I don't remember where I got it from but it was beautiful to use, probably can't get it any more 🙁
It wasn't from Lee.
It wasn't from Lee.
Farnell & RS etc still sell 60/40 tin/lead for repair work
edit: the only nice to use lead-free I've found is the Mundorf MSol, but it's 1mm thick and that's not ideal for the smt work.
Lee.
edit: the only nice to use lead-free I've found is the Mundorf MSol, but it's 1mm thick and that's not ideal for the smt work.
Lee.
I still have some 5% silver Mundorf solder you sold me, that works well but obviously it's harder to use than normal solder.
Good to know you can still buy the tin/lead mix!
Good to know you can still buy the tin/lead mix!
It's done - Polystyrene cap in - additional ground links around the dac, resistors out and new caps in.
OK, the capacitance is only 13,600 uf ( as opposed to the standard 6 ) but my god after 45 minutes it's opened out VERY noticeably in bass solidity, attack in the midrange and the highs seem well, higher.
It feels louder - if you know what I mean.
This is a big step Simon - like when I first powered the 7220 with the simple 7805.
Bloody hell - 2 caps and some wire - got any more like this up your sleeve ?
Astonished - grateful
Andrew
OK, the capacitance is only 13,600 uf ( as opposed to the standard 6 ) but my god after 45 minutes it's opened out VERY noticeably in bass solidity, attack in the midrange and the highs seem well, higher.
It feels louder - if you know what I mean.
This is a big step Simon - like when I first powered the 7220 with the simple 7805.
Bloody hell - 2 caps and some wire - got any more like this up your sleeve ?
Astonished - grateful
Andrew
I'm glad you got some good gains there too! Without a full mods list vs what I've done to mine it's hard to say if you're missing any huge things (other than the S Powers).
My sound got quite a lot smoother and more refined with better bass from upgrading thos caps.
I made another of those giant Silmic cap banks so the decoder (SAA7310) and digital filter (SAA7220) will both be treated to perhaps better smoothing. I might also put a pre-reg on each of those rails off-board. It will probably only be a modest upgrade but it will keep some regulation heat out of the player itself, which is a good thing in these old warm-running machines. The SAA7220 draws a lot of juice. The 7310 is insignificant in comparison, unlike the older and larger SAA7210 decoder chip.
Simon
My sound got quite a lot smoother and more refined with better bass from upgrading thos caps.
I made another of those giant Silmic cap banks so the decoder (SAA7310) and digital filter (SAA7220) will both be treated to perhaps better smoothing. I might also put a pre-reg on each of those rails off-board. It will probably only be a modest upgrade but it will keep some regulation heat out of the player itself, which is a good thing in these old warm-running machines. The SAA7220 draws a lot of juice. The 7310 is insignificant in comparison, unlike the older and larger SAA7210 decoder chip.
Simon
Thanks
I think your being very modest as always 🙂
I'm several transformers down, then there's your very nice output stage plus all the super regs and the very high quality clock..
The component quality plus the va and uf count is in another league compared to mine and probably most other peoples efforts too.
However, my super budget version, thanks to you, already performs well above anything I can afford.
On the 18th May 2010 you said : ' We just need to fix some (many, to be honest) problems and it will sing beautifully '
You were right -
Andrew
I think your being very modest as always 🙂
I'm several transformers down, then there's your very nice output stage plus all the super regs and the very high quality clock..
The component quality plus the va and uf count is in another league compared to mine and probably most other peoples efforts too.
However, my super budget version, thanks to you, already performs well above anything I can afford.
On the 18th May 2010 you said : ' We just need to fix some (many, to be honest) problems and it will sing beautifully '
You were right -
Andrew
Just how big was that bag of Silmics for god's sake ? 😀
Will you have them off board - I can't see where you'll put them ?
Hey, if you have 40 spare .........
Andrew
Will you have them off board - I can't see where you'll put them ?
Hey, if you have 40 spare .........
Andrew
It is a good CD player, even quite good as standard, and responds well to the work as most do. I'm not trying to be modest, and I will say my player sounds quite superb. This is no lie! I just meant to say that there are some very key mods are when those are done the laws of diminishing returns will kick in and ramp up progressively as you cram the thing full of nice regs and power supplies and clock feeds.
Perhaps there is a lot more you can do, maybe there is still quite a lot I can do too! I've not quite finished with this machine yet 😉
Funny thing is, I know this player here in front of me is a bit special but I wonder if anyone would ever believe it without doing mods themselves. I suspect not.
I feel a bit of a need to try and make it compete with friends' cd players, at least one of which is really the benchmark of how far you can go on a CDP. I don't think there's anything else like that so my efforts seem quite basic by comparison.
Perhaps there is a lot more you can do, maybe there is still quite a lot I can do too! I've not quite finished with this machine yet 😉
Funny thing is, I know this player here in front of me is a bit special but I wonder if anyone would ever believe it without doing mods themselves. I suspect not.
I feel a bit of a need to try and make it compete with friends' cd players, at least one of which is really the benchmark of how far you can go on a CDP. I don't think there's anything else like that so my efforts seem quite basic by comparison.
That's like ....a skip, not a bag !!
I read your friends list of mods on his website and it is kind of breathtaking.
He has the resource and the knowledge to shove everything in - including the sink and taps - must be nice.
