plato, bolder cables will offer a 5.4a p/s for $100. but ya might want to try your monolithic p3 p/s - that's supposed to be a nice p/s...
kichoi, good for you - but, i *can* say that the mods i've done have taken the unit to a competely different level - even my wife can't believe this thing! ;~) so, whip out your soldering iron, or checkbook, & go for it! ;~)
joe b, that's what happened to me - when i read of guys ditching their multi-kilobuck digital rigs after hearing the d/io, i figured for ~$130 shipped, i dint have a lot to lose, even if it sucked! ;~) and, even stock, it's nicer than that $3k resolution audio cd50, & i'm using a relatively inexpensive nad cd-changer as a transport...
regarding upgrades, i suggest you look at harmonicdiscord.com, & go to the boldercables forum there, for what wayne offers - he has it all listed out. for more in-depth reading, & for diy info, go to
http://www.interlog.com/~cfraser/DIO.htm
here, you'll find everything you wanted to know about the d/io & then some. also links to where to get stuff, & a yahoo diomods site. re: that p/s, after i paid $30 to rat-shack for the stancor 3.4a p/s, i found one (atari 3.4a) at http://hosfelt.com/ for $5... ;~) you need a 9vac p/s, btw, not a vdc p/s... and, brian cheney insists that the best response is actually something like 10.4vac - he uses a couple-hundred-dollar variac to power his...
as far as benefits to the mods... well, i have all the same mods as wayne's units, except i haven't switched the connections, or the attenuator resistors. (i *have* upgraded the resistors, tho, i just didn't change their values...) i use a jon risch derived resistor attenuator set-up in a pair of star-quad pro-audio cables w/a 1/4" fone plug on one end (w/room for the two holco resistors) & an rca on the other. find the cables here:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=250&item=SP-RCA-PHONE&type=store
cheap, at $30/pair. if ya get 'em intending to solder in the resistors, be sure to tell them, so they won't solid-pot the 1/4" fone-plug end! :>) i have also done a mod that wayne doesn't do (yet!) - i have biased the upgraded lt1365 op-amp to run in class-a. and, there's another couple mods i may yet do - the main one being the addition of a transformer at the digital input, which is explained in detail on crag fraser's site.
with mods, the sound, good as it was, improved in all areas - the liquidity is amazing, especially considering it is digital. and, it does *not* come at the expense of detail - you can hear *everything*. the soundstage depth has great layering. there's great dynamics, bass, etc... really! ;~)
as far as your present cabling goes, if ya really wanna use your harmonic technology cables, i suggest you ditch those off-the-shelf attenuators (several folks told me they are a noticeable sonic degradation, when i inquired about using 'em), buy a pair of neutrik 1/4" fone plugs, & install 'em on to your h-t i/c's, w/the two resistors soldered in. later, if ya want to swap out the resistors internally, to acomplish the attenuation, then yank the resistors out of the cabling. or, just go for the whole enchilada all at once, either diy, or pay wayne at bolder cables... but, act fast - i think he's gonna be *very* busy for a while... ;~)
the mods really aren't that difficult - w/a 30w soldering iron, & a special desoldering iron/bulb tool available from rat-shack, you're in biz. just order up all the correct resistors, jfets, caps, etc, & have at it! :>) even *i* was able to do it! i did run into a snag, damaging a trace when pulling out one of the stock op-amps, but the folks on the diomods site pointed me in the right direction to find it, and i was able to repair it no sweat.
just *do* it! ;~)
doug s.
btw - let's not forget brian cheney & vmps - i hope to audition the rm-40s in the next week or so. this certified cheapskate may once again find the best value to be *new* vmps speakers - that certainly was the case w/my vmps subs! :>)
