Hotrodding the UCD modules

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#641
Yep those are the same I had. I find they're wholy responsible for the peaky thin sound, with the FC's being and immediate improvement but seem to get a little better in the high's after breaking in. Smaller value likely to have less bass, but a little faster.

My CRD's are on the way.. they cost me a small fortune :xeye:

I have the UCD180 and so you're likely not able to use the same output cap as me.

It's a 470nF 50Vdc film&polypropelyne high stability 1% tolerance Panasonic for "dolby and oscillator" circuits with a lead pitch of 12.5mm.

It's not available at greater value than 470nF, and they're too big to use two in parallel, won't fit on the top of the board, voltage too small for the 400 too. It's right on the edge for the 180, not even sure if it can take it yet. I'll let you know tonight.

I use 4ohm speakers and so I wanted to try a smaller value than 680nF anyway to give it a flatter response in the upper frequency range. It's also likely to increase switching frequency and certainly going to increase EMI... so we'll see if my gamble pays off.

Regards,
Chris
 
#642
classd4sure said:
Yep those are the same I had. I find they're wholy responsible for the peaky thin sound, with the FC's being and immediate improvement but seem to get a little better in the high's after breaking in. Smaller value likely to have less bass, but a little faster.

My CRD's are on the way.. they cost me a small fortune :xeye:

I have the UCD180 and so you're likely not able to use the same output cap as me.

It's a 470nF 50Vdc film&polypropelyne high stability 1% tolerance Panasonic for "dolby and oscillator" circuits with a lead pitch of 12.5mm.

It's not available at greater value than 470nF, and they're too big to use two in parallel, won't fit on the top of the board, voltage too small for the 400 too. It's right on the edge for the 180, not even sure if it can take it yet. I'll let you know tonight.

I use 4ohm speakers and so I wanted to try a smaller value than 680nF anyway to give it a flatter response in the upper frequency range. It's also likely to increase switching frequency and certainly going to increase EMI... so we'll see if my gamble pays off.

Regards,
Chris
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The CRD's cost a small fortune😕 well I just hope they prove to be worth it for you, I know they made a big difference for me but you know how it is with this hobby😉

I'll hold off with my order for the FC's and output cap until you have tried the 470nf if you already have them, it seems everybody hears a big difference when changing those caps so good luck!
 
#643
If you think you want to try and get away with a 50V cap on the 400.. I think that's really pushing it but I guess it depends on what your rails are, and how heavy your finger is on the volume.

I have them sitting here and will be trying it out on one module today, so you won't have to wait too long.

Would have tried it already but I wanted to hear what the FC's would do on their own first.

I'll give you a full report even before they break in.

Regards,
Chris
 
#644
classd4sure said:
If you think you want to try and get away with a 50V cap on the 400.. I think that's really pushing it but I guess it depends on what your rails are, and how heavy your finger is on the volume.

I have them sitting here and will be trying it out on one module today, so you won't have to wait too long.

Would have tried it already but I wanted to hear what the FC's would do on their own first.

I'll give you a full report even before they break in.

Regards,
Chris
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Nice one! cheers Chris😎
Well I have the UCD180's and I don't need to push it hard to be honest, even my tube amp has no problems driving my speakers loud, my UCD's bass has never been as deep as my AvondaleNCC200 modules (both amps are tight and controlled) but hopefully the higher value decoupling caps will help
I'm also hoping the output caps are going to make as much difference as what people report so will look forward to reading your opinion🙂
 
#646
classd4sure said:
AAAaahhhhh. I thought the dual footprint for the 5mm and 7.5mm filter cap was only on the UCD400. They must have changed it.

Have a look at my new toy while you await my report.

ECQ-P1H474FZW

http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Panasonic/Web Photos/New Photos/ECQ-PZ SERIES 26.0H,22.5L.jpg

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/components/pdf/abd0000ce16.pdf

No drooling!
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None inductive, tight tolerance, thats good! the sizes are smaller than most polypropylenes too
Right, I'll leave you alone for a while and have a browse on RS and Farnell😀
 
#648
classd4sure said:



Hmmmm, take that non inductive bit with huge grain of salt 🙄

It's a pretty honking big cap btw, but it isn't metallized. OK, in it goes.

Cheers
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Hey! its much smaller than any of the 470/680nf caps I have especially these Audyn KP-SN's I've got
Either way its got to be better than that bog standard yellow polyester thats currently in there🙂
 
#649
ok, while I read all this good stuff about the cap mauds, has anyone who has the UCD with an AD8620 in there, just short out the imput caps, and see what sound you get? Without the caps in the circuit, it would definitely tell you how much of an influence they make. I know when I will be getting my modules one of these days, the imput caps will go away. The offset voltages on the AD8620 are small enough, they won't hurt anything at all. Obviously, you have to be somewhat careful what is upstream.

Ray
 
#650
ray bronk said:
ok, while I read all this good stuff about the cap mauds, has anyone who has the UCD with an AD8620 in there, just short out the imput caps, and see what sound you get? Without the caps in the circuit, it would definitely tell you how much of an influence they make. I know when I will be getting my modules one of these days, the imput caps will go away. The offset voltages on the AD8620 are small enough, they won't hurt anything at all. Obviously, you have to be somewhat careful what is upstream.

Ray
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Long time ago Ray, but you also have to watch the DC present on your source. Well worth doing.
 
#651
I vaguely remember. but since this thread is so big, it would seem like a fairly good idea to try, just because of the memory factor. I think after pulling the caps, shorting out the place where the caps were, then try and see what would happen. Then if the sound character was the same, you'd have a pretty good idea of which caps to use. If the caps were put back in, the sound should not change that much. So much for any ideas on that.

Ray
 
#652
ray bronk said:
I vaguely remember. but since this thread is so big, it would seem like a fairly good idea to try, just because of the memory factor. I think after pulling the caps, shorting out the place where the caps were, then try and see what would happen. Then if the sound character was the same, you'd have a pretty good idea of which caps to use. If the caps were put back in, the sound should not change that much. So much for any ideas on that.

Ray
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Ray,

You really ought to read the thread.

No cap will sound like a piece of wire but if you have to use a cap, use a good film cap. I went to great lenghts so that I could DC couple instead. Obviously superior.

Regards,
Chris
 
#659
Yep they are. Just like all the other caps on the board, including the FC's.

I guess anything else can be considered unobtanium?

I mounted in the original hole of the stock cap and soldered the other side to the ground pin. Doesn't seem to have increased EMI in any noticeable way, and the AM radio still works right next to it.

Without it even having had much to break in I find it was a most excellent choice. Pat myself on the back.

It's very dynamic and clean, leaves the stock cap in the dust next to it, really sounds like you're there. Microdetail is excellent, the highs are very natural but crystal, razor sharp, nothing sounding peaky or muffled.. Just an excellent combination.

I'm also very pleased with my choice to go with a 470nF, well worth it, and I can highly recommend for all the 180 owners.

Regards,
Chris
 
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