Getting the BG caps is difficult really, but there is fairly available many others
"audio-friendly" types...
-when should I try to use ELNA Silmic II ... what do you think?
High End Audio - Electrolytic capacitors
-any experience with this??
Thanks
"audio-friendly" types...
-when should I try to use ELNA Silmic II ... what do you think?
High End Audio - Electrolytic capacitors
-any experience with this??
Thanks
Elna Silmic II is very good. I replaced all the small electrolytics on the board with Silmic II and they sound well.
In my humble opinion, the Silmic is inferior to the BG N but better than the Panasonic FM. Yes, the FM is neutral and well-balanced. However, the Silmic is not only clear and well-balanced but also having a "sweet" sounding that pleases my ears.
In my humble opinion, the Silmic is inferior to the BG N but better than the Panasonic FM. Yes, the FM is neutral and well-balanced. However, the Silmic is not only clear and well-balanced but also having a "sweet" sounding that pleases my ears.
Last edited:
Hi Peter,
Do you have measured the wave of SPDIF output from the CEC-like buffer?
I just built such a buffer and enjoy the result. With the buffer the sound is as well as your description. However, I am able to hear a bit of noise come from my speaker after this mod. I tried to measure the SPDIF output with a oscilloscope, and found that the wave is not as perfect as before (two resistors only).
I guess the buffer is very sensitive to layout and grounding. Hope a re-layout helps me to reduce the noise.
I want to thank Peter publicly after getting his pm replies to my questions, one after another. CD ... transports ...and mods... are foreign to me. It started when I looked for a little better CD player for testing my speaker projects but ending up with buying defective units, looking for clues to repair then read Peter's postings 3 days ago, very very interesting. Same eveing, bought a EZ-31 for $30, again, faulty.... To cure or to kill, I excited the spinning motor with a 1.5v cell, all in a sudden, it resumed to work, so here I'm.
Thank you again Peter for your generousity in sharing your great works with us!
Clem
Thank you again Peter for your generousity in sharing your great works with us!
Clem
ps: as in many "mic" products, this jvc doesn't surprise me with inconsistance in quality. I had in-depth experience in running facilities there and i can tell folks hundreds of stories, incuding how some people can "buy" whole design/drawings before official product releases, with as little as rmb￥20,000, and that was three years ago.
Has anybody experimented with alternatives to the 2 x 1000uF Black Gate caps before/after the regulator?
I was ready to go with either Panasonic FM or Rubycon ZL, then I read that regulators should NOT have super low ESR caps on the outputs, only before the regulator.
That being the case I need to find a decent quality, 'normal' ESR cap for after the regulator - any suggestions?
Cheers,
- John
I was ready to go with either Panasonic FM or Rubycon ZL, then I read that regulators should NOT have super low ESR caps on the outputs, only before the regulator.
That being the case I need to find a decent quality, 'normal' ESR cap for after the regulator - any suggestions?
Cheers,
- John
Hello Johnm,
check post #66 from Marlowe. I worked a lot around Elna Silmic II for my project. They sound quite nice for the price. Near the regulator I like a mix of BG N with Silmic II or Mundorf M-Lytic, it's a matter of taste and is personal to every one. I have tried a large amount of Panasonic FM every where and decided not to put any, for sure they weren't to par (by far) with the other ones stated here. Without going into details they were too grainy. If you are on a budget, the Elna Silmic II are a very good investment IMO.
Cheers,
Guy
check post #66 from Marlowe. I worked a lot around Elna Silmic II for my project. They sound quite nice for the price. Near the regulator I like a mix of BG N with Silmic II or Mundorf M-Lytic, it's a matter of taste and is personal to every one. I have tried a large amount of Panasonic FM every where and decided not to put any, for sure they weren't to par (by far) with the other ones stated here. Without going into details they were too grainy. If you are on a budget, the Elna Silmic II are a very good investment IMO.
Cheers,
Guy
A few stupid questions about caps:
What is the "best" brand at moderat price?
If I remember correctly, Rubbycon, Elna and Nichicon in the old days were just so so, but I can't remeber what the one was that we considered better (or best of the time). Naturally things have changed, for those in photoflash that requires high speed, we should be happy to find Rubbycon in it.
Where we can get gold caps in GTA or a little farther?
Some months ago when I was in an electronic store, another customer asked me if I know where to get goldcaps. He told me the storekeepers did not know what he was asking. My words to him: "they don't even have all the values we want".
What is the "best" brand at moderat price?
If I remember correctly, Rubbycon, Elna and Nichicon in the old days were just so so, but I can't remeber what the one was that we considered better (or best of the time). Naturally things have changed, for those in photoflash that requires high speed, we should be happy to find Rubbycon in it.
Where we can get gold caps in GTA or a little farther?
