OK, here it is. I've finished my TP-60 mod. Just to be clear, as stated before, It's the new version.
During the mod process I've decided to change the original mod list. The actual mod list is as follows: (I will comment below each topic)
- Replace original pot with a 21 step SMD stepped attenuator
Major difference in SQ! as mentioned by other members, the original pot is not balanced for R/L. Also, mine was also a bit noisy. It was a perfect fit. The feel of the stepped att is just great too!
- Replace input caps with Auricap Xo
A bit difficult to fit. You can nottice the size difference! Great sounding cap IMO.
- Replace PSU caps with Nishicon KW and Panasonic FM (the original ones are Nishicon FW. Not bad!)
Simple as that
- Eliminate PCB on the back plate (soldering the new wiring directly to the plugs)
This was a pain! The original posts were very short and could not receive the bare wire (designed to be soldered on a PCB). I had to order new ones and make them fit!
- Replace input cable from RCAs to board with silversonic interconnect
no more connectors in the way!
- Replace output cables with Kimber speaker cable
Same here
- Replace main AC cable cables with Furutech
Same here.
- Solder trans cables directly to board, eliminating connectors
Again!
- General improvements on cooling
Originally, the Tripath had NO THERMAL COMPOUND between it and it's heat sink!!! Added extra heat sinks and replaced thermal pads with better and bigger ones. Before the mod, the smaller sink got really hot.
Regarding differences in sound, I believe there is no way for me to say it, because when new, I only turned it on to test, and did not have time to break it in or to listen to it properly. Although I can compare it to the old version TP-60. The new one (modded) has a richer sound, with a quieter background. The bass is deeper and more extended. Love the highs too. Overall it is a much better amp indeed. I am very happy with the mod and just LOVE this amp!!!
I would say without a doubt that it sounds like a good $2K SS amp.
Here are some pics. Hope you like it.
Gg
During the mod process I've decided to change the original mod list. The actual mod list is as follows: (I will comment below each topic)
- Replace original pot with a 21 step SMD stepped attenuator
Major difference in SQ! as mentioned by other members, the original pot is not balanced for R/L. Also, mine was also a bit noisy. It was a perfect fit. The feel of the stepped att is just great too!
- Replace input caps with Auricap Xo
A bit difficult to fit. You can nottice the size difference! Great sounding cap IMO.
- Replace PSU caps with Nishicon KW and Panasonic FM (the original ones are Nishicon FW. Not bad!)
Simple as that
- Eliminate PCB on the back plate (soldering the new wiring directly to the plugs)
This was a pain! The original posts were very short and could not receive the bare wire (designed to be soldered on a PCB). I had to order new ones and make them fit!
- Replace input cable from RCAs to board with silversonic interconnect
no more connectors in the way!
- Replace output cables with Kimber speaker cable
Same here
- Replace main AC cable cables with Furutech
Same here.
- Solder trans cables directly to board, eliminating connectors
Again!
- General improvements on cooling
Originally, the Tripath had NO THERMAL COMPOUND between it and it's heat sink!!! Added extra heat sinks and replaced thermal pads with better and bigger ones. Before the mod, the smaller sink got really hot.
Regarding differences in sound, I believe there is no way for me to say it, because when new, I only turned it on to test, and did not have time to break it in or to listen to it properly. Although I can compare it to the old version TP-60. The new one (modded) has a richer sound, with a quieter background. The bass is deeper and more extended. Love the highs too. Overall it is a much better amp indeed. I am very happy with the mod and just LOVE this amp!!!
I would say without a doubt that it sounds like a good $2K SS amp.
Here are some pics. Hope you like it.
Gg
Attachments
Thank you dakku.
As I said, I believe there is no way for me to say it, because when new, I only turned it on to test, and did not have time to break it in or to listen to it properly. Although I can compare it to the old version TP-60. The new one (modded) has a richer sound, with a quieter background. The bass is deeper and more extended. Love the highs too. Overall it is a much better amp indeed.
As I said, I believe there is no way for me to say it, because when new, I only turned it on to test, and did not have time to break it in or to listen to it properly. Although I can compare it to the old version TP-60. The new one (modded) has a richer sound, with a quieter background. The bass is deeper and more extended. Love the highs too. Overall it is a much better amp indeed.
Hard to say, because when the case is closed, both heatsinks make contact with the chassi via a very thick thermal pad stack. So when the case is closed, it is impossible to measure the temps (without drilling a hole).
With the case open, the smaller sink gets really hot! Too hot to my liking.
I've added thermal paste to the Tripath's sink and glued the extra sinks with thermal glue.
The thermal pads that contact the sinks to the chassis were replaced by higher quality 5mm pads, cut so now they make contact with the entire area of the sinks.
I feel better now, nowing that the ICs will run cooler. For me, if it is too hot to the touch, it's too hot. Don't matter what the data sheet says. hehe
With the case open, the smaller sink gets really hot! Too hot to my liking.
I've added thermal paste to the Tripath's sink and glued the extra sinks with thermal glue.
The thermal pads that contact the sinks to the chassis were replaced by higher quality 5mm pads, cut so now they make contact with the entire area of the sinks.
I feel better now, nowing that the ICs will run cooler. For me, if it is too hot to the touch, it's too hot. Don't matter what the data sheet says. hehe
Not at all, as far as I know, there is no part number. apparently there is just one guy selling it on ebay. Took me a long time to find. I don't know if I will break the law here but here is the link to it: Dact Type 21 Stepped Attenuator Volume 10K for Preamp | eBay
*edit: the link does not work. just search for DACT Type 21 Stepped Attenuator on ebay. you can't miss.
this one is 10K (only for the new version). The old version uses 50K (the same guy has it).
