Sean Jacobs (Custom HiFi Cables) DC3/4

[Blackmorec]

1 hour ago, TheAttorney said:

 

Sean's ultimate DC4 uses different caps. From his website...

 

"The new DC4 regulator design uses the very best components - we use a full set of Vishay Z-foil "naked" resistors for the regulator section, and extremely low noise resistors for the (non-critical) CX section and for one filter network of the regulator itself. We also now use Vishay bulk film capacitors for all decoupling duties, as well as some very special Audio Note KAISEI capacitors for all the important regulator module capacitors. These are a relatively new capacitor, designed by the same team behind the legendary Black Gate capacitors. The CX module uses the same Nichicon KZ "MUSE" capacitors as the DC3 design, as we found that the AN capacitors made no difference at all here."

 

The above implies that Sean thinks these new caps are better than the Mundorfs.

 

In my less sane moments, I've been considering getting a 3-rail DC4 to replace DAVE's built-in SMPS, as per Triode-User's review. If I do go down that route, I would try very hard to get Sean to up-front replace his Neotech copper wires with the Mundorf Silver/Golds - at least in all places after the regulator.

Objection!  As far as I understood in the full text, the DC4 uses the same Mundorf reservoir capacitors....twice as many as the DC3 in fact. The piece you quoted refers to the DC4’s regulator modules

[TheAttorney]

2 hours ago, Blackmorec said:

Objection!  As far as I understood in the full text, the DC4 uses the same Mundorf reservoir capacitors....twice as many as the DC3 in fact. The piece you quoted refers to the DC4’s regulator modules

 

Fair enough, but my point still stands. My understanding of the text is that Sean has chosen the very best possible caps, cost no object, for the DC4 regulators. This implies that he feels the caps in the regulator are the most important caps that are worth upgrading to the highest possible level - and these are not the Mundorfs.

 

I'm not trying to pick a fight between different makes of caps. I'm just trying to better understand what separates the DC4 from DC3 and why the DC4 is so much more expensive. Or maybe it's just a case of different cap designs being better suited to different jobs?

[Blackmorec]

That’s not really how I would interpret it 😗 I don’t read any inference of the relative importance of reservoir vs regulator, just the fact that the very best capacitors have been used for each and every application.  The DC4 is more expensive because it is from the ground up a ‘cost-no-object’ design, where performance is the only criteria. If you were to make a list of where the extra money has gone vs a DC3 it would cover practically every single element including:

• Circuit board materials, tracks etc
• Circuit design, optimisation and additional circuitry
• Componentry
• Casework
• Internal wiring
• Connectors, sockets and plugs
• Capacity, custom design and multi-level screening of the transformer
• Rectification and reservoir capacitance design and increased current capacity
• Vibration control and isolation for internal components 
• Isolation from external vibration
• EMI and RFI control 
• And finally a little bit of branding with the Sean Jacobs logo 

Given the level of system improvement I got with the DC2 then DC3, I would expect, based on the above that the DC4 will deliver SQ improvements that represent excellent value compared to other items I could upgrade, for example speaker cables, amplifiers, DAC etc that would cost a lot more $$$$. Once this Covid pandemic has passed and I’m out of exile, I’ll be in a better position to judge 

[adamaley]

My DC4 arrived today. First impressions are a little overwhelming. It leaves me wondering why I hadn't made this jump all this while. Ah well. Sometimes it's the journey and not the destination, but the destination here is oh so sweet.

 

I'll post impressions once things are run in some more. Nenon's DC cables are being used now for the first time, and the LPS needs to break in those caps as well. 

 

 

[beautiful music]

On 5/22/2020 at 1:01 AM, adamaley said:

My DC4 arrived today. First impressions are a little overwhelming. It leaves me wondering why I hadn't made this jump all this while. Ah well. Sometimes it's the journey and not the destination, but the destination here is oh so sweet.

 

I'll post impressions once things are run in some more. Nenon's DC cables are being used now for the first time, and the LPS needs to break in those caps as well. 

 

 

 

Any impression for DC4 @adamaley.

[adamaley]

I'll post what I sent a member on here via email last week:

 

Yes, the sound is better than I could have anticipated. Everything has just clicked into place. Most importantly, the fortitude of instruments to maintain their integrity and not be interfered with by other instruments in front, behind, or beside them. I believe this comes from the instantaneous power delivery and control of that delivery mechanism. Nothing overstays its welcome. Attack, body, decay are given their just due without any overhang. The venue is now more vivid as well due to the removal of noise. Noise removal also lends to the timbral accuracy of instruments, and more airy overtones and harmonics pour forth and decay delicately.

 

Anyway, tldr: you'll love what the DC4 will bring to your setup.

 

I can go on and wax lyrical about it, but I'm not much of a reviewer. Since getting the DC4, it's forced me to improve other elements of my system. I've added an Audioquest Niagara 5000 to my setup this week. I'm also using a new Audioquest Hurricane PC to power the new conditioner. I've been experimenting with plugging the DC4 into the High Current outlets on the conditioner to good effect. I originally had it on the outlets meant for digital components. Upon switching it to the non-current limiting (90A) outlets, the soundstage grew, and sound was more untethered and seemingly less restricted by speaker or room boundaries. Good stuff.

