My test was small: I recorded one track of a single acoustic instrument. I’ve just now circled back to do some comparative listening. Last month I had an opportunity to record a quick A/B comparison.
This brings an increase in headroom that BLA claims gives audio more “heft” and “presence.” I believe a fully separate supply is installed for the analog circuitry. Additional noise-reduction circuitry is installed as well.įinally, the power supply is upgraded. This reduces distortion and phase cancellation during conversion. The ADC and DAC are upgraded by swapping “low-grade ceramic capacitors” for premium units. Clock improvements are said to deliver “improved signal clarity, fuller harmonic extension of the instrument you are tracking, an apparent increase in volume over the stock design (because of lower phase cancellations), and pinpoint image placement during mix-down.” Next, the master clock is replaced with a new, low-jitter design. According to BLA, “these modifications result in a cleaner signal, with much more high end definition.”
#Digi 003 preamps mod#
The Black Lion Signature Series mod includes a complete rebuild of the mic pre’s, line inputs, headphone amp, and line outputs, using upgraded opamps from Burr-Brown (TI).
I’m a big fan of aftermarket mods for audio hardware, so this is a question that I have a lot of interest in - in part because I spent about $1200 getting my Digi 002-Rack modded by BLA earlier this year. Jon from Audio Geek Zine pointed out a thread on the DUC that gives readers a chance to compare a stock Digi 003 to a Black Lion Audio-modded Digi 003.