back said:
Very strange that they dont take more care of this. I am also quite sure that Nuuk has build a PSU for his Gainclone pre and has used 220R.....
Yes, I already have this transformer, I found two of them in the electronics garbage of my institute (where I also have a couple of nice cases from).
I might have overlooked something but I thought I found 3.4A as max current in the datasheet.... Anyway, 1.5 should work as well.
Mick
Thanks Mick,
I have implemented your mod, but have not yet tried it. I ended up using the bipolars with a 1.6K resistor to ground. The plastic caps I had were much too big. It was pretty straightforward to do.
I also :
1) removed the rubber pad on the top of the metal subchasis. This is the piece which rubs against a tab from the CD transport and prevents it 'bouncing' like a true suspended subchasis turntable.
2) I noticed that the main metal framework rings if struck, so stuck a piece of car damping material on the underside, roughly beneath where the CD transport sits , on the underside of the metal. I made sure I didn't block any holes, as I'm sure this metal also acts as a heatsink in part.
3) Removed the SMPS umbilical and carefully removed the connector from one end by prizing up the little plastic tabs a little. These are latches which once raised you can remove the cables. I did this and fitted better individual ferrite sleeves. I'll upload some pictures when I figure out how to resize the images on a mac.
I have implemented your mod, but have not yet tried it. I ended up using the bipolars with a 1.6K resistor to ground. The plastic caps I had were much too big. It was pretty straightforward to do.
I also :
1) removed the rubber pad on the top of the metal subchasis. This is the piece which rubs against a tab from the CD transport and prevents it 'bouncing' like a true suspended subchasis turntable.
2) I noticed that the main metal framework rings if struck, so stuck a piece of car damping material on the underside, roughly beneath where the CD transport sits , on the underside of the metal. I made sure I didn't block any holes, as I'm sure this metal also acts as a heatsink in part.
3) Removed the SMPS umbilical and carefully removed the connector from one end by prizing up the little plastic tabs a little. These are latches which once raised you can remove the cables. I did this and fitted better individual ferrite sleeves. I'll upload some pictures when I figure out how to resize the images on a mac.
Nice work, Jives. So you really dared to drill a hole into the board 
Please let us know what you think about the sound!
I also just come from the workshop. I tried to improve the laser adjustment according to the voltage values recently provided by dommi.
Well, I found that setting the laser intensity to a value of 11.7mV indeed brought some improvement. I could read a CD which did not work before. Then I tried to set the bias and gain to 1.54 and 1.75V, respectively. That did not work at all. I could set the bias to 1.54V but I was not able to lower the gain as low as 1.75V. As soon as I reached a value of 1.80V or so, the laser started to move up and down all the time.
Dommi, are you sure about these values?
Mick
Please let us know what you think about the sound!
I also just come from the workshop. I tried to improve the laser adjustment according to the voltage values recently provided by dommi.
Well, I found that setting the laser intensity to a value of 11.7mV indeed brought some improvement. I could read a CD which did not work before. Then I tried to set the bias and gain to 1.54 and 1.75V, respectively. That did not work at all. I could set the bias to 1.54V but I was not able to lower the gain as low as 1.75V. As soon as I reached a value of 1.80V or so, the laser started to move up and down all the time.
Dommi, are you sure about these values?
Mick
Hi, I tried Mick's output stage mod (without the caps...) on Christmas. (Was trying my new Dremel)
Well... it was late once I found why the right channel wouldn't work so I can't really tell anything about the sound. I think it sounds better that way compared to passing thru a resistor and a cap to ground.
Mick, you can search on PlayStation DIY repair sites and you don't always see the same voltage.
Maybe 1.75 and 1.85 are OK because mine was already set to these when I got it.
I don't know if the wrong voltage could damage the laser with time.
Well... it was late once I found why the right channel wouldn't work so I can't really tell anything about the sound. I think it sounds better that way compared to passing thru a resistor and a cap to ground.
Mick, you can search on PlayStation DIY repair sites and you don't always see the same voltage.
Maybe 1.75 and 1.85 are OK because mine was already set to these when I got it.