[k27R]

Has anyone ever done a direct comparison of the SJ DC3 with the PH SR7?  I've never seen any comments on how they directly compare to each other.

[ASRMichael]

I've been wondering how far would the DC4 take the Chord Dave DAC & HMS ? Anyone planning this modification? @audiopop?

 

[adamaley]

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/141102-sean-jacobs-dc4-lps-powering-my-dave-and-mscaler/

[Fourlegs]

On 6/19/2020 at 9:42 AM, ASRMichael said:

I've been wondering how far would the DC4 take the Chord Dave DAC & HMS ? Anyone planning this modification? @audiopop?

 

I’m a bit late to this thread but I think I was the first person to have a DC4 powering a Chord Dave. The result is staggering and worth every penny. Rob Watts is being coy about a Dave 2 but really I don’t mind because the DC4 has taken my Dave into new territories.  I am lucky that I also have a DC4 powering my MScaler but really I think I would prefer a DC4 driven Dave to a stock Dave with MScaler. 

 

Oh, and that was my thread on Wigwam.

[ray-dude]

I've been in absolute denial about everything Nick has done and is doing with DC4 and DAVE.  With my DC3-era SJ supply, the lift with DAVE was second only to mScaler, but at this point, I'd prefer the DC3 to mScaler with DAVE.

 

Hope to be able to hear a DC4 in my chain soon, and fall completely off the denial wagon

[Fourlegs]

Ray, I had a DC3 powering my Dave before the DC4 and the DC3 Dave is jaw dropping. I was happy selling it on knowing that the new owner, Rajiv, would not be disappointed but the DC4 Dave needs to be heard to be believed. Sean was booked into come and listen to his power supplies at my house but the UK lockdown kicked in the day before that was going to happen. Sean and I intend to reconvene as soon as we can. 

[adamaley]

43 minutes ago, Fourlegs said:

I’m a bit late to this thread but I think I was the first person to have a DC4 powering a Chord Dave. The result is staggering and worth every penny. Rob Watts is being coy about a Dave 2 but really I don’t mind because the DC4 has taken my Dave into new territories.  I am lucky that I also have a DC4 powering my MScaler but really I think I would prefer a DC4 driven Dave to a stock Dave with MScaler. 

 

Oh, and that was my thread on Wigwam.

Your thread was one of the reasons I made the full commitment to go through with the DC4 purchase. Hope you're still enjoying it and not letting the doubters on there lessen your enjoyment.

[Fourlegs]

The wam is a funny place with its fair share of inverted snobbery. I do not regret getting the DC4 for the Dave for one minute. It has been one of my best purchases. 
 

Out of interest, I sold my TT2 and bought a Qutest instead for our family room system with an appropriate power supply and I actually prefer the Qutest to the TT2. Several of my friends have been selling all sorts of exotic DACs and replacing them with the Qutest plus upgraded power supply. One friend is a reviewer who favourably compares the Qutest + power supply to a top of the range AudioNote dac. 

[ASRMichael]

1 hour ago, Fourlegs said:

I’m a bit late to this thread but I think I was the first person to have a DC4 powering a Chord Dave. The result is staggering and worth every penny. Rob Watts is being coy about a Dave 2 but really I don’t mind because the DC4 has taken my Dave into new territories.  I am lucky that I also have a DC4 powering my MScaler but really I think I would prefer a DC4 driven Dave to a stock Dave with MScaler. 

 

Oh, and that was my thread on Wigwam.

Sounds like Chord should get Sean to design their PSU’s! Chord rave about their SMPS technology, but clearly lacking behind....

[beautiful music]

3 hours ago, Fourlegs said:

The wam is a funny place with its fair share of inverted snobbery. I do not regret getting the DC4 for the Dave for one minute. It has been one of my best purchases. 
 

Out of interest, I sold my TT2 and bought a Qutest instead for our family room system with an appropriate power supply and I actually prefer the Qutest to the TT2. Several of my friends have been selling all sorts of exotic DACs and replacing them with the Qutest plus upgraded power supply. One friend is a reviewer who favourably compares the Qutest + power supply to a top of the range AudioNote dac. 

 

May I know @Fourlegs what's your recommendation for a power supply for Qutest and what's the enhancements did you get over stock PSU?

[Fourlegs]

8 hours ago, ASRMichael said:

Sounds like Chord should get Sean to design their PSU’s! Chord rave about their SMPS technology, but clearly lacking behind....

 

The Chord DACs are very good indeed even without the tweaks being discussed and one has to be aware that a Sean Jacobs DC4 supply for Dave costs £4400. The size and cost of a LPS for Dave takes the product into a completely different target market and I think Chord were right to go with the SMPS for Dave because that enables the physical size of the Dave and the retail price to be kept within market acceptable limits.

