Hi guys,
Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal.
I have a Cambridge Audio 851N streamer with a Plinius Hautonga amplifier and Monitor Audio Platinum PL200II speakers.
Happy with the results and although the CA 851N sounds really nice for the price, it's probably the weakest link in my system right now.
I've been thinking about modding and tuning this streamer and would love to read your opinions.
1 - replace the standard voltage regulators (8 of them) by high quality discrete voltage regulators. These discrete voltage regulators can be found at around 10 USD/EUR each but the ones from Sparkos cost around 40 USD. This would be a 320 USD/EUR mod.
I actually found an article about this specific mod:
Cambridge Audio Azur Reviewed with Discrete Voltage Regulator Upgrade
2 - Swapping the 6 opamps for better ones.
Again, someone has done it.
https://hifi-ifas.de/cambridge-audio-851n-hoerwege-vs-cambridge-851n-streamer-test
3 - Replace the capacitors
4 - Replace the RCA plug for WBT plugs
Would love to hear your opinions one the benefits of these mods.
I know that high-quality components produce better results, just not sure if some mods are worth it when it comes to cost/benefit.
Thank you
Andre Antunes
Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal.
I have a Cambridge Audio 851N streamer with a Plinius Hautonga amplifier and Monitor Audio Platinum PL200II speakers.
Happy with the results and although the CA 851N sounds really nice for the price, it's probably the weakest link in my system right now.
I've been thinking about modding and tuning this streamer and would love to read your opinions.
1 - replace the standard voltage regulators (8 of them) by high quality discrete voltage regulators. These discrete voltage regulators can be found at around 10 USD/EUR each but the ones from Sparkos cost around 40 USD. This would be a 320 USD/EUR mod.
I actually found an article about this specific mod:
Cambridge Audio Azur Reviewed with Discrete Voltage Regulator Upgrade
2 - Swapping the 6 opamps for better ones.
Again, someone has done it.
https://hifi-ifas.de/cambridge-audio-851n-hoerwege-vs-cambridge-851n-streamer-test
3 - Replace the capacitors
4 - Replace the RCA plug for WBT plugs
Would love to hear your opinions one the benefits of these mods.
I know that high-quality components produce better results, just not sure if some mods are worth it when it comes to cost/benefit.
Thank you
Andre Antunes
IME and IMO: Its true that high end dacs tend to have better voltage regulators, better clocking, and better output stages. However, substituting one part for another is always an experiment. You won't know for sure if its better or not until you hear it and maybe not until you have a chance to live with it for awhile. You should be aware that for some people any difference seems better at first, and it can be painful to find out later a change was really for the worse. In addition, it can take some parts a few days or bit more to settle in. Turning the power off for very long may require a similar wait time until the system fully stabilizes again. For that reason better dacs tend to leave both clocks running all the time, even with the front panel (soft) power turned off. Some people notice such differences in sound and others don't. Its nice for people that don't notice, or just don't care about, small changes in sound quality. For other people small changes seem much bigger and maybe they are never completely satisfied with the sound they get. So, it depends what kind of person you might be. Also depends whether or not you are willing to take chances with experiments that may or may not turn out well.
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Hello,
As the unit is covered under warranty for a fair while, I would leave it alone at least till the warranty expires. As you can not get a service manual from the company as they are worried about cheap companies copying their work, if it fails you would have pay for a distributor or the factory to fix it and shipping costs added to the repair would be expensive.
IMHO the unit works great for the price point. You likely can do better, but would truly doubt it would be a large difference. And, just changing things can make things worse if you are not knowledgeable and careful.
Greg
As the unit is covered under warranty for a fair while, I would leave it alone at least till the warranty expires. As you can not get a service manual from the company as they are worried about cheap companies copying their work, if it fails you would have pay for a distributor or the factory to fix it and shipping costs added to the repair would be expensive.
IMHO the unit works great for the price point. You likely can do better, but would truly doubt it would be a large difference. And, just changing things can make things worse if you are not knowledgeable and careful.
Greg
Hi André,
I bought the 851N ~2018. I found out that https://hoer-wege.de/ is the most reputated company in Germany for tuning the 851N.
I invested ~600 € to do so.
https://hoer-wege.de/produkt/die-ho...fuer-den-cambridge-da-wandler-streamer-851-n/
google translator can help you to understand what they did (and why) . I (as an native German) find those infos very transparent and easy to understand. Hoerwege also offer DIY kits for people who are expirienced 'soldering iron'-users.
Plan B : look at www.kleinanzeigen.de or at ebay.de to find an 851N that is already modified.
Klaus
I bought the 851N ~2018. I found out that https://hoer-wege.de/ is the most reputated company in Germany for tuning the 851N.
I invested ~600 € to do so.
https://hoer-wege.de/produkt/die-ho...fuer-den-cambridge-da-wandler-streamer-851-n/
google translator can help you to understand what they did (and why) . I (as an native German) find those infos very transparent and easy to understand. Hoerwege also offer DIY kits for people who are expirienced 'soldering iron'-users.
Plan B : look at www.kleinanzeigen.de or at ebay.de to find an 851N that is already modified.
Klaus