Some months ago when I was in an electronic store, another customer asked me if I know where to get goldcaps. He told me the storekeepers did not know what he was asking. My words to him: "they don't even have all the values we want".
Hiya. The reason FM sounded so-so was probably because they are ultra low ESR, which are not recommended for after a regulator. I'm no expert at all this is just what I have read on the regulator data sheets; ultra low ESR caps can evidently increase noise and make the regulator less stable. This probably would have the effect of making the sound a little grainy from the raised noise floor?
Afraid I haven't had good luck with Silmics - to me they suck the life and soul out of everything I have tried them in and the sound never sparkles. I much prefer the Cerefines. I haven't really tried either in the power supply though. However I am sure these are low ESR too so perhaps they are not suitable either?
Interesting reading here:
http://www.acoustica.org.uk/t/3pin_reg_notes3.html
and here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/164021-pre-post-regulator-decoupling-caps.html
The caps I use have to be fairly compact as I am using one of Peter Daniel's superb Shigaclone chassis. I'll be using Rubycon ZL before the regulator, I just need to find a cap with 'normal' ESR for after the regulator. With coupling caps in signal path I have no problem tuning by ear, but with the PSU I'd rather know I am using the correct parts for lowest noise.
- John
Last edited:
Finally finished my Shigaclone a couple days back. I'd built a previous 'breadboarded' version to experiment with over a year ago. This time I wanted mine to look as good as it sounded so I got Peter to build me a Shigaclone chassis from Canadian Maple - it exceeded my expectations and is a beautifully crafted piece of work. All the mitered corners meet up exactly; this really is the work of a perfectionist and I am delighted with Peter's work on it.
Like Peter, I discovered that the transport sounds better with only one cap replaced. I'd tried MANY different caps in my first build and after 6 months of this going back to the original caps (particularly C906) restored the sound I was looking for. These caps might look cheap, but they really work well in this instance.
I thought the hardest part of the build would be cutting the LCD control panel to size, but after scoring both sides of the circuit board many times with a Stanley knife it snapped off easily. I smoothed the edges off with sandpaper then. Soldering the replacement wires into place following Peter's pictures elsewhere in this thread made things pretty simple.
For the PSU I finally decided on Rubycon ZL caps which appear to work just as well as the Black Gate Standard 1000uF/50V I was using in my first version, and which were too big to put into this chassis unfortunately.
The drive is fully complete now, though I need to build a seperate enclosure for the PSU which I shall do over the next couple weeks. I couldn't be happier with it. A big thank you to Peter for 1) coming up with this project AND sharing it with the rest of us and 2) his superb work on my chassis.
Here's some pictures - sorry they're full size. As usual couldn't get this odd BB to enlarge photos when you click on them!:
Like Peter, I discovered that the transport sounds better with only one cap replaced. I'd tried MANY different caps in my first build and after 6 months of this going back to the original caps (particularly C906) restored the sound I was looking for. These caps might look cheap, but they really work well in this instance.
I thought the hardest part of the build would be cutting the LCD control panel to size, but after scoring both sides of the circuit board many times with a Stanley knife it snapped off easily. I smoothed the edges off with sandpaper then. Soldering the replacement wires into place following Peter's pictures elsewhere in this thread made things pretty simple.
For the PSU I finally decided on Rubycon ZL caps which appear to work just as well as the Black Gate Standard 1000uF/50V I was using in my first version, and which were too big to put into this chassis unfortunately.
The drive is fully complete now, though I need to build a seperate enclosure for the PSU which I shall do over the next couple weeks. I couldn't be happier with it. A big thank you to Peter for 1) coming up with this project AND sharing it with the rest of us and 2) his superb work on my chassis.
Here's some pictures - sorry they're full size. As usual couldn't get this odd BB to enlarge photos when you click on them!:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Last edited:
God this forum is frustrating sometimes.... pics that display perfectly in other forums do not in this one i.e. one picture is large, the rest are small thumbnails, which do not do anything when clicked upon...
Just shrunk all my pictures and now I am not allowed to edit the original post to use them as you cannot edit after 30minutes! Madness!
Sorry - rant over
Just shrunk all my pictures and now I am not allowed to edit the original post to use them as you cannot edit after 30minutes! Madness!
Sorry - rant over
OK will try again here:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
JVC RC EZ-31 for sale
I bought this after reading Peter's postings, but run out of time to persuade project. Now want to sell to whom it may find useful. $75 + shipping. Primarily shipping the transport + display pcb. May (or may not) have more suppy for diyers later this year.
I bought this after reading Peter's postings, but run out of time to persuade project. Now want to sell to whom it may find useful. $75 + shipping. Primarily shipping the transport + display pcb. May (or may not) have more suppy for diyers later this year.
Attachments
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.