| Puffin |
I have seen so much dedicated to the "modding the Trends" thread (having posted on it and now receive prompts) that I cannot understand why more of you have not modded the Kensington S2000 i-pod dock.
Check out the "is this the cheapest T-Amp in U.K" or something similar and get along to you nearest Richer Sounds. I have 4 modded S.I's a Trends 10.1 and a Teac Tripath amp. My amp of choice is the modded Kensington (and yes I left the tiny inductors as standard !) |
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| filholder |
| Do you mean the SX2000 with the intergrated NX panel speaker? Have you got any pictures of the pcb? Which tripath chip does it use sounds very interesting. |
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| audio1st |
| I have just finished modding the Kensington. With all the parts and case it will end up costing about £60. |
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| audio1st |
| I even managed to use the i pod docking part.. |
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| Lostcause |
| quote: | Originally posted by audio1st
I even managed to use the i pod docking part.. |
Tidy job there Barry:cool: |
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| Puffin |
| Audio1st. I see you have wound your own inductors. I replaced the inductors with some between 8uh and 10uh. It didn't like them and gave me a load of distortion. What values are your's ? |
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| Lostcause |
Not so much as what value..... as what material;)
Those are toroids and probably of a ferrite that is more suitable than the stock bobbins I would imagine.... ?
Possibly a Fair-Rite blend.......;) |
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| Puffin |
| I have reduced the original windings from 11 to 4. Job done! |
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| audio1st |
The inductor cores came from Farnell, I can't find the part number, but it was given to me by lostcause (Lee).
16 turns of 24 swg wire give just over 10uH, I have also used them in the SI t-amp and have not noticed any distortion with either. |
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| Puffin |
Audio1st. It would be of help if you were to describe the mods you have done to yours. and where the power now comes in at and the inputs. It looks like you have a trimmer (is this on the input side ?)
A view of the underside of the board would be helpful. |
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| audio1st |
| Just for you Puffin..;) |
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| audio1st |
| Trimmers are just for basic DC offset control.. |
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| Puffin |
Audio1st. Many thanks for your reply. It has occurred to me that as the input goes in at the same place, is it simply a matter of reducing the overall size of the pcb, or does chopping it in half result in better sound quality ?
I assume that the picture you produced for me shows the Auricaps for illustration purposes only, and that the SCR caps on the previous picture are one on top and one underneath the board ?
It also appears that there may be a connection where C37 & C38 (next to the end of the SCR cap) were removed ?
Sorry so many questions, but finally.. i assume that the C54 & C55 100uf are not needed as these have been removed. |
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| audio1st |
| quote: | | Audio1st. Many thanks for your reply. It has occurred to me that as the input goes in at the same place, is it simply a matter of reducing the overall size of the pcb, or does chopping it in half result in better sound quality ? |
Just so it fits in the case..
| quote: | | I assume that the picture you produced for me shows the Auricaps for illustration purposes only, and that the SCR caps on the previous picture are one on top and one underneath the board ? |
Correct..
| quote: | | It also appears that there may be a connection where C37 & C38 (next to the end of the SCR cap) were removed ? |
No connection between C37 & C38, just between the SCR cap and the board..
| quote: | | Sorry so many questions, but finally.. i assume that the C54 & C55 100uf are not needed as these have been removed. |
Correct again..
The attatched picture shows an impression of a better board layout if you cut it even smaller..(as Lee did).. |
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| Puffin |
| Audio1st. Many thanks. |
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| Lazycarton |
(form Puffin). After messing with my amp I seem to have a short somewhere. The stock SMPS has a fault facility and the LED flashes and seems to only supply about 2-3 volts. The supply is not stable and is constantly rising and falling. I have not done anything apart from hard-wiring the inductors to the diodes, where the original tracks disintegrated. Any ideas anyone ?
I'll post a pic if it helps, but the thing looks anything but pretty now! |
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| audio1st |
I have just finished the basics on a second board which is fully cut down.
Be very careful if you change the inductors, to much heat and the tracks will disappear. The inductors need to make contact with both sides of the board. |
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| audio1st |
| I didn't bother with the DC offset cct with this one ( +5mV &-20mV ) low enough to ignore. |
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| Lostcause |
Hi Audio1st, I dont know if it makes a difference but the ferites I used last time were these:
Fair-rite
Dont know the ferroxcube ones at all but I remember seeing them on an old thread about tripath inductors.... are they as good as the Fair-rites? |
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| audio1st |
Hi Lee, that's why I couldn't find them at Farnells, it was RS that I must have got the last lot from :cannotbe: .
I am just running it in at the moment with old speakers, so I have no idea if it is better yet.
The old ferrites needed 12 turns and the new ones need 18, I have no idea if it is better to have more or less turns for the desired 10uH. It's all trial and error for me :confused: |
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| Lostcause |
Ahhhh:D
Well I'm no expert but that could mean they will saturate easier at higher currents... having a lower permeability... . hope not mate:cannotbe:
Anyway, that link I posted seems to go astray so if you look for fair-rite, 5961000201 on RS then those are the ones.
If you can fit them in then go for the 5961000301 it's perfect for a sonic but may be a little big for this board..
In fact, on my Charlize I changed them to larger cores (5961004901 same material) to ensure there is no saturation at higher listening levels. probably overkill
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| Lazycarton |
| Thanks Audio1st. I didnt realise that the inductors had to make contact with both sides of the board. I will give it another go, but fear the board is a bit buggered ! |
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