[Fourlegs]

7 hours ago, beautiful music said:

 

May I know @Fourlegs what's your recommendation for a power supply for Qutest and what's the enhancements did you get over stock PSU?

 

I listened to Uptone LPS-1.2, MCRU, Ciunas (now defunct), SBooster + Ultra MkII and just for a laugh, a Sean Jacobs DC4. The DC4 was way in front as the best but it doesn't make sense to use a £3000 power supplky with a £1200 DAC so that is out of the equation. I found the MCRU to have a residual top end slight harshness, the Ciunas is not available and with the DC4 out of the running I ended up with the SBooster + Ultra MkII as my favourite.

 

However, I also have a Farad3 which was configured to 15v for the mscaler and I have just converted it to 5v by obtaining a replacement supercap board and transformer from the manufacturer so I will try that with the Qutest. I have also rebuilt the Ciunas to correct the rather lackadaisical build quality (I'm being generous with that assessment) and added a couple of further tweaks of my own I'm liking the sound of that as well. It is probably best if I let you know how I get on when I put the Farad3 in a group test of all those power supplies . . . .

[Superdad]

9 hours ago, Fourlegs said:

Ciunas (now defunct)

Are you saying that John Kenny has closed up shop? His web site is still up and Googling turns up no news about closure. Can you provide some reference/link regarding that?

[soares]

9 hours ago, Fourlegs said:

 

I listened to Uptone LPS-1.2, MCRU, Ciunas (now defunct), SBooster + Ultra MkII and just for a laugh, a Sean Jacobs DC4. The DC4 was way in front as the best but it doesn't make sense to use a £3000 power supplky with a £1200 DAC so that is out of the equation. I found the MCRU to have a residual top end slight harshness, the Ciunas is not available and with the DC4 out of the running I ended up with the SBooster + Ultra MkII as my favourite.

 

However, I also have a Farad3 which was configured to 15v for the mscaler and I have just converted it to 5v by obtaining a replacement supercap board and transformer from the manufacturer so I will try that with the Qutest. I have also rebuilt the Ciunas to correct the rather lackadaisical build quality (I'm being generous with that assessment) and added a couple of further tweaks of my own I'm liking the sound of that as well. It is probably best if I let you know how I get on when I put the Farad3 in a group test of all those power supplies . . . .

Thank you for sharing your impressions. My Qutest was also fed by an Sbooster and an ultra. The Sbooster and the ultra are now feeding an opticalModule as I sold my Qutest. With my system The Oppo 205 modded soundEd better. Looking forward to hear your LPS match! Cheers Jorge

[Fourlegs]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

Are you saying that John Kenny has closed up shop? His web site is still up and Googling turns up no news about closure. Can you provide some reference/link regarding that?

 

I will PM you as more appropriate.

[beautiful music]

11 hours ago, Fourlegs said:

 

I listened to Uptone LPS-1.2, MCRU, Ciunas (now defunct), SBooster + Ultra MkII and just for a laugh, a Sean Jacobs DC4. The DC4 was way in front as the best but it doesn't make sense to use a £3000 power supplky with a £1200 DAC so that is out of the equation. I found the MCRU to have a residual top end slight harshness, the Ciunas is not available and with the DC4 out of the running I ended up with the SBooster + Ultra MkII as my favourite.

 

However, I also have a Farad3 which was configured to 15v for the mscaler and I have just converted it to 5v by obtaining a replacement supercap board and transformer from the manufacturer so I will try that with the Qutest. I have also rebuilt the Ciunas to correct the rather lackadaisical build quality (I'm being generous with that assessment) and added a couple of further tweaks of my own I'm liking the sound of that as well. It is probably best if I let you know how I get on when I put the Farad3 in a group test of all those power supplies . . . .

 

Thanks @Fourlegs and looking forward for your future experiment.

[jeti]

On Sat Aug 08 2020 at 4:27 AM, Fourlegs said:

I’m a bit late to this thread but I think I was the first person to have a DC4 powering a Chord Dave. The result is staggering and worth every penny. Rob Watts is being coy about a Dave 2 but really I don’t mind because the DC4 has taken my Dave into new territories.  I am lucky that I also have a DC4 powering my MScaler but really I think I would prefer a DC4 driven Dave to a stock Dave with MScaler. 

 

Oh, and that was my thread on Wigwam.

Does adding M-scaler to DC4 +Dave make much improvement? 

[Ben-M]

On 8/9/2020 at 3:11 AM, Fourlegs said:

 

I will PM you as more appropriate.

Can you PM me about that too? John was one of the first guys I bought something from about 10 years ago. He provided great service and great sounding gear for the money. That'd be terrible news if he's decided to throw the towel in. 

[Fourlegs]

1 minute ago, Ben-M said:

Can you PM me about that too? John was one of the first guys I bought something from about 10 years ago. He provided great service and great sounding gear for the money. That'd be terrible news if he's decided to throw the towel in. 

 

sure