the time
to listen to it first and then decide.

I would also like to say that the Kora is the best DAC I
have heard to date [ I have listened to my share ]
and Kora could not have, a better dealer to support their
products than JC Audio.

Love you man!

Jerry
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
Thanks Jerry. As a footnote I have just received the final pricing from Kora U.S.A today as we were told it was probably going to be around $2500. It turns out that the new price will be $2600. Sorry for the confusion. Apparently the upgrades were more expensive than originally thought.
glreno OP
224 posts
 
Hey Joe! I noted that you were, at one time, putting different cones on these things. Since this is a metric thread, were you tapping out the existing nut with english 1/4 inch threads?
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