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Kora Hermes DAC love at first listen


jp11801

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About a month back I picked up the Kora Hermes DAC after reading about it on Agon and AA. It was a reference for a bit for a few reviewers so O thought I'd give it a go. I am using it slightly unconventionally in a computer as source rig with a hagusb/aes converter to take the usb signal out of my apple mac mini to the aes input of the Kora dac. I have been on a search for the holy grail for a while now looking for a dac that would plit the difference between the thicker analog sounding wadia/opus21 sound and the faster but brittle sound of some of the newer top gun dacs. Having gone through the wavelength cosecant, transporter, transporter APL modded and apogee mini dac owned or listened to ayre , esoteric, exemplar and the sony flagship scd1. The Kora for now O0 hits the spot and strikes a solid middle ground between the thicker sound of the wadia and the faster sound of the best of the newer players. It sounds particularly good through the HD2 a a headphone source but also is very nice through my current cobbled together speaker rig of alonl's powered by the ASL Typhoon with a passive volume pot. Great sense of soundstage with speakers and great air around each of the instruments with a solid bass response and gorgeous mids. The highs are not as present as some of the newer players but cymbals are full with hits well resolved.

Here are some pics for those that need to see the insides it reminds me a bit of my micromega cdp that I loved for about a decade. DSCN0564.jpgDSCN0568.jpg

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You know, there's something to be said for beautiful gear. And that is: are you sure you weren't just mesmerized into thinking it sounded better?

Dusty there is no doubt the mind is the most power DSP computer but I find it wears thin after a while and fails during long sessions with fatigue setting in, so far no such signs are present.
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Wow, CS4328 18 bit DAC chips. That brings back memories; there have been some very engaging 18 bit DACs made. The circuit seems very simple and easy to mod. The first thing I would do is take out those 4.7uF Solen output caps or bypass them with teflon or polystyrenes.

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Wow, CS4328 18 bit DAC chips. That brings back memories; there have been some very engaging 18 bit DACs made. The circuit seems very simple and easy to mod. The first thing I would do is take out those 4.7uF Solen output caps or bypass them with teflon or polystyrenes.

Funny you mention 18 bit dacs I also have a sonic frontiers transdac (Filburt modded) that has 1702ks in it and sounds fantastic.

I really would like to see what a full bore mod (upgrade to this circuit could yield. Jon are you not a fan of solens, is there a brand of cap you would recommend in its place (please do not say v-cap).

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Funny you mention 18 bit dacs I also have a sonic frontiers transdac (Filburt modded) that has 1702ks in it and sounds fantastic.

I really would like to see what a full bore mod (upgrade to this circuit could yield. Jon are you not a fan of solens, is there a brand of cap you would recommend in its place (please do not say v-cap).

You could try Multicaps (polystyrene dielectric).

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especially the yellow RT. Both Charles Hansen and John Curl say they're the best caps they've heard. I tend to agree.

I think the RT is now under the Audiocap branding, with the RTX (still Polystyrene) being in the Multicap line. From what I understand, they're both excellent for audio applications.

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no it sold out from under me on agon and so far I have not seen another, someday all gear comes around if you just give it time.

That's true.

I've been thinking about picking up the RAKK DAC kit (tube output stage version), but I bet I'll see a used one on the Gon sometime.

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Jon are you not a fan of solens, is there a brand of cap you would recommend in its place (please do not say v-cap).

Well, seeing how my current fave caps at 4.7uF are $100 and $170 each, unless you're Krazy, I would tend to buy a nice cap around 0.1 to 0.47 uF range and bypass the Solens.

I actually kind of like Solens as far as cheap, big caps go, especially when used with tubes *except* for their fatal flaw, i.e. hardness in upper mids. IME, bypassing them with a smooth cap really tends to ameliorate this flaw.

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Well, seeing how my current fave caps at 4.7uF are $100 and $170 each, unless you're Krazy, I would tend to buy a nice cap around 0.1 to 0.47 uF range and bypass the Solens.

Oooohhh, but they're 15% off til the end of the month (partsconnexion). :kitty:
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Oh, stop it. Really don't wanna, can't, won't buy more caps... But then again, I still haven't tried the Mundorf silver/gold/oil :kitty:

I think I'm going to buy some Dynamicaps for my Counterpoint SA5.1 pre (1uf/425V and 0.47u/425V) shortly. Might be better out there, but these are what Mike Elliot of altavistaaudio uses (former chief designer/CEO of Counterpoint). He claims to have tested everything else, and since he uses these, if I ever go to sell it modded with same parts he uses shouldn't hurt me...

If you would like to test these, I'd send you one to test and return when done...

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Deepak - Dew eeet! :D

I'd love to get some impressions on the RAKK active output stage before I pony up the cash. I'll probably build it for a different DAC though... And maybe use sigma11 PSU's and a custom case. Gotta mix things up. :P

Probably not happening...I still have to fund the Blue Hawaii to make my system complete.

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