Cool, I just compared my old SB 3 (synced) to the modded SQ Touch on my SuperNait. Because there is almost no delay switching back and forward (the supernait DAC takes about a second switching digital inputs), it was quite easy to compare.
When I originally compared the touch to the SB3 after purchasing, it was extremely difficult to tell the difference. (mayby this is caused by the reclocking feature in the Supernait DAC) I compared the Touch with both the mod enabled and disabled to the SB 3. Guys... this is the real deal. Doing A/B comparisons between the unmodded Touch and SB3 ... they were very similar, like expected. Comparing the modded Touch to the SB3 is a revelation. The difference is large enough to make a blind A/B test absolute and a waste of my time. Clearly more detail in all frequencies (not only the treble as I originally thought). The result is: More AIR / Ambiance / Better positioning-separation of instruments / 3D rendering of the soundstage / realism. Highs do have more “impact/dynamics”, which is very welcome with the 'darker' sound of both my Supernait and Harbeth Super HL5. Textures are much better, especially with classical instruments. The considerable level of added resolution has the additional advantage that you get more musical impact at lower volume. What is so cool about this, before the mod I always felt I was missing out on something. I truly considered changing my set-up. Mayby go back to Nait 5i (that is where my NAIM love started), downgrade to Nait XS, mayby nDac would fix things. Or even change speakers (was considering PMC Fact.8). I thought I hit the limits of my system after the high-cap upgrade (which is undoubtely a fantastic upgrade), and especially that the resolution of the Harbeth's could not be bettered. Interestingly, I was also sceptical about the impact of jitter. I was so wrong in so many ways. I am sure I will get upgradetites some day, but for now, I can rediscover my SuperNait+Harbeth combo. I never tested it, but I can easily imagine that the improvement on the analog outputs is real. However, that the difference would be so obvious on the Supernait truly surprised me, especially because its DAC supposed to re-clock the bit stream. Klaus wrote the mod, and deserves a lot of credit. It is simple to implement if you follow his instructions carefully. I will donate a modest fee for his cause, he surely deserves it -- Flextreme ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Flextreme's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=42996 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84742
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