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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
sutts
700 posts
 
Audiocaptain- I don't THINK Kora is trying to purposely mislead anyone on the upsampling issue. It is just not properly explained in their literature (I simply inquired to Kora on this because of my familiarity with upsampling through previous use of the DCSD Purcell unit). Have you seen their web-site? The front page is cool- but not a ton o' depth on the technical side of things... Later.

Sutts
hirezrecorder
19 posts
 
I think you may be right.I believe some of the dac buyers thought they were getting upsampling.It does make a dramatic difference especially since you're basically doing standard 16\44.There are numerous ways to achieve upsampling and only a very few do it properly.If you extend word length and also jitter you sample and reshape noise.You have to digitize the single and add bits to the word in the digital area ,thus producing much cleaner signal and improved sonics.I would be interested in a direct comparison under controlled listening with the best upsamplers how older technology really sounds.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
First of all let me state that I was told by Kora initially that the units would upsample. It was only recently that I found out it oversampled from another manufacturer who recognized the chip. I aploogize and changed my ad's immediately upon finding this out. As a dealer I am at the mercy of the information I get from my manufacturers. I would like to note that it is still the best sounding DAC we have ever heard regrdless of upsampling, oversampling etc. Many people above have also stated as much. My customers, as well as I have compared to the highly regarded upsampling machines including some mentioned in previous threads which cost over two times as much which did not compare.
bryans
104 posts
 
What transport are you guys/gals using with your Kora DAC?
glreno OP
224 posts
 
I use the Altis CDT3, which is superb.
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