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CAL Alpha and an Equalizer

Hi all, Hope you can please bear with me through this post to explain my findings, and a possible solution?

About 5-6 months ago, I bought a mint CAL Alpha DAC from another A-goner here, and have posted before, about its characteristics, and sound.

I don't believe there is anything specifically wrong with it per se, just typicaly Alpha sound.

Well, first thing I did notice when replacing my long owned CAL Sigma II DAC, was a very "lean" glassy, analytical, and very hot sound, like the DAC was hitting my Mac Pre-Amp a bit too much on the hot side.

I have bought a pair of Endler's 12 Step Attenuators, and that solved the hot output, but it still sounds a bit lean. Can an EQ be inserted between the DAC, and Pre-Amp? Mark
markd51

Showing 2 responses by sufentanil

sufentanil's avatar
sufentanil
782 posts
 
I have an Alpha and certainly wouldn't describe it as "hot" or "lean". I'm using Sylvania 5751 tubes. Previously I had JJ 12AU7 I think and it sounded good with them (but not as good as the 5751's). A long time ago I had the Mullards and absolutely did not like them.

I agree with the previous posters in that you should be looking at your tubes, and if the problem still persists, try a different DAC or CD player rather than adding confounding variables.

Michael
sufentanil's avatar
sufentanil
782 posts
 
I believe the Alpha's output voltage by default is 4V, and is adjustable by replacing resistors. Sometimes there are benefits to having a high-output CD player, as I found out using a low-powered integrated.

If you want to try different tubes on the cheap, I would recommend the JJ's. They're very inexpensive. The downside is that JJ's are known for a more "lean and detailed" presentation; this seems to be what you're trying to avoid. Maybe EH instead? I tried Sovtek's and wasn't thrilled with them. But nothing compares to the Sylvania 5751's in my experience thus far.

Good luck. I think the Alpha is a great DAC for the used prices we're seeing now, and it's been in my system for over 5 years now; nothing else in my rig has had that kind of staying power.

Michael
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