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Hotrod your Hermes

I've owned the new 24/192 Kora Hermes for several months now. Right after I got it, I commented on one of the threads about the excellent performance of this DAC, especially at it's price point. I promised to provide a more thorough review of this DAC after it had some time on it. Unfortunately, I failed to do this. Reason being, I began modifications on this unit after observing the open architecture inside it. Since then, I have done the following:
1. Replaced the stock tubes with Seimans gold pins (Be careful doing this. The current Hermes has pin type tube sockets with springs inside them. Lose a spring, and your tube won't make contact. No warnings in the manual about this. This happened to me. Luckily, JC Audio exchanged my "missing springs" DAC for a brand new one. Great customer service!! In the future, Kora plans to change these sockets)
2. Top Hat tube dampers
3. Audio Magic 99.999 silver wire on all inputs and outputs
4. Shakti on-lines on the circuit board
5. Shielded the two transformers from each other and the circuit board using non-magnetic MU metal
6. Replaced all caps with a mixture of MIT, Hovland, and high precision oil caps
7. Shakti stone on the transformers
8. Replaced input and output jacks with WBTs
This turned this already excellent DAC into....A MONSTER!! Why? There is only one way to describe the performance of the Hotrod Hermes. IT'S ALIVE!!! The silence of the background is stunning. The images are more palpable and more full bodied. The soundstage is deeper and wider. The background is blacker, and details you never believed were on redbook CDs are now clearly audible. Yet this DAC remains extremely musical. This is by far and away the best DAC I've heard. Not an analytical bone in it's body. A friend of mine also modified his this way, and will add to this thread about his impressions. Jerry Ramsey of Audio Magic suggested many of these mods, and did the serious ones. He does excellent work if you need someone to do it for you. If you own a Hermes, you must consider doing all or some of these things. The potential to make an already excellent DAC into a world beater is huge with this thing. And the cost of the DAC and mods keeps you under $2500.
glreno

Showing 8 responses by jcaudio

jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
SINCE I PLACE CONES IN A TRIANGULAR CONFIGURATION I HAD TO AFFIX THE CONES WITH ONE DROP OF SUPER GLUE GEL. THE STOCK CONFIGURATION UTILIZES 4 CONES.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
Due to the phenominal results Jerry has had with some minor upgrades to the already fabulous Hermes. Kora has decided to add deep immersion cryogenic treated wire from Jena labs throughout. In addition the new ones will come with Auricaps (capacitors). For existing Hermes owners I suggest using Jerry at Audiomagic as he has valuable experience with these units. In fact he bought one himself. The new price of the Hermes is supposed to be around $2500-$2575. Waiting on final price from Kora. I am a dealer for the product and have suppied this information as a courtesy. Consult with your local Kora dealer for more information
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
The cost of the new Hermes already reflects 99% of the mods mentioned by Glreno except for different parts used in the mods which is more a question of taste than what is better or not. The new Hermes is in line with the new Reference series which is to utilize the best components available. Except for the shielding on the transformers and upgraded tubes there is not a lot I can see to bring the total cost to $3000 other than a really high end power cord and NOS tubes. The Auricaps are considerd to be some of the best in use today and the new internal wiring utilizing Jena Labs cryogenic deep immersion process is about 1000% better than the old stock wire and is probably in the top 1% of hookup wire available today. So I doubt there will be much more hot-rodding to do as Kora already did it. For people with the previous versions of the Hermes contacting Jerry would be a smart thing as the improvements to the already incredible sound with new wire and Caps is nothing short of astounding! I am very comfortable sending purchasers of the non modified units to Jerry as he does a very professional job. As to the benefits of transformer shielding or not, the designer feels it is unnecessary but that would be up to the ultimate purchaser to decide. As that is not a expensive upgrade from Jerry I believe at around $100 it wouldn't hurt to try. I would recommend if one was on a budget to upgrade the power cord and tubes before any other mods as they make a huge difference without any internal modifications.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
YES THAT IS WHAT I AM SAYING. tk4qmmt
Good idea Glreno. Let me know if it makes any difference.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
As noted, the upgrades are worth doing on the older units But I will dispute the value on a new Hermes. In addition it's different strokes for differnt folks in regards to which capacitor is the best. Many people who modify products feel the Auricaps are the best made regardless of price. There is a review of these caps at www.jenalabs.com and at www.altavistaaudio.com/ulytacaps.html and as I stated in my previous thread it is a matter of taste as to which caps are the best as there are plenty of opinions out there. Regardless, I maintain my original position that mods through Jerry are very valuable for the owners of older Hermes, Eclipse etc. but I think that upgrades to tubes and power cords will be much more significant than worrying about which capacitor is one persons favorite. Especially when all mentioned here are way better than stock.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
Thanks Jerry. As a footnote I have just received the final pricing from Kora U.S.A today as we were told it was probably going to be around $2500. It turns out that the new price will be $2600. Sorry for the confusion. Apparently the upgrades were more expensive than originally thought.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
First of all let me state that I was told by Kora initially that the units would upsample. It was only recently that I found out it oversampled from another manufacturer who recognized the chip. I aploogize and changed my ad's immediately upon finding this out. As a dealer I am at the mercy of the information I get from my manufacturers. I would like to note that it is still the best sounding DAC we have ever heard regrdless of upsampling, oversampling etc. Many people above have also stated as much. My customers, as well as I have compared to the highly regarded upsampling machines including some mentioned in previous threads which cost over two times as much which did not compare.
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
After receiving the feedback from Gary regarding the Vibrapods under the transformers I forwarded his findings to Kora USA. Regardless of their decision in this matter I have decided to offer that upgrade to customers who purchase the units from us. For people with older units wishing the full mod I suggest contacting Jerry at Audiomagic. Purchasers of mods must be aware that at this time! their is no manufacturer warranty on modified units. Vibrapods excluded as this doesn't require any modifications. Even though the warranty will be void. At the cost of the original units and knowing Jerry I would sure be willing to do it.
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