My apologies to the moderators if this is not allowed.
Yeah, I already ordered the att for the old one too!
*edit: the link does not work. just search for DACT Type 21 Stepped Attenuator on ebay. you can't miss.
this one is 10K (only for the new version). The old version uses 50K (the same guy has it).
My apologies to the moderators if this is not allowed.
Yeah, I already ordered the att for the old one too!
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I already was thinking about that. But oke, I just need to solder pins. That not a problem. The obbligato's might be a problem. There is indeed not so much space and the obbligato's are longer than the Auricap's. About 20mm longer. But in diameter the obbligato's are smaller. Will see if it fits. Otherwise I will put some Sonicap caps that I still have.
I don't think I'm going the change the wiring. Too much work and maybe questionable results. But changing caps and installing the stepped atts will probably give better SQ.
Great thread and nice pictures you made of the mods!
I don't think I'm going the change the wiring. Too much work and maybe questionable results. But changing caps and installing the stepped atts will probably give better SQ.
Great thread and nice pictures you made of the mods!
B.tw. does anybody know where to get Le Clanché PPM MKP caps? I've got 2 and I really love the sound of these caps. Plus they are in comparison with other caps quite small. But it seems to be hard to find a couple Le Clanché caps.
Probably because it is actually a cap used for industrial applications. It seems that Le Clanché doesn't sell them directly to individual buyers. Only business to business and most likely in large quantities.
So can anybody help me out with a couple of Le Clanché caps, preferably between 2,2 and 3,0uF?
Probably because it is actually a cap used for industrial applications. It seems that Le Clanché doesn't sell them directly to individual buyers. Only business to business and most likely in large quantities.
So can anybody help me out with a couple of Le Clanché caps, preferably between 2,2 and 3,0uF?
Finally received the stepped attenuator. So started to desolder the pot meter and standard caps. Put in stepped attenuator and the obbligato caps.
The caps improved the sound. But the stepped attenuator. I can't understand that you, GGmesquita, said this wil improve sound quality! It's noisy as hell! The pops when turning up/down the volume. Right and left are not balanced or al least less balanced than when I used the standard pot meter!
So the only reel upgrade is changing caps! And keep away from the poor assembled stepped attenuator from eBay! The quality is very very low. Just stick to the standard pot meter. It's good enough!!!
The caps improved the sound. But the stepped attenuator. I can't understand that you, GGmesquita, said this wil improve sound quality! It's noisy as hell! The pops when turning up/down the volume. Right and left are not balanced or al least less balanced than when I used the standard pot meter!
So the only reel upgrade is changing caps! And keep away from the poor assembled stepped attenuator from eBay! The quality is very very low. Just stick to the standard pot meter. It's good enough!!!
Bronco, I have to disagree.
The atts I got were very high quality. I have used them to mod both my TP-60s plus my GF Tube DAC 11. The ones I got were very well made. Absolutely no pops when changing volume.
Before installing them, I've measured the resistance for each step, on both channels using my Fluke 87V. Turns out they are almost perfect. Way better than the stock pot. The tolerance is very tight. And that is what one should expect from SMD resistors.
I really can't understand what happened in your case. Maybe the seller is now shipping low quality products? Maybe you've damaged it with too much heat when soldering the tabs?
I am sorry you had a bad experience. I would've never recommended this if it was not good.
The atts I got were very high quality. I have used them to mod both my TP-60s plus my GF Tube DAC 11. The ones I got were very well made. Absolutely no pops when changing volume.
Before installing them, I've measured the resistance for each step, on both channels using my Fluke 87V. Turns out they are almost perfect. Way better than the stock pot. The tolerance is very tight. And that is what one should expect from SMD resistors.
I really can't understand what happened in your case. Maybe the seller is now shipping low quality products? Maybe you've damaged it with too much heat when soldering the tabs?
I am sorry you had a bad experience. I would've never recommended this if it was not good.
It seems when I slowly turn the volume up/down it pops a bit, turning it faster there's no popping. Anyhow mine came from a new batch, I had to wait 2 weeks because he was out of stock. I soldered the wire quite fast to avoid to much heat. Maybe my first reaction was a bit hard. I was annoyed that the stepped attenuator doesn't seem to be the quality I expected. Sorry for that. I also measured it and the tolerance is indeed better than a normal pot
I only made one really stupid mistake! How do you call it English? One of the pins of the attenuator was sharp and I scratched one of the tracks on the PCB. I scratched it so badly that the right channel was silent. Totally dead. I fixed it by using a bypass. I soldered a wire directly from the pin to the cap. But man, how stupid is that!
Btw the obbligato caps does a wonderful job. I found there was a slight harshness in the treble. With the obbligato's there's less harshness and the sound is warmer. Actually I would say the topping now sounds more like a tube amp but with the frequency response of a solid state amp. Just the way I like it!
Too bad there almost no space in the case, I wanted the put in Sonicap but there where way too large. The obbligato's where a tight fit also.
I only made one really stupid mistake! How do you call it English? One of the pins of the attenuator was sharp and I scratched one of the tracks on the PCB
. I scratched it so badly that the right channel was silent. Totally dead. I fixed it by using a bypass. I soldered a wire directly from the pin to the cap. But man, how stupid is that! Btw the obbligato caps does a wonderful job. I found there was a slight harshness in the treble. With the obbligato's there's less harshness and the sound is warmer. Actually I would say the topping now sounds more like a tube amp but with the frequency response of a solid state amp. Just the way I like it!
Too bad there almost no space in the case, I wanted the put in Sonicap but there where way too large. The obbligato's where a tight fit also.
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