Never thought of offering a Reference DAC MkII upgrade with 8 hybrid DAC modules i.s.o. 4?

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Have you ever contemplated the possibility to propose a Mk II upgrade to the Reference DAC by proposing to add 4 more Hybrid DAC modules to the existing 4 ones ?

I imagine that the Reference DAC mother board must be common to the Select DAC for supply chain good reasons ? It should be understandably like car engines which power differ by the way they are configured. Or am I wrong ?

On the “Reference DAC - Product Breakdown” video posted about a year ago on Youtube, one can see the mother board (starting around 7’30’') with 8 available slots, 4 with hybrid DAC modules and 4 free slots.

I understand that it could have been an issue commercially versus the Select DAC positioning which had 8 modules or today versus the new Cascade DAC which also has 8 modules (but MkII + lots of improvements well described in the Technical video presentation by Daniel and Frank), but the option of offering the option to add 4 of the original Hybrid DAC modules for people like me who invested years ago in a Reference DAC and last year in the Reference Director, it would be a great deal to preserve the product lifetime of the existing Reference DAC+DD for another number of years.

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This is a good idea and something we did think about. We called it the Select DAC! We originally had a lot a compatibility between the Reference and Select DAC and of course offered 100% trade in for Reference’s to Selects because of the common parts. The Select DAC used to ship with a single powerbase much like the Reference DAC, it was only over time that we began separating the key performance differences between the models. The Reference used to have the Femto 140 clock while the Select had the Femto 33 etc.

Unfortunately it is not as simple as just adding 4 hybrid modules. It also requires a completely different output stage to match the halved impedance from the additional modules. Beyond additionally replacing the output module, doubling the DAC modules doubles the heat consumption in the chassis which does not have the heatsink capacity to match like the Select design.

Still, it is a good idea and we will keep it on our minds if we think of a way to make that upgrade viable someday.