Any comments on the PS Audio DL111 with Stage IV mods?

I have the stage 3 mod paired with my moded Sonos box. The difference between the stage 3 and stage 4 is an upgrade to the coax input that keeps it in phase better. Since the output of the Sonos already has the upgrade on the coax out, I skipped that part of the upgrade for the DAC.

My impressions thus far are very favorable for everything on the low end of the spectrum. Very deep, clean, and tight base. I get a much better sense of actual instruments being played - I can listen to a kick drum and hear the tone of the wood where before I just heard a muffled thud. The sound of the double base is alive with tones of bending strings and fingering of the fretboard. In this regard, there isn't much I've heard that I like better.

As for the mid and upper, I'm thus far disappointed. The staging keeps getting muffled or it keeps jumping around to the point where I can't locate anything. While listening to a track by Sting last night, the ping of the ride cymbal and the snap of the snare drum kept trading places every few bars and it became very disorienting.

On top of that, the overall tone of is very much 'in your face' to the point I really can't listen to anything for more than an hour. Between active listening and running brown noise through it while I'm away during the day, I've logged 500+ hours on it so far. Any piece of equipment should be mostly settled in after 100-200 hours which is leading me to believe this isn't a burn in problem.

I'm going to experiment with a new cable (currently using a Nordost Moonglo) to see if that is the problem. If I can't get it mellowed out soon, I'm going to have to do something different.

One qualifier to my comments - I've recently had severe vertigo problems and am awaiting a potential diagnosis of meniere's disease. That could explain a lot of the abrasiveness I hear. However, when I did an A/B comparison of my Sonos/PS Audio system with a Slim Devices Transporter, much of the difference I heard was the abrasiveness of the Sonos/PS Audio combo, although it had more dynamics than the Transporter.

2chnlben, I haven't contacted Rick yet because I'm not convinced the DAC is a problem. I want to test different cables and sources first to see if I can soften the edges. The stock DAC was sharp to my ears to begin with, so it may just be the nature of the unit itself - regardless of the mod.

I don't want to give the impression that the mod is a negative. Point in fact, I find the moded DAC more listenable than the stock. If you like the stock sound of the PS Audio DAC 3, the upgrade is a fantastic value. Seriously, I haven't heard many other pieces of equipment that reach this low with such clarity and tightness (at least, not at this price point). All things considered, I think the Cullen mods are an exceptional value for what you get.

However, between the aggressive nature of my other equipment (Manley Stingray, Nordost Blue Heaven cables) and my sensitivity to the bright edges, I may have to go a different direction.

A follow-up to my previous comments about the harshness of my level 3 mod; I have since moved my system into a larger room with more wall treatments for sound dampening and it has made a world of difference for me. With less flat surfaces to bounce high frequencies off of, I'm hearing a more natural sound with more proper decay which seems to be taking the bright edge off for me.

The liveliness the mods bring is still there - I get a sense of 'urgency' out of the music that brings the details to me. A different feel from some of the more laid back circuitry where your ears have to "lean forward" to find details. And that stunning, muscular, articulate base is to die for - even in a room almost twice the size of the previous room.

If the rest of your equipment is up to snuff, there isn't a better $600 investment you can make than a stage 3 (or 4) Cullen Circuits mod.