The Zero MOD Thread - 24/192 DAC/H/Amp

[Pricklely Peete]

Here a pic showing my Alps installation





Not the greatest pics....

Peete.

[bundee1]

thanks for the pics and help peete and Stratcat. Any images and advice are of great value to this thread. I'm going to do some more soldering practice this week so by the time my new pot comes in I'll be ready.

[bundee1]

Peete how did you connect the thin ground wire in the pot picture? Is that hot glue? Are you just reconnecting the existing one?

[mz5]

hi PP and all

i did mod my zero then i found your page. most i have done are similar to your except for the VitaminQ on Earth and 0.1uf tantalum as bypass cap.

i also use Precision regtifier to drive the HP/amp

something to ask. i want to change the audio interconnect from pre-amp to Hp/amp but am not sure which line are the audio cables since i see 8 of the cables from pre-amp to Hp/amp. Cound you please direct me?

now i am thinking of mod the dac clock. have to study the replacement part first. Texus Ins looks good but not sure if that would help.

will post some photo 2nite

thanks

PS: the moding are fun now since i found some friends here

[espressogeek]

This thread is a great idea so you don't have to parse to the dozens of pages on the other Zero thread. Perhaps I will get a Zero when I complete some of my current projects. Kudos to all !

[bundee1]

I just tried to do my first mod on the rca jacks but when I opened I realized what it entailed and retreated for more info.

Peete Im having trouble with the nut that comes with the jack. One of them wont screw all the way down so I cant get the jack to secure to the case.

My first question is in what order do the plastic spacers and nut go on the jack?

Where did you buy that wire you are using for the jacks?

Where do you connect the ground wire on the white jack?

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by bundee1

Peete how did you connect the thin ground wire in the pot picture? Is that hot glue? Are you just reconnecting the existing one?

Just soldered it onto the side of the pot casing bundee1. The old pot you heat up to get this wire loose. Be careful it's delicate, solder in the new pot...clean a spot (alcohol swab or Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol) on the Alps casing where you want to re-attach the ground wire and solder the wire onto the new pot's casing on the clean spot.

It takes a while for the casing to get hot enough so be patient with the iron on it. Have the solder close by ready to go once you see it flow on the casing (a tiny bit).

Peete.

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by bundee1

I just tried to do my first mod on the rca jacks but when I opened I realized what it entailed and retreated for more info.

Peete Im having trouble with the nut that comes with the jack. One of them wont screw all the way down so I cant get the jack to secure to the case.

My first question is in what order do the plastic spacers and nut go on the jack?

Where did you buy that wire you are using for the jacks?

Where do you connect the ground wire on the white jack?

Regular jacks or CMC jacks ?

The spacer with the inner groove (that sticks out a hair is located first on either side of the stock hole flush up against the metal. Try it a few times until you get it right.....The nuts themselves don't have to be super tight...just tight enough that they don't come loose from use.

Don't twist cables on or off is a another good tip.

The wire I had on hand and I got some good wire from Kingwa (as part of the HDAM bundle + CMC RCA jacks, I received last week).

Once you get it right bundee1 you'll never forget how......look up various types and methods of install via You Tube instruction videos.....lots of good stuff there for that.

Peete.

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by mz5

hi PP and all

i did mod my zero then i found your page. most i have done are similar to your except for the VitaminQ on Earth and 0.1uf tantalum as bypass cap.

i also use Precision regtifier to drive the HP/amp

something to ask. i want to change the audio interconnect from pre-amp to Hp/amp but am not sure which line are the audio cables since i see 8 of the cables from pre-amp to Hp/amp. Cound you please direct me?

now i am thinking of mod the dac clock. have to study the replacement part first. Texus Ins looks good but not sure if that would help.

will post some photo 2nite

thanks

PS: the moding are fun now since i found some friends here

Good stuff MZ5.........the clock is pretty darn good as it is.....never the less it would be interesting to see a Tentlabs TX03 plus full power supply in a Zero

Terribly expensive but cool !!!

Hows your Zero sound ?

Peete.

[ccschua]

For the RCA connection, kingwa told me twice that the insulation material at the inside of ZERO dac should not be used. Meaning the ground pin of RCA will touching the casing. I doubted what kingwa say at first but then from many photo of the cdp, I saw the internal insulation piece is not used. wonder if this is correct.

pls see photo by Kindwa. The coaxial and RCA ground is connected to casing.

[mz5]

after Peete confirm that modding the clock won't help. now i am thinging if it possible to send out a Balance signal from the Zero Dac? or the pre-amp ?

if so would that sound better ?

let do some study on this this should be fun.

[ccschua]

Haliluya,

PP u got the cap modded. I thot u would go Oscon. how about Blackgate to replace the Blue KLE.

also the yellow cap, when u gonna replace with red WIMA.

Our modded unit replace the rca decoupling cap with Silver mica, which serve as ground look breaker. perhaps can try.

[mz5]

ccschua : oscon is good for digital and i agree with that.BG too expensive but if you can find them with good price please let me know. replacing all the yellow caps would be real pain here

IMHO replacing the R feedback for the pre and HP-amp to something like Dale or even Caddock Resistors - Caddock High Performance Film Resistors would gain more SQ. BUT which one are the feedback ???? i have bad eyes with this little thinks (i will have to consult my guru for this)

some said caddock would give a tube like and more detail (got it from some review on Thai web site)

for the best result : do them all ... cheer

ps: i did add some pics of my Zero on the earier posted

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by espressogeek

This thread is a great idea so you don't have to parse to the dozens of pages on the other Zero thread. Perhaps I will get a Zero when I complete some of my current projects. Kudos to all !

Thanks eg...hopefully with a little time, it will be a complete resource that will be easy to reference for prospective mod junkies....

Peete.

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by ccschua

For the RCA connection, kingwa told me twice that the insulation material at the inside of ZERO dac should not be used. Meaning the ground pin of RCA will touching the casing. I doubted what kingwa say at first but then from many photo of the cdp, I saw the internal insulation piece is not used. wonder if this is correct.

pls see photo by Kindwa. The coaxial and RCA ground is connected to casing.

But then you loose the benefit of Audio ground versus chassis ground don't you ? I've always used the washers in this way. Both sides of the chassis hole. Maybe that's been wrong all along ? WBT suggests and has suggested for years both sides of the chassis the washers have to be used to isolate the jack from the chassis.....

I'm not saying what Kingwa recommends is incorrect, I just don't see why he'd suggest that. Makes no sense to me.

What about you CC ?....doesn't that seem a little odd.

Every after market jack I've bought in the last 25 years has 2 plastic washers with a lip on the inner circle to locate the jack washer in the center of the chassis hole.

It sounds great to me with both washers used ......just looked at other gear using top quality jacks...washers on both sides for RCA and speaker jacks (all WBT, some Neutrik , some AQ and Edison Price Copper billet speaker Jacks)

Not a single one does without a plastic spacer of some kind/thickness on either side.



Peete.