Anyone familiar with ART DI/O...?

yup, i'm one of the asylum crazies w/a modded di/o... ;~) straight outta the box, it took my humble 5-disc nad changer to a level of sound that couldn't be matched in my rig by an $1800 alchemist nexus, or a $3k resolution audio cd-50. w/cheap easy mods, it's even *better*. many folks have ditched pretty pricey digital equipment after trying the di/o. i first learned about it here, in a thread on the meitner bidat, about whether or not the bidat was worth modding...

http://audiogo5.iserver.net/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1003098758&read&keyw&zzbidat

is the di/o a giant-killer? dunno, but it's definitely a bargain performer. my alchemist nexus, btw, sits unused in the basement, awaiting use in a secondary system...

ymmv, doug s.

mods i did to my di/o include:
schottky diodes, socket for u1 op-amp, w/lt1365cn installed, bypass output caps, change digital input resistor to 75 ohm from 100 ohm. i didn't do the rca jacks, because one of the 1st asylum di/o modders said this had no sonic effect. instead, i bought a pair of star-quad cabling interconnect from sound professionals, that came w/a neutrik fone-plug on one end, & an rca on the other. plenty of room in the neutrik to solder in the two holco resistors per john risch's calcs, to get the output down. these cables can be found here:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=250&item=SP-RCA-PHONE&type=store

some folks have said their di/o's sometimes have problems synch'ing w/their cd player/transports. i have had great results w/a radioshack $11.00 cable (the upgrade from the $5.00 one recommended by robert harley)

75 ohm cable for your cd players' 75 ohm digital out to the di/o's digital input (only need one):
(recommended by robt harley, who sez it's as good as $200 competing cable):
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F005%5F003%5F009%5F004&product%5Fid=274%2D884
rat-shack "deluxe" ($11.00!) version of the above:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=42%2D2679

a couple future mods i'm gonna do are to replace the power-supply caps & op-amp resistors, bias the op-amp to class-a, & install a digital input transformer. a good info & mod link can be found here:

http://www.interlog.com/~cfraser/DIO.htm#mods

hope this helps,

doug s.

brianw, i shorted out the a-to-d in my di/o by inserting 1/4' fone plug to rca adapters into the analog inputs, & running a wire across the rca inputs...

doug s.

brian, whsn i shorted the analog inputs, the tube warmth light stopped working, which is what happens when ya remove the a-to-d chip. i figured the chip can't be getting much signal if the whole circuit is shorted out. this, removing the tube, using the 3.4v power-supply instead of the stock 1.3v unit, should be sufficient, no? i'm no electronics expert, tho... ;~)

speaking of 3.4v power-supplies, i found an atari p/s w/the same specs as the $20-$30 stancor, for only $4 at hosfelt - after i'd already bought my stancor from radio shack... ;~)

regards,

doug s.