Geshelli J3 Pro DAC with Sparkos and Sbooster mods

The Sound

Patreon members can download the samples (check under Specifications for the link; include some bonuses too :-)). Those will – hopefully – let you hear what we briefly describe here.

Standard opamps with switch mode

The notes on the laptop say: want to switch it off after a while. Restless and choppy compared to the Sbooster. Image is a bit backwards and focus is a bit blurry (voice is too big). The bass is also a bit “boxy / woody” it seems. However, the biggest difference is in the textures and depth of sound. The standard power supply with the standard opamps just sounds a bit bare, empty and rough.

Standard opamps with Sbooster

Already much better! Here we suddenly do hear calmness, control and richness. Is it immediately a “top-notch dac” that can beat 2000 Euro dacs? No… certainly not. But this is definitely a fine, rich sound. We hear more peace, quiet and especially the stereo image is larger and gets more focus. So much more pleasant listening!

Sparkos with switch mode

At first this looks a bit like the Sbooster with standard opamps. It sometimes feels a tad sharp or a bit too bright in the treble. The stereo image remains a bit backward when compared to the Sbooster. The bass is nicely rounded, but lacks some structure and “depth”. The mids feel a bit more prominent. This creates some unrest. All in all, certainly not bad, but overall it just lacks calmness.

Sparkos with Sbooster

It’s clear that the Sbooster brings calmness to the whole thing. The tonality is more balanced, it feels quieter and we can follow the various layers better. (Pay attention to that in the samples). That makes longer listening much more enjoyable. Remarkably, the emotion in the voice comes out better.

If we are very critical, the whole feels a bit warm and romantic in sound. But that’s okay… right?

Overall?

We feel the power supply does a bit more than (or certainly as much as) the op-amp. We hear a significant change in tonality between the switchmode power supply and the Sbooster. But the step from the standard op-amp to the Sparkos is also audible. But in a different way. Less noticeable at first. The Sparkos brings more insight and structure to the music. Layering. The Sbooster brings calmness and scale. The combination with the Sparkos and Sbooster is pleasant. It’s a bit round and romantic…. but nice.