I don't know if the wrong voltage could damage the laser with time.
blue LEDs use in cd players....
just to clarify the comments regarding blue LEDs and the notion of blue light "absorbing" :
"there is a blue laser which floods the underside of the CD in blue light which actually adds optical noise. As Yves himself says " the optical noise created by the blue laser (known as "stochastic resonance".......a great name for a heavy metal band in my humble opinion!) actually permits the recovery of some information whose energy was not sufficient to drive a 0 to a 1 or the other way around". And remember with digital all bits of information are either a 0 or a 1. By adding some noise(optical only) you paradoxically get more information back. Yves feels that with his unique blue laser he has created a CD player that regains the emotional content usually missing with digital reproduction components, and gives a sound more akin to analog tape."
from
Audiophile Audition , January '02
This is the same principle of light emitting "mats" for cd players., such as the Audio Prism CD Blacklight.
still tinkering myself
just to clarify the comments regarding blue LEDs and the notion of blue light "absorbing" :
"there is a blue laser which floods the underside of the CD in blue light which actually adds optical noise. As Yves himself says " the optical noise created by the blue laser (known as "stochastic resonance".......a great name for a heavy metal band in my humble opinion!) actually permits the recovery of some information whose energy was not sufficient to drive a 0 to a 1 or the other way around". And remember with digital all bits of information are either a 0 or a 1. By adding some noise(optical only) you paradoxically get more information back. Yves feels that with his unique blue laser he has created a CD player that regains the emotional content usually missing with digital reproduction components, and gives a sound more akin to analog tape."
from
Audiophile Audition , January '02
This is the same principle of light emitting "mats" for cd players., such as the Audio Prism CD Blacklight.
still tinkering myself
Mick_F said:Nice work, Jives. So you really dared to drill a hole into the board
Please let us know what you think about the sound!
Mick
drilling the hole was no problem. I used a 1mm bit and a small modelling hand powered twist drill, similar to one used by watchmakers. My father used to make models so I have inherited lots of really useful tools. I used a penknife to break the two tracks as you indicated. I applied a soldering iron + pressure to the tiny cap on the upperside and it flew off. This mod also means the mystery device is out of circuit. Would be funny if this were reason for the good sound
Everyone is still asleep, and I have yet to try the new output stage.
2 Things I should mention are :
1) While I had the motherboard out I traced the tracks from the DAC. All of the supply pins (Vanalogue, Vdigital and Vcommon) have 0.1uF ceramics close by. The Vdig is visible on the upper side, the others are on the underside. This means that additional decoupling around the two "large" caps either side of the DAC is probably not neccesary.
2) If anyone tries the umbilical ferrite 'hydra' you need to get ferrites with an internal diameter of at least 3mm. This is because the metal 'tags' which form the connectors at the ends, are slightly wider than the diameter of the wires. I used MAPLIN part Order Code N98AB Part Number HEM3021. Cost was £1.49 for 10. You may also want to tape the whole thing as ferrites are brittle and I imagine rough treatment of the unit COULD cause them to bang together and shatter, but pretty unlikely I'd think.
Re: blue LEDs use in cd players....
but it says a blue laser not a blue led.
can we try it with blue led?
Nanook said:just to clarify the comments regarding blue LEDs and the notion of blue light "absorbing" :
"there is a blue laser which floods the underside of the CD in blue light which actually adds optical noise. As Yves himself says " the optical noise created by the blue laser (known as "stochastic resonance".......a great name for a heavy metal band in my humble opinion!) actually permits the recovery of some information whose energy was not sufficient to drive a 0 to a 1 or the other way around". And remember with digital all bits of information are either a 0 or a 1. By adding some noise(optical only) you paradoxically get more information back. Yves feels that with his unique blue laser he has created a CD player that regains the emotional content usually missing with digital reproduction components, and gives a sound more akin to analog tape."
from
Audiophile Audition , January '02
This is the same principle of light emitting "mats" for cd players., such as the Audio Prism CD Blacklight.
still tinkering myself
but it says a blue laser not a blue led.
can we try it with blue led?
Mick_F said:Nice work, Jives. So you really dared to drill a hole into the board
Please let us know what you think about the sound!
I also just come from the workshop. I tried to improve the laser adjustment according to the voltage values recently provided by dommi.
Well, I found that setting the laser intensity to a value of 11.7mV indeed brought some improvement. I could read a CD which did not work before. Then I tried to set the bias and gain to 1.54 and 1.75V, respectively. That did not work at all. I could set the bias to 1.54V but I was not able to lower the gain as low as 1.75V. As soon as I reached a value of 1.80V or so, the laser started to move up and down all the time.
Dommi, are you sure about these values?
Mick
Hi Mick,
yes i'm sure. If you've adjusted the Laser to 11,7 mV maybe you have to adjust the gain to a higher value. Have you tryed it with 11,4 mV ? If the Laserbias is greather, the laser will not hold as long as with correct adjusted Bias. But i don`t can't say how much longer...
