Quote Originally Posted by blackraven
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Replaced the cheap 0608 Burr-Brown op-amps with the more expensive 0627 OA's
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The purpose of the mod was to give the unit a warmer more detailed sound with less harshness and digital glare. ...
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I got an Assembage DAC 1.5 for pretty cheap; I wanted it mostly for the HDCD decoding. The sound was marginally more detail for standard CD, and significantly so for HDCD recordings, than components I'd been using, but dry and a bit bright. I had it modded at Parts ConneXion, (who originally produced the Assemblage products). Mods comprised an upgrade to the 0627 op amps, plus gold-on-copper connections and some silver wiring. Total cost was Cdn$355.

Here again, the initial reaction was not so good, but after 30-50 hours of burn in I sensed a significant inprovement. I replaced the standard computer-type power cord with much shorter, Belden shielded cable for some further improvement.

Was it worth the approx . US$300 cost? Given the Assemblage DAC 1.5 as sunk cost, probably yes; compared to buying some other DAC in the first place, or maybe even selling the Assembage and buy another DAC, probably not. And I might have got 33% of the overall improvement just by replacing the PC where the Belden/Wattgate/Marinco combo cost around $40.