Hi
Have an original Alpha CD Player which works well.
The power supply / transformer buzzes, well one of them does.
A bit like a wasp inside the box.
I've had the lid off and powered it up to identify where it's coming from.
No buzzing through speakers and it's sounds fine.
It's just the annoying - any ideas ?
I wouldn't mind taking it offboard and using toroids instead so if anyone has tried this please let me know.
Many thanks
Andrew😕
Have an original Alpha CD Player which works well.
The power supply / transformer buzzes, well one of them does.
A bit like a wasp inside the box.
I've had the lid off and powered it up to identify where it's coming from.
No buzzing through speakers and it's sounds fine.
It's just the annoying - any ideas ?
I wouldn't mind taking it offboard and using toroids instead so if anyone has tried this please let me know.
Many thanks
Andrew😕
Hey, thanks
What a perfect reply - this has never happened before !
It was the smaller of the two transformers that seemed to be buzzing
and when I pressed down on it a bit with a screwdriver it seemed to stop !
You are brilliant !
OK, I can do that.....but what about a few extra tips on tweaks and upgrades?
The unit as standard seems so much stronger in bass resolution than my modded Arcam Alpha 5 plus - which was upsetting at first !!!
So I'm thinking of clocking it and changing op amps and maybe moving the PS offboard + damping etc and ps smoothing caps upgrades.
I'm confident enough with this kind of thing now I've done the AA5 plus.
Anything I missed, any of the above a waste of time ?
I'm really pleased with it - did not expect it to be so good.
Must be some extra I can wring out of it.
Really.......thanks for the reply
Andrew😀
What a perfect reply - this has never happened before !
It was the smaller of the two transformers that seemed to be buzzing
and when I pressed down on it a bit with a screwdriver it seemed to stop !
You are brilliant !
OK, I can do that.....but what about a few extra tips on tweaks and upgrades?
The unit as standard seems so much stronger in bass resolution than my modded Arcam Alpha 5 plus - which was upsetting at first !!!
So I'm thinking of clocking it and changing op amps and maybe moving the PS offboard + damping etc and ps smoothing caps upgrades.
I'm confident enough with this kind of thing now I've done the AA5 plus.
Anything I missed, any of the above a waste of time ?
I'm really pleased with it - did not expect it to be so good.
Must be some extra I can wring out of it.
Really.......thanks for the reply
Andrew😀
The sort of modifications you might consider for your Alpha are the same as many other players, especially Philips based ones. You might want to have a look at threads for other, similar players which are more common, such as the Philips CD650. Of the top of my head, some worthwhile ideas:
- Replace all of the electrolytic capacitors in the player (some with standard grade replacements, some low impedance, som ultra low impedance)
- Install an aftermarket low jitter clock
- Replace the four output op-amps
- Install damping on the chassis
Give me a yell if you want to know more detail on any of these. I have done some of the above modifications to my Alpha, but not all of them.
Note that some standard upgrades, such as seperate power supplies and removal of the muting transistors do not apply to this player. Arcam fixed those problems already.
Anton
- Replace all of the electrolytic capacitors in the player (some with standard grade replacements, some low impedance, som ultra low impedance)
- Install an aftermarket low jitter clock
- Replace the four output op-amps
- Install damping on the chassis
Give me a yell if you want to know more detail on any of these. I have done some of the above modifications to my Alpha, but not all of them.
Note that some standard upgrades, such as seperate power supplies and removal of the muting transistors do not apply to this player. Arcam fixed those problems already.
Anton
Thank you
So, leave the transformers where they are, damp and change caps and op amps and do the clock😀😀. That's ok for me as a novice.
Any suggestions on op amps ?
I tried two variations of Audio GD discrete ouput stages and used OPA 627's in I/V stage of the alpha 5 +. Did the clock, ps caps and non oversampling conversion and it was better. I did most of the work at the same time and marvelled at the air and vocals improvements but never really understood which upgrade did what.
Then I drop in the old Alpha and my jaw drops - like ' where did that bass come from ' ?
It isn't bloated in your face stuff, it's just really excellent all round.
I'll get started soon and let you know how it goes.
Many thanks again
Andrew 😀
So, leave the transformers where they are, damp and change caps and op amps and do the clock😀😀. That's ok for me as a novice.
Any suggestions on op amps ?
I tried two variations of Audio GD discrete ouput stages and used OPA 627's in I/V stage of the alpha 5 +. Did the clock, ps caps and non oversampling conversion and it was better. I did most of the work at the same time and marvelled at the air and vocals improvements but never really understood which upgrade did what.
Then I drop in the old Alpha and my jaw drops - like ' where did that bass come from ' ?
It isn't bloated in your face stuff, it's just really excellent all round.
I'll get started soon and let you know how it goes.
Many thanks again
Andrew 😀
Good stuff.
I'll be on with it next week - thanks for your time on this.
Love those compact power amps - love to know more about them.
Next up for me is a pair of point to point wired 3886 mono's - more of a test of my ability this time and my patience - which I lack sometimes.
I have four chips which I got for free from nat semi. Nervous a bit but hey,
the hobby has a bit of a hold on me these days.
I'm chasing the memory of my past but very clean and dynamic NAIM audio system of years ago. It'll never happen but I'll die trying !!
Cheers
Andrew
I'll be on with it next week - thanks for your time on this.
Love those compact power amps - love to know more about them.
Next up for me is a pair of point to point wired 3886 mono's - more of a test of my ability this time and my patience - which I lack sometimes.
I have four chips which I got for free from nat semi. Nervous a bit but hey,
the hobby has a bit of a hold on me these days.
I'm chasing the memory of my past but very clean and dynamic NAIM audio system of years ago. It'll never happen but I'll die trying !!
Cheers
Andrew
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