Hi.
I have Just bought CA AZUR 540R V2. Very well sounding AV amp.
It sounds good - Like in most reviews. Plenty of power, bas, thick sound.
But – there is some loss of detail and space. Especially compared to my moded Musical Fidelity A2 (but I must admit that it sounds superb).
I have a schematic for 540R and it is quite clear why there is a loss of detail (especially on analog stereo input).
It seems that every analog input – except 6.1 CH DIRECT (which goes straight to VOLUME CONTROL) –
is going Through DSP > D/A>OPAMP>VOLUME CONTROL > AMP.
From the schematic I have found that signal from D/A is entering very weak opamps JRC2068.
I want to replace them with AD8620 /AD8066 which are detailed and fast. I would probably go with the 8620 since it is more stable.
Next thing is there are four! 10uF capacitors in the signal path. Which is a LOT. The worst part is that those caps are really cheap stuff. Samaxon I thing. Piece of crap. I want to replace them with BlackGate to increase detail, top end etc.
I would like to remove 2 of 4 of these capacitors from signal path. I did this to my previous DENON AVR 3801 with superb results (more clarity, refined sound, great space and detail). But it was a little different design.
1. I would like to remove and short caps after opamp especially (I guess I have to measure DC at the output of the opamp and check is it safe > my question is how much DC is “safe” at the output of the opa to remove the caps C6 / C5?
2. Caps C7/C8 I would like to short but at the pdf of the volume chip there are required – so I would replace these with BlackGate.
3. C17/C18 – caps after volume control… signal goes from C17/C18 directly to amp through caps C1/C18 – a litte too much I think. Which cap is safer to remove? C17/C18 or C1/C18 – how much DC is allowed on the output of the volume control to do this? Is a value of 10mV safe to remove C17/C18?
Thank you very much for reply. I have done it at the past and it is WORTH IT. I like this amp but I now It can be better.
The main thing is to remove at least 2 caps from the signal path – after this it will sing!
Thanks for your help and advice!
I have Just bought CA AZUR 540R V2. Very well sounding AV amp.
It sounds good - Like in most reviews. Plenty of power, bas, thick sound.
But – there is some loss of detail and space. Especially compared to my moded Musical Fidelity A2 (but I must admit that it sounds superb).
I have a schematic for 540R and it is quite clear why there is a loss of detail (especially on analog stereo input).
It seems that every analog input – except 6.1 CH DIRECT (which goes straight to VOLUME CONTROL) –
is going Through DSP > D/A>OPAMP>VOLUME CONTROL > AMP.
From the schematic I have found that signal from D/A is entering very weak opamps JRC2068.
I want to replace them with AD8620 /AD8066 which are detailed and fast. I would probably go with the 8620 since it is more stable.
Next thing is there are four! 10uF capacitors in the signal path. Which is a LOT. The worst part is that those caps are really cheap stuff. Samaxon I thing. Piece of crap. I want to replace them with BlackGate to increase detail, top end etc.
I would like to remove 2 of 4 of these capacitors from signal path. I did this to my previous DENON AVR 3801 with superb results (more clarity, refined sound, great space and detail). But it was a little different design.
1. I would like to remove and short caps after opamp especially (I guess I have to measure DC at the output of the opamp and check is it safe > my question is how much DC is “safe” at the output of the opa to remove the caps C6 / C5?
2. Caps C7/C8 I would like to short but at the pdf of the volume chip there are required – so I would replace these with BlackGate.
3. C17/C18 – caps after volume control… signal goes from C17/C18 directly to amp through caps C1/C18 – a litte too much I think. Which cap is safer to remove? C17/C18 or C1/C18 – how much DC is allowed on the output of the volume control to do this? Is a value of 10mV safe to remove C17/C18?
Thank you very much for reply. I have done it at the past and it is WORTH IT. I like this amp but I now It can be better.
The main thing is to remove at least 2 caps from the signal path – after this it will sing!
Thanks for your help and advice!
Attachments
Last edited:
Hi Sviru,
I am expecting my 540r v2 to arrive any day now and was interested enough by your post to register here. I have little experience with electronics but maybe a reply is better than none at all.
Are you only considering making the changes for the front left and right channels (stereo) or did you only show these for simplicity?
Regarding the safety of removing caps from shock point of view, as long as you are down below 5V say, you should be fine. If in doubt, carry on draining them. 10mV certainly should be fine. Don't take me on this but I believe you are only likely to see capacitors holding a charge of hundreds of volts in a tube amp?? Best to measure first anyway.
Would experimenting with lower values of capacitors not be a good idea before removing them completely? A change of brand is likely to help but surely bigger differences will be made in changing the cap's value.
The opamp. . . is the function of this to stabilise the voltage of the analogue signal to line level, like a recovery stage?
I believe the main problem with high DC on the volume control is that it can make scratchy sounds as the volume knob is turned.
I would be interested to hear more from you on how the changes have worked for the amp.
I am expecting my 540r v2 to arrive any day now and was interested enough by your post to register here. I have little experience with electronics but maybe a reply is better than none at all.
Are you only considering making the changes for the front left and right channels (stereo) or did you only show these for simplicity?
Regarding the safety of removing caps from shock point of view, as long as you are down below 5V say, you should be fine. If in doubt, carry on draining them. 10mV certainly should be fine. Don't take me on this but I believe you are only likely to see capacitors holding a charge of hundreds of volts in a tube amp?? Best to measure first anyway.
Would experimenting with lower values of capacitors not be a good idea before removing them completely? A change of brand is likely to help but surely bigger differences will be made in changing the cap's value.
The opamp. . . is the function of this to stabilise the voltage of the analogue signal to line level, like a recovery stage?
I believe the main problem with high DC on the volume control is that it can make scratchy sounds as the volume knob is turned.
I would be interested to hear more from you on how the changes have worked for the amp.
Hi all,
I came across this thread while looking for full schematics of the 540R v2 - in the hope that I could use it to understand and fix the cause of a problem I have with bass management (no cut-off on either FR/FL or SW, whatever the settings, and full pass-through of the fronts into the SW out).
The circuit diagram that sviru posted contains a partial view of the DSP board, which I believe to be the one I want. Would anyone know where I could find the full thing?
Oh, and by the way, I'd be very interested in the result of the caps' changes It would be silly not to try and improve the amp's sound while it's spread out and the iron's hot...
I came across this thread while looking for full schematics of the 540R v2 - in the hope that I could use it to understand and fix the cause of a problem I have with bass management (no cut-off on either FR/FL or SW, whatever the settings, and full pass-through of the fronts into the SW out).
The circuit diagram that sviru posted contains a partial view of the DSP board, which I believe to be the one I want. Would anyone know where I could find the full thing?
Oh, and by the way, I'd be very interested in the result of the caps' changes It would be silly not to try and improve the amp's sound while it's spread out and the iron's hot...
You'll find a service manual at Cambridge Audio Azur 540R Manual - AM/FM Audio Video Receiver - HiFi Engine You'll need to register (free).
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am interested in buying one of these and making improvements. As the thread founder isn't around, I was wondering if anyone can comment on his proposed mods and suggest where I should be careful or use a different approach.
I downloaded the schematics from the above link.
Much appreciated!
I downloaded the schematics from the above link.
Much appreciated!
Looking a little closer at sviru's schematics the caps do look a little strange. If we take the FR channel as an example, C6/C7 seem to form a back to back pair, with a trimpot in between. I also fail to see any new, DC injection danger before the power amp input at C18 (power amp). I am far from expert, but surely this is overkill. replacement of all of these with a single MKP looks as if it would do the same job from a coupling perspective.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.