I bought about 5 Laserunits with short and 5 Laserunits with long cable, and it was every time 11,4 V for short and 24,4 V for long cabel connection. The Laserbias and the gain are not independent.
BR Dommi
Re: Re: blue LEDs use in cd players....
Hi Back,
i tryed it with a blue LED near the Laser. I connected the led with a switch to turn the led on and off. At blindtest at my configuration there was no differences with or without the LED. But maybe in other configurations it works good. But try it with a blindtest. The person who switch the led on and off must not speak anything !!!
BR Dommi
back said:
Hi Back,
i tryed it with a blue LED near the Laser. I connected the led with a switch to turn the led on and off. At blindtest at my configuration there was no differences with or without the LED. But maybe in other configurations it works good. But try it with a blindtest. The person who switch the led on and off must not speak anything !!!
BR Dommi
Re: blue LEDs use in cd players....
Look, Nanook, it is always the same. If someone wants to sell some sound enhancing gizmo, they usually describe it using a vocabulary that sounds very scientific, suggesting that their argumentation contains REAL PHYSICS.
Nevertheless, the arguments are often bloodcurdling when read carefully. In the explanation quoted above, already the first sentence makes no sense. Blue laser light cannot add any kind of noise. This kind of laser light is extremely monochromatic and has constant intensity. It is not noisy at all, it is rather extremely ordered. The term "stochastic resonance" indeed exists, but has a different meaning. It means offering a spectrum to get into resonance with some kind of excitation by selection of a single resonance frequency. This is not the case here.
And finally, let me ask the central question: When the blue light, as argued in the text, helps as a "decision maker" for "undecided bits", how can the blue light know, which bits should be 0 and which should be 1?
It is simply such that lost information cannot be gained back by independent means. An unfortunate fact, but true.
Mick
Nanook said:just to clarify the comments regarding blue LEDs and the notion of blue light "absorbing" :
"there is a blue laser which floods the underside of the CD in blue light which actually adds optical noise. As Yves himself says " the optical noise created by the blue laser (known as "stochastic resonance".......a great name for a heavy metal band in my humble opinion!) actually permits the recovery of some information whose energy was not sufficient to drive a 0 to a 1 or the other way around". And remember with digital all bits of information are either a 0 or a 1. By adding some noise(optical only) you paradoxically get more information back. Yves feels that with his unique blue laser he has created a CD player that regains the emotional content usually missing with digital reproduction components, and gives a sound more akin to analog tape."
from
Audiophile Audition , January '02
This is the same principle of light emitting "mats" for cd players., such as the Audio Prism CD Blacklight.
still tinkering myself
Look, Nanook, it is always the same. If someone wants to sell some sound enhancing gizmo, they usually describe it using a vocabulary that sounds very scientific, suggesting that their argumentation contains REAL PHYSICS.
Nevertheless, the arguments are often bloodcurdling when read carefully. In the explanation quoted above, already the first sentence makes no sense. Blue laser light cannot add any kind of noise. This kind of laser light is extremely monochromatic and has constant intensity. It is not noisy at all, it is rather extremely ordered. The term "stochastic resonance" indeed exists, but has a different meaning. It means offering a spectrum to get into resonance with some kind of excitation by selection of a single resonance frequency. This is not the case here.
And finally, let me ask the central question: When the blue light, as argued in the text, helps as a "decision maker" for "undecided bits", how can the blue light know, which bits should be 0 and which should be 1?
It is simply such that lost information cannot be gained back by independent means. An unfortunate fact, but true.
Mick
Dommi said:
You dont have to. I will try again this evening, but as far as I remember, operation is completely the same with and without the connection. Do you reset the PS1 after every CD? (I dont).
I will also try the laser at 11.4 mV. Yesterday I tried 11.7 mV just because I had memorized the wrong value....
Mick
blue LED : who cares if it looks good ?
Is the light from the blue LED visible when the CD lid is closed ? i.e do you get any light emerging from the edge of the lid ?
I don't know wether it makes any difference, but a vague blue glow coming from under the lid does sound very cool - like the hatch on some alien spacecraft opening.
But I do have a valve amp so a free light show is always a bonus in my book.
Is the light from the blue LED visible when the CD lid is closed ? i.e do you get any light emerging from the edge of the lid ?
I don't know wether it makes any difference, but a vague blue glow coming from under the lid does sound very cool - like the hatch on some alien spacecraft opening.
But I do have a valve amp so a free light show is always a bonus in my book.