Gustard A26 mod

[Dan40li]

HI everybody!
I recently changed R and C in I- U buffers on my Gustard A26. Instead SMD elements, I implement hi- quality true- hole elements. I also changed cheap XLR connectors to Viborg pure copper, wiring it with pure silver wires.
The result, by me, is kind of dramatic. Now I can say, i really like my Gustard A26.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

HI everybody!
I recently changed R and C in I- U buffers on my Gustard A26. Instead SMD elements, I implement hi- quality true- hole elements. I also changed cheap XLR connectors to Viborg pure copper, wiring it with pure silver wires.
The result, by me, is kind of dramatic. Now I can say, i really like my Gustard A26.

Do you have before and after measurements?

 

[fatoldgit]

Do you have before and after measurements?

Aww... come on.

Don't start throwing around the old, tired and dis-proven trope that "everything we hear can be measured".

Remember, many people are saying that spending $5000 on a power chord results in deeper bass, blacker blacks and a removal of grunge.

One only has to believe and it will be true. Measurements are yesterdays news... haven't you heard it's all "vibe" from now on.

Vibe coding, vibe marketing, vibe economics and obviously vibe listening.

Ok Boomer?

(/S if I really need to)

 

[JayGilb]

HI everybody!
I recently changed R and C in I- U buffers on my Gustard A26. Instead SMD elements, I implement hi- quality true- hole elements. I also changed cheap XLR connectors to Viborg pure copper, wiring it with pure silver wires.
The result, by me, is kind of dramatic. Now I can say, i really like my Gustard A26.

You drilled holes in the pcb for thru hole equivalent components and claim to be hearing dramatic audible improvements ?

 

[voodooless]

By the way, is there a more critical capacitor than the one in the feedback loop of the I-V buffer in a DAC? Or the resistor in the feedback loop? And how come all capacitors are the same? And are all resistors the same? Is the $0.02 SMD equivalent in quality to Amtrans and Taкman?

You know what else is critical? PCB layout! With your "mods" you totally botched the signal paths, which are critical for keeping the circuit stable. You added a lot of additional inductance with those long lead wires, changed the RC of the feedback loop. This can have all kinds of nasty effects. Are the 2-cent caps equivalent to the bigger ones? No! They are much better at this particular job than those big caps.

And what possibly would you think you can improve on when you already have this:

This is just

 

[LTig]

HI everybody!
I recently changed R and C in I- U buffers on my Gustard A26. Instead SMD elements, I implement hi- quality true- hole elements. I also changed cheap XLR connectors to Viborg pure copper, wiring it with pure silver wires.
The result, by me, is kind of dramatic. Now I can say, i really like my Gustard A26.

Uh huh.

 

[Dan40li]

who understood - understood

 

[Purité Audio]

We understand that you don’t.
Keith

 

[Dan40li]

I doubt

 

[RandomEar]

The device was audibly transparent before your mod. You claim to hear a big difference. That means there are exactly two possible outcomes:

• You are mistaken and there is no audible difference
• Your mod made an audible difference, which means it performs significantly worse now

Take your pick. As already explained to you by multiple members, changing the input capacitance of an op amp changes its stability behaviour (see attached tech note by TI). Unless you reverse-eengineered and simulated the circuit or at least measured the resulting changes, the correct assumption would be that your mod either changed nothing major or that it made the device perform worse.