Supercharged - Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC

Received my set of Sparkos and Tesla 6CC42 (O Getter) late last night. Can't stop but to open up D2 and upgrade.

Prior to upgrade: My D2 is with GE5670 tube and OPA627 Opamp from Maverick.

My system is Marantz CD6005 source > D2 > Passive preamp > SET Tube amp > Yamaha NS-1000M.

With short over 1 hour of upgrading and listening, initial impressions are as below.

1) I bought D2 way before I bought Marantz CD6005. GE5670 + OPA627 hardly beat out (or at par at Normal out and slight advantage of Tube tone with D2 Tube Out) Marantz's HDAM output.

2) Sparkos upgrade (Normal Out) clearly wins out Marantz's HDAM. I can notice the difference on "sound body".

3) Sparkos + Tesla (Tube Out) wins out both Sparkos (Normal Out) and Marantz's HDAM output.

To how much extent that Sparkos + Tesla goes, I will have to wait and see up to weekend to check.

P/S: I have Siemens PIO MP 2.2uf cap to install too. That involves the soldering and will have to wait to weekend to do it.
 
For the record,
I went down this road. I thought this was incrementally better than my modi. Tried the sparkos op amps. Maybe slightly better (maybe not, certainly not a scientific evaluation) . Plus some tube rolling, which I preferred the SS output. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have went straight to a multi bit bifrost ( maybe a few bucks more . Figuring in tubes, op amps, shipping.
Certainly food for thought for anyone who hasn't gone down this path yet but we're thinking about it.
 
Thanks for your input.

It seems like a stock Maverick is a really good dac at its initial price point. But what was the cut off point for throwing money at it or a more expensive straight out of the box dac?
 
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I think it goes to show, like other things in this hobby....it depends on what else you've got going on in your system.

I wasn't blown away like others had claimed initially with the discrete op-amps....but it wasn't until I spent some time without and then went back to them that I heard what I was missing. Could I live with the D2 stock? Sure....but the op-amps and a better tube DID make a significant improvement in my system. Night and day? Not quite...but enough that as far as everything else I've tried in this hobby it was worth it. YMMV
 
NOS Siemens 2.2uf PIO capacitor is installed today late afternoon.

Result = Thicker sound. Thicker voice. (Make Marantz output comparatively thin.) Now it is really giving the taste of "Tube Sound'.

Improvement contribute from various upgrades is summarised as follows:

Sparkos = Bigger soundstage and more dynamics to the sound.

Tesla 6CC42 = More musicality.

PIO Caps = Smoothening out the edges.

Upgraded photo as attached.
 

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I would like to know please from the 3 opamps in the D2 which one are the I\V opamp and which one is the buffer?
 
NOS Siemens 2.2uf PIO capacitor is installed today late afternoon.

Result = Thicker sound. Thicker voice. (Make Marantz output comparatively thin.) Now it is really giving the taste of "Tube Sound'.

Improvement contribute from various upgrades is summarised as follows:

Sparkos = Bigger soundstage and more dynamics to the sound.

Tesla 6CC42 = More musicality.

PIO Caps = Smoothening out the edges.

Upgraded photo as attached.


I have re-arranged the power supply connection to my audio system.

From single power point > Surge Protector >
> Channel 1: carry Power Amp and CD Player.
> Channel 2: Step-down transformer > Noise Filter > carry D2, Turntable and Phono Preamp.

D2 performance is greatly improved. Sound (Noise) floor is lower: Background is quieter, Sound are clearer and more dynamic, Improve Bass response.

Now I can really feel the similar result to more expensive system with setup.
 
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[/URL][/IMG] Hi All,

Today I removed the suppose to be buffer opamp and I was very surprised to discover that it didn't affect the sound.
I had the feeling that once the buffer opamp is missing there will be no sound at all, apparently this is not the situation....or this opamp is not a buffer and maybe belong to the headphones amp stage.
unfortunately I don't have any headphones to check it, did someone check it before?
 

