What is the deal with the ART DIO

I do not know what Bit DAC's you might be using ,but upon inserting the DAC with the new Canare Cable into the loop I was able to discern that some of the underlying Details that I was missing were more apparent!The effect is not astronomical,but it is there!

The most important improvement that I noticed was a better presence of Cymbals and Voice info is more distinct.

I will also point out that this is inserted in to a system which only had a 16bit stock Phillips DAC!Anything just about short of getting a Custom Powercord would probably be an improvement.

Another fact I will mention is I only had time to play 4 tunes that were fresh in my mind from listening at high Vol. yesterday as a good reference .The amp was cold and the CDP \ART DAC were on for 10mins so that they could warm up.The sound is rather sterile until my system has a chance to get warm so these are just initial impressions.The DAC and the Cable will also need time to burn-in for the sound to warm up.

The DAC Mod.\Tweeks would probably help also.If it was voted as being used in the playback at CES for Finest Sound Booth at the show there must be merit in using it .For me it was worth it!

Later!

I guess I should have specified; "Which op-amps are being used besides the Linear Technologies 1365 and 1362 chips? Kevin Morris uses a special Motorola chip which betters them both. Just wondering?

I own a stock DI/O. Definitely a great deal. Even in stock form it improves the sound of sub-$600 CDPs. I agree with Sean about soundstage. Also, the bass is rather boomy in my experience.

Having replaced the DI/O in my main system, I moved it to my second system (headphones). In that system, it has an effect similar to the Stax diffuser or Headroom processer--sounds less like headphones--may relate to soundstage issues noted above. That is a nice effect because it doesn't degrade the sound or change the frequencies as the those processor technologies can.

I haven't heard a modified DI/O, but relatively inexpensive used DACs at current prices here on Audiogon beat the stock DI/O in frequency balance, texture, and soundstage. I have retired mine again in favor of a Muse Model 2 for the headphone system. So, while I consider the DI/O a great deal and hope to use the A/D feature in recording at some point, there are a lot of other great DAC deals out there worth considering as well. Perhaps a trip to Plato's to hear the modified version would make me a convert. . . .

The conditions that i listened to the Dio in placed it in just as much of a "mess" as the other DAC's being auditioned. That is, they all used the same cables, lack of optimization of the system, no isolation, coupling or damping, etc... We ran them the way that they came each sitting on a shelf. Within the confines of the same system and a matter of moments to switch input / output cables and discs, the DAC's were all given the same opportunity to "strut their stuff".

As Jbweaver mentioned, my brother felt that the ART was slightly "loose" on low frequencies. Personally, i did not think it bloated by any means although this was one of the very first comments that my brother passed onto me. As such, he obviously found it very noticeable. My initial observations were regarding the soundstage and harmonic structure, so we might have been listening for different things. I know that once i take notice of something, that particular aspect tends to dominate my perspective like a sore thumb draws attention to itself. Sean
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It's tough to say which mod will work in which system. Also, mods seem to be system dependant, as cables are. This said, personal experience reported here is irrevalent, unless system parameters, hearing ability, and room acoustis/treatments are consistant.

I've found the modified Di/O to better my DAC costing twenty times the cost of the DAC which it replaced. Muddy bottom end? Loss in spatial info and soundstage anomolies? Not in my system.