Any comments on the PS Audio DL111 with Stage IV mods?

As I stated in a previous thread, if you still want to know in four weeks, I'll have been able to burn-in my Stage IV DL3 enough to make an objective critique of its performance. You can shoot me an email and I will give you my opinion. If I don't feel it's a significant upgrade over the stock version, I'll tell you.

I did a home trial with the stock unit. While I do believe the stock version slightly improved overall clarity and opened up the soundstage (also slightly), I did not think it was worth the purchase of a new stock unit. I did direct A-B comparisons with the Rotel RDV-1093 (my GCC amp allowed me to gain match the two units, wich I ran via separate inputs and I was able to immediately switch between the two units via remote, without any delay -within the same vocal passage, and even within the same musical note). I would liken the subtle improvement to a superior cable upgrade (which, for some people, is definitely worth the additional $1,000). Keep in mind, the stock DL3 that I demo’d may not have been fully burned in, and I was using a $65 AQ digital cable. Also, the flagship RDV-1093 is a much better performer than any other Rotel CD players.

If what the reviews say is true (or even just some of it)the Stage IV upgrade should net a “dramatic” improvement across the entire frequency range.

and recommend a really really good digital cable

Check out the Stereovox XV2.

Alpha3:

I’ll give a concise review with no audiophile reviewer hype/terminology. My perspective is very “real world” (investment vs return).

I do like the Krells in many ways. They’re much smoother than the B&W 703s, which I replaced, and their coherency is much superior to the ML Sequel II’s that I previously owned (i.e. deeper/more defined bass with a much richer mid-range – warmer/spacious …whatever). Also, they will play extremely loud while maintaining their composure. However, I do feel that the Krells are a bit rolled-off in the upper-mid-range. Part of this issue may be due to my room - plenty of room on each side, which truly does add to the soundstage, but lacking sufficient space from the front wall. Seating arrangement necessitates a distance of only 3’ from baffle to wall, whereas 5’- 6' would likely open things up. After speaking to Rick Cullen, I am hoping that the stage IV moded DAC will improve things (open "everything" up).

Which sample rate do you prefer 96khz or 192khz?
Which rate gives the smoother sound?

Based on my experience with the stock unit, I would say the 96Khz is smoother. I'll be damned if I could hear much of a difference though. What I did find is that on poorly produced CDs (here the whole presentation sounds "muddy - bloated - bloomy..." whatever) the 192 Khz improved clarity. I was able to enjoy Humble Pie's "Smokin" for the first time since my old analog days.

Shazam,

That's disappointing to hear. I'm always skeptical of the "too-good-to-be-true" hype that you read about. I purchased the Stage IV on reputation only. From what I've read, your unit should be good and burned-in. Have you contacted Rick Cullen?

Keep us posted on your progress (or lack of…).

Thanks for the info.

If money is an option, as it is with most of us, I recommend auditioning the stock PSA-DL-III before spending money on the mod. If you can, do an A/B comparison with the stock unit and whatever digital source you are currently using. Upon doing this myself, I found only subtle improvements, in favor of the DL-III, over my Rotel RDV-1093. I had to really do some critical listening to discern any differences. The DL-III presented a slightly more open soundstage (depth and width) and also seemed to allow greater bass response (tighter, more defined). If you are currently running a digital source of better quality than my Rotel, the differences, for you, may be even more subtle.

I went ahead and purchased a new DL-III with the Cullen Stage IV upgrades directly from Cullen Circuits. When I hooked everything up, I was shocked to hear that I could only discern a slight improvement over the Rotel (same as the aforementioned improvements with the stock unit). After about 160 hours of use, I took my new modded unit into my dealer, where the staff and I proceeded to run A/B comparisons between the stock unit and the Stage IV mod. (None of us) could discern ANY differences.

The Stage IV unit is unbelievably good. It sounds as good as any digital source I have heard. That said however, it just doesn’t sound any better than the stock unit – go figure. I never provided my follow up review because I didn’t want to slam Cullen. The people at Cullen, including Rick, are absolutely excellent people to work with. Upon contacting Rick, he even offered to take a look at the unit and repair it if he found anything wrong – that, or replace it with a stock unit (and refund for the upgrade). That was a couple of months ago. I really don’t want to ship the unit half way across the country (to & from), besides, Rick doubted that there was anything out of place do to the fact that the unit operated fine. As I said, it does sound great – just no different than the stock unit. For me, this subtle improvement was not worth the investment.

Since I want to build a music server anyway, and because the unit does sound good, I can find satisfaction in my purchase of the Cullen unit. I plan to go back to the dealer now that I have over 300 hours on the DAC. We (my dealer friend and I) plan on doing another A/B comparison using his very best reference system. I hope to hear a difference this time.

Keep in mind, there are many newer, quality-built, high-end/upper-midfi digital sources available that provide exceptional playback. The newer systems tend to sound better than (any – or most) of the older high-end digital sources (better clocks, less jitter, improved circuitry, etc.). Therefore, if you have a pretty good newer source, you may be surprised at just how little an external DAC may improve your system’s sound quality. On the other hand, if you have an older system, you are likely to hear some real improvements. I replaced an Enlightened Audio T-7000 transport and ARC DAC II (an exceptional system in the late 80’s early 90’s) with the Rotel/Cullen Unit. The Rotel unit alone, sounded much better than the older separates.

Note: before you write off Rotel, do try the RDV-1093. While it is primarily a DVD player, it sounds considerable better than Rotel's best CD player. It is their flagship player that retails for $1,500. I use this as a benchmark for your reference only – not an endorsement for Rotel. There are many CD players on the market that are better than my Rotel. If you happen to be running something of better quality than this unit, I would not consider the external DAC. It would be to your advantage to make your requests for recommendations by including the makeup of your entire system.

Hope this is helpful.
Ben