Supercharged - Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC

Question.
Will the discrete op amps plug in directly to the sockets, and fit under the stock cover? D1+.
Sorry for some reason I'm having trouble seeing some of the pictures you guys have posted.
Thanks!!
In my D2 the Sparkos did. I've heard that the Business can if you get a 90 degree adapter, but they are a good fit.
 
I've ordered a Maverick D2, just curious how long it took for shipment to the US for others. It has been a week and the tracking shows that it has yet to arrive at the DHL hub in Singapore.
 
Mine took a little over two weeks. Tracking kinda went by the wayside for whatever reason......but I bought two of these babies and they both made it here. (seperate orders)
 
You are correct about the tracking info from DHL, very poor. I did receive the DAC, about 10 days from the order, was worth the wait. This is one excellent piece of gear. I'm not very good at describing what I am hearing, just want to say if anyone is looking to get a DAC that will make you smile, this is the one. Hearing detail that I have never heard before.

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Been listening all day to this, I guess the WOW factor is all I can say!!
 
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Love my D1+!!
Love you can run other sources through the tube preamp!!
XM Radio never sounded so good!!
The Sparks Op Amp was a slight improvement, as was the Tesla tube.
Says a lot about how good the stock “upgraded” version is!!
A good USB cable is needed for sure.
I found the Wireworld Ultraviolet cable is darn near perfect. Makes a significant improvement.
Way more then the Tesla, or Sparko IMO amp.
The separate power supply wire is probably why.
I have found silver USB cables sound much clearer. Silver plating is all you need. The skin effect, and silver oxidation is much more conducive the copper oxidation. Almost the same as non oxidized silver. Better then gold.
OFC cable will eventually oxidize.
I have also found any regular USB with choked sounds thinner and brighter.
Although the stock unit with one choke isn’t bad...
 
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Just to clarify, the Sparko op amp, and TeslA definitely improve the sound.
The Sparko adds some more fine detail and let’s you really here fine speed and level changes. The Tesla adds a slight amount of bottom end weight, rhythmically so.
My AMT3’s are very revealing. But, I think with a lot of systems you wouldn’t hear any difference or so slight, it might not be worth the extra expense. Especially if you’re on a budget Apply that toward a USB cable.
Here you can here a huge difference.
On different systems and Computers.
I can’t say enough about the Wireworld Ultraviolet.
Maybe it’s because the D1 uses a old school Tenor chip, that has kind of loose USB specs. The ultraviolet has a physically separated 5v Power wire, as well as shielded.
Not only did add more weight, and rhyme to the bass, the mids and highs had even more fine layering, with out any harshness. The added ease of the presentation was quite evident.
As mentioned same result on different pc’s and amp / preamps.
Well worth the $50/$60.
The stock upgraded D1 is a steal for the price..and it’s really hard to improve the performance significantly.. which says volumes for the basic design.
I also would like to add..if your not in need of a USB, or the other additional inputs.. take a serious look at the Project Box S FL.
They almost sound identical. Surprisingly almost too close to call.
You avoid the tube, but not the sweet analog/organic sound.
Uses 4x old school non sampling chips w/no filtering. And direct coupled.
Small solid chassis. Needs a bit of warm up as well.
It like the D1 is a well thought out DAC, and depending on your needs, a seriously viable option to the D1.
 
Just to clarify, the Sparko op amp, and TeslA definitely improve the sound.
The Sparko adds some more fine detail and let’s you really here fine speed and level changes.

I've found that when I take the Sparkos out, I really miss them. The sound is somewhat sterile in comparison. At first I didn't think it was that much of a difference......although subtle, it's a bigger difference than I originally thought. Warmer, richer sound that I really wouldn't want to go without them.
 
Yup ... old adage and common comment ... you don't miss it till it's gone. I do that a lot with post processing of any kind - listen for a while, and it's immediately noticeable when you hit the bypass button to take something out of the chain.

That said, I had that one Burson V5 go south on me and pulled both some time back. They offered a free replacement but I never followed up, as I'm quite satisfied with the performance of the original OPA upgrades offered by Maverick.
 
I've found that when I take the Sparkos out, I really miss them. The sound is somewhat sterile in comparison. At first I didn't think it was that much of a difference......although subtle, it's a bigger difference than I originally thought. Warmer, richer sound that I really wouldn't want to go without them.
Sure.. I haven’t done any A/Bing per say.
And it’s possible there would be a bigger difference because they have quite some hours on them now.
I run the tuner, XM radio etc through this the D1.. even when listening to the football game on the radio..much more pleasant to listen to!
And the whole reason I mention that .. small changes it’s just to share my opinion that most people would be very happy with the upgraded stock configuration.
I could certainly live with the stock configuration!!
 
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.

