Bad DAC

Lazarus Short

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#1
I got a Zhaolu D2.5 DAC used at an audio meet some time ago - a good deal. I've been using it to interface the TV's digital output with the preamp, but sound quality has been going south. So, I put the Luxman in its place, as the Luxman A-007 has an internal DAC, and the sound is now smooth as butter. What to do with the Zhaolu? Opamps? Recap? Trash??
 

J!m

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#2
I’d be considering opamps. I’d be willing to bet the ones you have are on par with what’s in my DAC- cheapest available on earth.
 

Lazarus Short

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#3
I took a look under the hood, and there was nothing obviously wrong. No caps were blown or leaking, and some of them are high grade - Nichicon Muse for instance. I counted five opamps - two on the headphone board (of little interest) and three on another board, so I may replace them later. In the meantime, the Luxman will go back into the main system and I'm going to enjoy the remote volume control again.
 

Lazarus Short

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#5
OK...but it wasn't easy. To assist my 72 year-old eyes, I used one of my microscopes...so I had to read upside-down, which I'm fairly good at. Here's the code:

BB
OPA2604AP
66W1FCB

There were three, all with the same code.
 

J!m

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#10
Are they socketed for fast swaps? My DAC is and I already have compatible replacements to mess around with.

I originally planned to bypass the op amps and use (Lundhal) transformers but decided to stick with op amps and just get some quality units in there. I need to work out the mute position on my selector and get the face engraved and then I can mess around if I ever get any time.
 
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