Singxer SU-1 Dac with SS1117-3.3V Discrete Regulator

The Singxer SU-1 DAC has been getting upgraded with the SparkoS Labs SS1117-3.3V Discrete Voltage Regulator in the digital section a lot lately.  Several people on the Audiophile Style forum have been performing this mod with great results.  The Singxer SU-1 DAC uses a surface mount LD1086 in a D – pak package for the 3.3V regulator which people have been removing and adapting the SS1117-3.3 discrete into.  Below are some excerpts from the thread and a link back to the original post. 

See the original thread on Audiophile Style.

PKANE2001 on page 15 said- Today, I found my Sparkos Labs SS1117xx regulator in the mail. Tried this out in my system, and it really was as everyone said: the change is not subtle! I’m still using the iFi 5v supply, so perhaps the change would be less obvious with an LPS-1. But for me, it’s a major step up in SQ. If the change from DSD256 to 512 was about 5% improvement in SQ, the relative change to Sparkos 3.3v regulator was closer to 20%. I’m not kidding! The bass became a lot punchier — almost visceral, like I added a subwoofer. The air around instruments became more obvious, all the sounds seemed natural. On a good recording, there was nothing I could hear that didn’t feel just right. I’m sure I’ll discover more things I need to improve later, but for now,  I’m a happy camper. Thanks to everyone who recommended and explained this mod in detail, it really was worth doing it!

ENSER on page 17 said- Short of discrete voltage regulators I’d be hard pressed to think of any more needed changes for good power..

BLUESAINT on page 17 said- Just came back from @Energy ‘s place and with his help, the voltage regulator and caps were all replaced. Don’t want to base my feedback on limited listening, but I change on top of my existing LPS-1 mod made a noticeable incremental difference.

ENERGY on page 18 said- With $50 you have two choices.
1. Replace stock linear power supply with an iFi iPower 5V will offer 1µV (in theory if your AC mains is perfectly quiet) but since it is a switch mode power supply (SMPS) will have more AC leakage currents seeping through.

2. Replacing the LM2940CT-5 (5V) with Sparkos Labs SS78XX 5V will offer 3µV and contain less AC leakage current than the first choice. In terms of installation wise, #1 would probably be easiest. But if I was given these two choices, I’d most likely go with #2.

PKANE2001 on page 19 said- The only way I can describe the change is that the music is now more immersive. The sound stage feels organic and natural, all around me, with more precise soundstage positions without harshness or other artifacts. Very, very nice! In quantitative terms, I would rate this as about 10% improvement in SQ over what I had with the iFi supply and the Sparkos 3.3v regulator, so definitely worth the $60 invested into my Singxer SU-1.

Installing Sparkos was pretty easy, I just had to be careful to align the height with the heatsink before fixing it in place. I put a silicone insulator in between the regulator and the heat sink, as per instructions.

I’m very pleased with the changes and am now enjoying some of the music that I heard many times before. I did have about 4 hours of warm/up break-in time for the new components before trying it out.

ROBERTO on page 20 said- Received the Sparkos 3,3V today and installed! It works!! Very noticeable improvement…! It reminds me when I had a LPS-1 to try at home. Similar effect.  Thanks to all of you for the very clear instructions! Next step is a Sparkos 5V for the power supply and capacitors…

PKANE2001 on page 20 said- Sparkos SS1117xx 3.3v regulator for the main board, SS78xx 5v regulator for the power supply.

If you are planning to feed the Singxer SU-1 from an external 5v supply, then you don’t need the SS78xx, only the SS1117xx 3.3v. Replacing the 3.3v regulator with Sparkos Labs SS1117xx 3.3v made the biggest difference from the two, in my system, although the 5v improvement was also noticeable.

PKANE2001 on page 23 said- The 3.3v Sparkos voltage regulator had a much greater effect on the overall sound quality. I recently upgraded the stock power supply with Sparkos 78xx and Panasonic FR caps, and it did make a difference over the iFi supply.

See the original thread on the Audiophile Style forum.