Hi SWL3600, I have read this whole thread and found it more than just interesting. You guys are sure into it. I have been scratching my head about your post above regarding the use of HDMI instead of USB . How did you connect this as D2 does not have HDMI imput I think anyway. What was the source a laptop windows 10? And then how did you connect the HDMI Audio Extractor? I am completely confused here but I am a dumb bum. lol
 
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Hi SWL3600, I have read this whole thread and found it more than just interesting. You guys are sure into it. I have been scratching my head about your post above regarding the use of HDMI instead of USB . How did you connect this as D2 does not have HDMI imput I think anyway. What was the source a laptop windows 10? And then how did you connect the HDMI Audio Extractor? I am completely confused here but I am a dumb bum. lol
I’d be interested as well!!
Another product I came across that’s a improvement for my system, but it is a little expensive is the USB Disruptor.
In short, it blocks the 5 V signal from your computer and adds a clean 5 volt Signal of its own to feed the USB chip in your DAC
In my set up, it’s cut done the dropouts, I have a black Friday Dell Computer I picked up last year I use in my system now. Entry level, and I imagine it’s USB set up isn’t the best.
The Disruptor also adds some air, fine definition and ease to the sound.
$99 w/ shipping.
For my set up it’s money well spent curing for the most part one problem and adding some pluses.
I also found the Wireworld Ultraviolet cable a very good improment. Adding a clarity, without disrupting the smooth flow.
Don’t let anyone tell you USB cables don’t make a difference, they do it’s quite clear. Way easier to hear then interconnects my experience.
I’m still amazed at how good this unit sounds.
Not everyone’s cup of tea for sure, some people are going to want that high definition, need to hear everything sound.
IMHO, when you get to that point you’re basically listening to your equipment, not the music.
I think many of us, including myself have gone down that road.
Hehe, the Maverick, along with the Project DAC Box S FL got me back to listening to music, quit analyzing things just enjoy the music.
Pretty simple, yet very amazing!
 
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Actually, I've since gone back to USB-SPDIF......part of the reason was the Monoprice HDMI Extractor was flaking out on me and it gave me a reason to experiment with the Uptone Audio products.

As far as HDMI, I went HDMI out of my Windows 10 laptop, into the Extractor, Optical out of the Extractor into the D2.

Thanks for bringing this up.....in the near future I think I'll go back to HDMI and do another comparison.
 
Automojo.....yeah, I've upgraded my USB cables as well. The differences in sound are clear to me. Didn't want to believe it but it was undeniable to my ears.
 
On the wireworld ultraviolet do they make an rca male end to connect to my vintage 70s receivers and amps?
 
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Actually, I've since gone back to USB-SPDIF......part of the reason was the Monoprice HDMI Extractor was flaking out on me and it gave me a reason to experiment with the Uptone Audio products.

As far as HDMI, I went HDMI out of my Windows 10 laptop, into the Extractor, Optical out of the Extractor into the D2.

Thanks for bringing this up.....in the near future I think I'll go back to HDMI and do another comparison

SWL3600, thank you for the explanation about the HDMI use. You have mentioned "USB-SPDIF" I have not been involved in this new technology for many years. Can you please explain the use of this SPDIF and why it is necessary? I have ordered the Maverick D2 upgraded DAC yesterday and all this new technology is making my head spin lol. Once I get this all set up using my windows 10 laptop I will most likely upgrade to the sparkos op amps. I am using an Audio by Van Alstine pre amp and main amp that both run SS and tubes so may not need the tube out of the new Maverick DAC. cheers Russ
 
Another product I came across that’s a improvement for my system, but it is a little expensive is the USB Disruptor.

Automoio, thank you for your info about the USB Disruptor. More techo stuff !! I searched it on Google and had a read. It is a nice little power supply for USB hahahaha what next. as long as it works I will get one or its equivalent in Aussie land. Keep the info coming as I am learning about all this new audiophile stuff. It is a pity about the aussie made Burson V5's failure. It is probably made in china and overpriced like everything in this country.
 
SWL3600, thank you for the explanation about the HDMI use. You have mentioned "USB-SPDIF" I have not been involved in this new technology for many years. Can you please explain the use of this SPDIF and why it is necessary? I have ordered the Maverick D2 upgraded DAC yesterday and all this new technology is making my head spin lol. Once I get this all set up using my windows 10 laptop I will most likely upgrade to the sparkos op amps. I am using an Audio by Van Alstine pre amp and main amp that both run SS and tubes so may not need the tube out of the new Maverick DAC. cheers Russ

Russ,

SPDIF is optical. I need a USB to SPDIF converter because before going into my D2, I go through a DEQ 2496 digital EQ and I use it's optical ins/outs. Then the optical goes into the optical input of the D2.

The other reason is that my laptop doesn't output optical.

Congrats on the D2! Keep us in the loop and give it a good 40-50 hours to mellow out.
 
:thumbsup:[/QUOTE

Would you have a pic of this USB-SPDIF ? :thumbsup: Thanks Russ

So that I can order some cables, I might need someone to check my list. I am using a toshiba laptop running windows 10 8Gb ram and it has usb 2.0 and 3.0 and HDMI out. The cable i need between the laptop would be a USB type A to USB type B as the Laptop has type A and the Maverick D2 has a type B fitting. Only need one of those. (what happened to left and right channels? lol.) Then from the D2 to my preamp I need 2 coax cables with male to male fittings.
I can work out the length I need. I will order the good quality Wireworld Ultraviolet cables and they are available in Aussieland. Please correct me If I am wrong. I have Eichmann cable everywhere else.
That should be the cables. Now to get some movies and music running on the laptop I will maybe need to use JRivers or Foobar2000. I have read a bit about both and that really did get confusing. Do i need to buy some other storage for my laptop as well? Any info at all is appreciated. cheers Russ
 
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The Behringer UCA-202 will do the USB-SPDIF conversion dirt cheap at $25.00. Gave mine to a friend after I picked up an IFI Microlink USB-SPDIF converter. I think I paid something like $250.00.

The UCA-202 worked just fine for me. The IFI sounds significantly better, though.
 
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