CAL Alpha DAC: Stock vs. 24/96 upgrade

How are you planning on getting the 24/96 upgrade? To my knowledge, that hasn't been offered since 2002-ish, since California Audio Labs has been out of business for several years.

As for the tubes, my favorites so far are the Sylvania 5751's. (It's a lower gain version of the 12AX7.) Not cheap, but definitely a big upgrade putting those tubes in.

Michael

Michael, I emailed Approved Audio Service in Litchfield, CT. They emailed back and said they can do it for $500.00 + shipping.
Kevin

Routeman, I considered doing this myself as I had a Cal Alpha original DAC. The general feedback that I received on this same mod (about 15-18 months ago) was some liked it better modded and others didn't.

Overall though, the concensus was not to pay for the upgrade but instead to just buy the 24/96 version and see which you prefer. Sell the one you don't like more. The difference in value between these two DACs is only about $150 (then, 15-18 months ago), so based on this, it is more cost affective approach.

FWIW, I never got the 24/96. I eventually went with a Kora Hermes (which I loved). But that Cal Alpha is a great DAC, especially for the price! Be very careful when shipping that unit, you need to place a piece of foam on the transformer to support it. It has a tendency to crack at the connection point and then you have a couple hundred dollar repair.

Ckoffend, How about that! I never heard about supporting the transformer when shipping. Thank you for that info.
Kevin