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Tube Rolling the Jolida/Black Ice dsd Dac

So I recently purchased the Jolida/Black Ice dsd dac and and a pair of Psvane 12ax7’s.  Played thru about 50 hours and while the soundstage opened up some, in my system detail seemed a little rounded off.  They probably need more hours, and  I recognize these are highly subjective impressions and system dependent, but then a friend gave me a pair of Fisher-era Telefunken’s to play with and I have tons of inner detail, imaging and a wide soundstage.  What I do find, however, is I have turn the volume up further on my passive pre-amp.  I have a pair of 50’s era RCA grey plates coming next week.  Pretty easy to go down the rabbit hole playing with tubes, but that’s half the fun of it.  Curious as to what other tubes Jolida dac owners are using. My system: NuForce STA-200 amp, Luminous Audio pre-amp with Walker mod, Bluesound Node2, and DIY LeCleach horn speakers. Mix of Cullen and Transparent Cables.
renisnceman
jonstine
15 posts
 
@renisnceman, yes those are the ones. I selected Kevin’s stash level and added cryo option (what the hell).

Now I need to go research the fuse replacement! Thanks for the heads up on that.
jonstine
15 posts
 
Which SR Orange fuse rating did you select? The writing on mine appears to be 500mA @ 250V, so I assume you went with the 500mA option, but wanted to check.
renisnceman OP
50 posts
 
My Jolida dsd dac’s fuse is spec’d out at 1 amp slo-blo, so that’s what I purchased from SR.  Takes a while to burn in and it’s kind of a rollercoaster ride, but to my ears clear improvement in soundstage, bass and air between the instruments.  Worth the investment.
jonstine
15 posts
 
Ok, put me in the “even fuses can make an audible difference” camp. I ordered SR orange fuses for both my Black Ice FX DSD DAC and my Sugden ANV-50. They have both been burning in for only about 20 hrs.

Already, the soundstage is so much wider, the highs have just gone to another level in quality, female voices and acoustic guitars are so much more realistic and unconstrained sounding. I’d call it the “texture” of everything, it just got significantly better.

And I haven’t even tried flipping them to see if they make a difference in direction. Sounds so good already that I’ll let them go through at least 100 hrs before I try to flip them.

Its funny, lots of hate out there on other forums for “snake oil” fuse replacements. I have to wonder if they had the right fuse, and if they actually listened to it before dismissing it. I’m blown away. Not sure if it’s the amp, the DAC, or the synergy of the two, but I feel like my system just went up
another level in fidelity.

Thank you for the mention about the SR Orange, I’m excited to see what the next couple hundred hours on them might do.
mr_bill
346 posts
 
Any updates on the Tube upgrade?
I’m looking at getting some new tubes for the fx dsd. 
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