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Man, I need someone to soup up one of these.

Then sell it to me.

View attachment 811742

Installing the opamps and changing the tube require no technical skill at all. Just make sure the opamps are facing the right way as illustrated on the first page of this thread.

I was feeding my D2 by way of USB until recently I was enlightened to use a 'Monoprice HDMI Audio Extractor'. Feeding it an HDMI signal instead of a USB signal was a dramatic improvement. I really couldn't believe how much better it sounded with the HDMI.
 
I should have clarified the improvement. Cleaner, more detail and a black background. It was like much noise was removed from the playback......I was hearing more music.
 
Installing the opamps and changing the tube require no technical skill at all. Just make sure the opamps are facing the right way as illustrated on the first page of this thread.

Thanks for the clarity. My P-304 Onkyo has the sockets on the board for changing op-amps. Had a buddy do that, should I ever want to change them out (which I did with some recommended newer op-amps, which some say isn't even in the signal path, but to my ears and others who knew this pre was vastly improved. Hell, I dunno)
 
Just pulled the trigger on the Maverick D2 with all upgrades after following this thread in the background for sometime now. Can't wait for it to come in! Haven't been much into streaming music, but the addition of this may change all that!
 
I installed the Sparkos opamps on my three/four year old D2. ($150.00 for 3 shipped)

I do not have the highest quality files... most are apple matched 256k, some are 320k MP3, and some apple lossless.
I'm using the rca coax connection to an ipure20 dock and an iPod touch.
BTW/ The D2 made a huge improvement from the ipure DAC on my system.
The results for me are transformational. My digital playback has always been harsh, in most cases if I own the album it sounds better than the digital playback.
I gave a good listen to Alison Krauss/Robert Plant's Raising Sand on vinyl, then through the ipure/D2 w/ factory upgraded opamps. The digital playback was just horrible compared to the vinyl. I did the same listening sequence after replacing the op amps to the Sparkos; the playback between the two is now indistinguishable to me!

I think the difference I hear in these upgrades are more dramatic because I don't have the best quality digital files. I hear a difference with the lossless files too, but not as dramatic.
 
Interesting stuff Buttercup, very interesting. Thank you for the additional info & specifics, great stuff to have here as an ongoing reference. :beerchug:
 
BURSON ALERT! BURSON ALERT!

Have I got your attention? <G>

The Maverick D1+ started popping and crackling today, which at my usual listening levels can be dangerous. My first thought was "Oh my, that could prove to be somewhat annoying ..." or maybe something more like "AH CRAP!" Cabling checked out OK, then figured it was the tube (oh, nooo ... not my Tesla!) so put the GE5 star in with no change. Next step would be to wander back through the changes I'd made, and it didn't take long to find the problem ...

burson-corrosion-(1).jpg


That's what ... less than a year old? (mutter mutter). Unfortunately, the damage wasn't confined to the chip itself.

burson-corrosion-(4).jpg


(MUTTER MUTTER !! )

Rodded out the socket for now, and installed the original OPA627, and it's been idling away for a couple hours now with no more pop 'n crackle. :thumbsup:

So ... if you've swapped in the Burson's, I'd HIGHLY recommend pulling them to take a peek. This one was located right next to the tube, and the damage may be heat related, but the plastic case on the thing looks perfect, so maybe not. In any case, I expect I'll be tempted to cut that thing open to take a peek inside somewhere along the way. I also figure to replace that socket, but the cleaning seems to have done the job for now.

One other minor annoyance I'd forgotten about ... the Burson's pins are larger than those on the OPA browndog adapters and stretched the sockets. I put a slight bend in the legs so they fit tight when seated.

opa627-bent-legs.jpg
 
I got my opamp upgrade from Maverick. Had longer than a year can't remember more than 2. Anyway mine are fine. Look brand new. That does not look normal to me. Like you spilled something on it.
 
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