What is the deal with the ART DIO

A thing I am finding is that if you can find a respectable product and have it Modified you will do better than paying 10-20X as much for some things.
I have a B&K ST-202 that I will not sacrifice unless I need to drive a real difficult load.I think that Class A BIAS'd gear,quality parts,wiring,tweeking and design changes will improve the sound dramaticly!

The ART DIO should sound better than most stock DAC's after modifying!I think it's a safe bet to have a reputable Co. like BOulder do the Mods!Some Mods I think are more critical than others!I think the BIAS toward Class A,Parts and the wires are most important!

Those are my observations!

I would only add that i think that the physical layout of a circuit becomes FAR more critical with digital signals due to their "RF based" nature than it is with other standard line level analogue circuitry. With a chassis the size of the Dio and the limited amount of space that it offers, it would be next to impossible to keep RF from leaking back into the power supply and analogue circuitry. The fact that they were able to actually squeeze a tube in there AND have both a DAC and ADC in it simply amazes me. Sean
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One Tweek that can be done immediately is getting rid of the 9V PSU unit.I had a Variable Ratshack unit I used in it's place.

I do think that having the Op Amp and it BIAS'd to Class A operation would be a big step in the right direction!There seems to be a touch of veiling to the unit that might be resolved by switching out some of the stock components!