Teralink X2 clock mod. with Tentlabs XO

[dvb-projekt]

Hi to all.
After longer use in my own DAC project and studying the circuit, i thought about some X2 modifications.

1st was the PSU.
The +5V line is now driven by one of my +5V Salas shunt reg. modules,





witch gave a big step forward in SQ.
A 2nd shunt reg. for the 3.3V line is nearly ready to fire up.



I am really curious about this step.


2nd was the adding of an USB-Isolator between my iMac and the USB input.
You could read a small review here.

3rd step yesterday was the clock on the X2, witch i swapped to a Tentlabs HighEnd XO.

Here a short descripiton:





Desoldered original TCXO.



DIP14 socked with additional RF choke and decoupling cap.



Soldered socket.



Tentlab XO in position.


Conclusion:

All three mod. shift the SQ to a higher level and are highly recommended.

[Jogi]

H Oliver,

nice work! I also have a Teralink and was pretty underwhelmed by its performance in the beginning, but now, after burn-in and with a shunt its really nice.

Is the Tent-Clock also working with 5V?

Please tell all of us about the 3.3V shunt thng, this is also what I am planning to do, but always good when someone else can share experiences first.
I guess the ADUM chip would benefit from a shunt, too...

cheers,

Juergen

[dvb-projekt]

Hallo Jogi,

The Tentlab XO runs also with +5V, yes. So it´s very easy to integrate it on the pcb.

As we have two voltage lines in the X2 (+5V & +3.3V), i am planning to feed the +3.3V line also with one of my
shunt modules and get rid of this onboard 3.3V line regulator.

For this, the +5V shunt module must be lightly modified, as you could see on the photo above. That´s all.


Viele Grüße
Oliver

[gabanyayaya]

Originally Posted by dvb-projekt

Hallo Jogi,

The Tentlab XO runs also with +5V, yes. So it´s very easy to integrate it on the pcb.

As we have two voltage lines in the X2 (+5V & +3.3V), i am planning to feed the +3.3V line also with one of my
shunt modules and get rid of this onboard 3.3V line regulator.

For this, the +5V shunt module must be lightly modified, as you could see on the photo above. That´s all.


Viele Grüße
Oliver

hi Oliver,

I was told that for 3.3V operation for the shunt board, output cap and the cap near the trimmer can be change to 47uF and 1000uF-2000uF for better bandwidth...I did this and it works well.

heat sink is hot (60-70°C) but works fine, maybe because of the high Vi.

BTW do you have M2Tech hiface to compares with the X2 after this mod???

[dvb-projekt]

Originally Posted by gabanyayaya

BTW do you have M2Tech hiface to compares with the X2 after this mod???

Hi,

for my DAC i use only I2S input, so only the M2Tech hiface-EVO works.
I don´t have a hiface-EVO and couldn´t do this comparsion, sorry.

[Jogi]

Thanks Oliver...

Btw there is another GB from Quanghao for low voltage shunt boards, the 1,5-5V version is included. I have them here, nice and easy to work with and reasonably small, including rectification and smoothing cap. I am so happy about these Salas shunts, big big sound for small small $$$...

I would also be interested in a comparison M2tech and Teralink; biggest advantage for the Teralink is the possibility to use the Adum isolator, and it is easier to tweak, due to its size.
So far I really like the Teralink, but i do not have something to compare it to...Changing the little green 0,1µF caps in the output and the resistors for something better also gave a nice improvement. I had some nice film/foil caps and 330R/100R Takman resistors in the box, so no big deal to try out.

[gabanyayaya]

oliver

i can't see very clear the lead position of the ferrite bead and the wima caps on the adapter.

can the x2 handles 192khz/24bit data?

[dvb-projekt]

Here is the overview of the lead positions





The X2 can handle up to 96KHz/24bit.

[jeffery8341]

Hi, What a amazing work, I have an External Teradak DSIX + Re-Clock board, do you think the TXCO can be swapped like you did? Thanks.

[gabanyayaya]

Originally Posted by dvb-projekt

Here is the overview of the lead positions





The X2 can handle up to 96KHz/24bit.

thanks oliver,

BTW for this kinda mod can it be applies and implemented to every digital devices with a XO like a CDP or maybe a DAC board or any usb converter?

Regarding you USB isolator is it necessary to runs it with a Independent shunts?