I have some new friends through this site who are very focused on discrete ps for everything inside their players - DAC, 7310, 7220 etc
They are implementing their own designs and turning modest Marantz machines into killers - one has even taken the guts out and made his own wooden case and made the transport a top loader....is this the way forward ?
Like, no metal case and total mass loaded isolation ?
I like this idea and understand the argument.
One of them is a very keen advocate of DEM re clocking and is pushing me to have a go.........me ?
Without pictures ? Impossible 🙂
I may leave the DEM bit alone but discrete ps, wood and top loading - I can do that.
Hey, your good with timber
Just a thought
Andrew
I read your friends list of mods on his website and it is kind of breathtaking.
He has the resource and the knowledge to shove everything in - including the sink and taps - must be nice.
I have some new friends through this site who are very focused on discrete ps for everything inside their players - DAC, 7310, 7220 etc
They are implementing their own designs and turning modest Marantz machines into killers - one has even taken the guts out and made his own wooden case and made the transport a top loader....is this the way forward ?
Like, no metal case and total mass loaded isolation ?
I like this idea and understand the argument.
One of them is a very keen advocate of DEM re clocking and is pushing me to have a go.........me ?
Without pictures ? Impossible 🙂
I may leave the DEM bit alone but discrete ps, wood and top loading - I can do that.
Hey, your good with timber
Just a thought
Andrew
That pic is obscene - a moderator needs to look at that and remove it.
All those Black Gates......pah....lottery winners🙄
All those Black Gates......pah....lottery winners🙄
Simon. I'd try one of those big psu's for the dac supply rather than the decoder, unless you already have something tasty on those.
Lee.
Lee.
Andrew, there are no BGs in my pic and no lottery winner here! The dark caps are just Cerafines mostly, red also Cerafine and Brown 99% Elna Silmics.
Lee, the DAC has just been treated to 2 x 22,000uF Si caps, and its psu is onboard so that's all that will fit. Likewise clock and RAM supplies are also onboard.
Only decoder, filter, output stage and servo driver supplies are external. Servo runs on Myltics I think and output stage on F&T (all the same basically and good).
Lee, the DAC has just been treated to 2 x 22,000uF Si caps, and its psu is onboard so that's all that will fit. Likewise clock and RAM supplies are also onboard.
Only decoder, filter, output stage and servo driver supplies are external. Servo runs on Myltics I think and output stage on F&T (all the same basically and good).
Excellent stuff Simon. Silmics can sound good, but you need to parallel them like that imho.
Lee.
Lee.
Well I've connected up the two banks of 20 Silmics. It fits in the external psu just fine after a minor re-jigging. I'm going to try CRC filtering as Lee suggested to me in private. I will simply place a series resistor from each cap bank leading to another, smaller bunch of Silmics. I've not worked out exactly what value the resistors should be but I'll start with a bit of trial and error looking for a reasonable voltage drop.
Alright, here we go. I finished my CRC supplies for decoder and digital filter.
It goes like this. Decoder: 20 x 470u > 10 x 33R 1/2W in series > 10 x 470u
Digital filter: 20 x 470u > 3 x 18R 5W in series > 10 x 470u
Each supply drops about 7-9V across the resistors. The resistors get warm but are over-rated quite heavily (I actually did some basic maths for once).
The regulators now have to regulate less and have a supply surely almost completely devoid of any ripple. Hopefully the player will run a bit cooler inside, with more heat spread into the psu box, which was previously quite cool-running. Curiously the bridge rectifier that powers the digital filter supply now gets warm to the touch.
It goes like this. Decoder: 20 x 470u > 10 x 33R 1/2W in series > 10 x 470u
Digital filter: 20 x 470u > 3 x 18R 5W in series > 10 x 470u
Each supply drops about 7-9V across the resistors. The resistors get warm but are over-rated quite heavily (I actually did some basic maths for once).
The regulators now have to regulate less and have a supply surely almost completely devoid of any ripple. Hopefully the player will run a bit cooler inside, with more heat spread into the psu box, which was previously quite cool-running. Curiously the bridge rectifier that powers the digital filter supply now gets warm to the touch.
Attachments
That looks really neat and tidy in there and your caps look like works of art.
What does it sound like ?
What does it sound like ?
Thanks Andrew, it's not that neat, just neat enough to be sure it works properly and won't fail.
I've been listening most evening and it seems to have improved matters. The sound seems more dynamic and detailed with deeper bass and a smoother midrange.
Combined with the cap upgrades on my DAC chip and also in my preamp and my bass power amp the gains are substantial! Diana Krall sounds magnificent right now!
I've been listening most evening and it seems to have improved matters. The sound seems more dynamic and detailed with deeper bass and a smoother midrange.
Combined with the cap upgrades on my DAC chip and also in my preamp and my bass power amp the gains are substantial! Diana Krall sounds magnificent right now!
Blimey - just when you think you may have maxed out you then find ' more '
I'm glad all that effort paid off for you.
I won't be able to try it sadly but hey, I'm still gob smacked by the bigger caps on the DAC tbh
....and it was so cheap to do !!
I like those ones
I'm glad all that effort paid off for you.
I won't be able to try it sadly but hey, I'm still gob smacked by the bigger caps on the DAC tbh
....and it was so cheap to do !!
I like those ones
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