First, remove C14 from the board until a suitable replacement can be found.  It is not critical to the operation of the board.  You just want to make sure that the cap doesn't swing around and short something else. The replacement for C14 should be a 1uF MKP capacitor but any 1uF film cap...

Ok..  This is not the best suggestion you will find but it should work to cut through the crud if you take lots of precautions.   Ammonia.   Heat up the iron and dip in a small little container of ammonia.  You must do this in a very well ventilated environment.  I recommend using a fan...

You don't melt it! Heat activates the Rosin!!!   To use, add Isopropyl Alcohol to a portion (best to cut a little out and put it in a small dish) and allow the IPA to dissolve it then use a brush to apply to the joints to be soldered.

Beyer Dynamics uses the marker pen mark to denote the positive connector on their drivers. Holds true for their other headphones as well.

Dilute dishwashing liquid with microfibre cloth or chamois cloth will work just fine. The brand I would recommend (Mama Lemon) cannot be found over there though. That's what we use for cleaning everything from wood, rough & smooth veneers, CD's to LCD screens and works like a charm. It get...

I use a Unibit that goes up to 1/2" as well as a 24mm HSS hole-saw for Neutrik D type panel mount units. Works well so far for all my work with Neutrik locking jacks, Noble pots, TKD pots, ALPS (Blue Velvet & Black Beauty), C&K/ Lorlin etc.

IMHO, the differences, if any, are similar to why headphone amplifiers that we build/ buy general improve the sound over an in-built headphones driver chip you get on a player. I think that the difference in sound has got to do with how much distortion is produced when the driving stage...

Big OT here: Quote: Originally Posted by jcx The heat sink is a Zalman Golden Orb II, drilled and tapped for a ¼-20 ss socket head screw which protrudes from the center of the Cu slug bottom and to which the pcb carrying the TPA6120s is clamped Actually, that's a Thermaltake...

Quote: Originally Posted by tomb There is a difference. Amb has posted before that it's enough to cause a slight wiggle if you use a knob with a set screw. He suggested purchasing knobs for 6mm shafts, but I haven't seen any of those. It might be a good reason not to clean all the...

Percy Audio has the 0.3W pieces at US$2.75 a pop.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sinbios Any time a company tries to tell me that they have a "secret ingredient" that makes their product so much more wonderful than the next company's, alarm bells ring off in my head. If there really was such a wonder mixture, don't you think someone would...

The blue film caps are most probably Metalized Polyester caps. You can find Wima and ERO 3.3uF/ 50v caps in that size. That colour looks like Evox Rifa caps but I might be wrong.

Quote: Originally Posted by RnB180 I want something better then the hakko 936 now that I think of it, I want to buy something that wont die on me, and I believe the last time I saw the 936 it only reached temp level equivelant to a 40 watt iron. can anyone give me some better irons...

Quote: Originally Posted by AlanY They tested the brown note theory on MythBusters and determined that it's a myth. There's a bit of a writeup here, but it leaves out the ending (nothing happened): http://www.meyersound.com.au/brownnote.shtm Yep... But it's scientifically proven...

The AD8651 would be good for a Kwak Clock 7 if you ever need to build one..

Quote: Originally Posted by rickcr42 black gates in the signal path would be your best bet with elna cerfines running a close second (and a LOT less breakin time) but would be a waste in the power supply which would be better served by Panny low ESR Electrolytics in both peformance and...

As long as the program you use to copy the CD is able to "Ignore illegal TOC", you should be able to get a perfect 1:1 copy of the copy-controlled CD.. I use Alcohol 120% to backup my albums..

A little point-to-point soldering work..

Quote: Originally Posted by silvalis What about Goot irons? Are they any good? I'd recommend the TQ-95 soldering iron or TQ-77 soldering gun for Goot.. Good thermal thrust and yet without requiring a humongous tip that won't let you do fine work.. I've had a TQ-77 for the past...

Something useful when making cables is an object with RCA jacks (an old or unused player or amplifier works). Use it to hold the RCA plugs in position while you fit the wires and solder.. Ditto for mini-plugs & jacks.. The kitchen stove works fine for heatshrink. Just keep the cable at least...

Quote: Originally Posted by Nixie I was reading Wolcott's description of his tube-based linear gain stage (second stage described here, and couldn't completely figure it out. Can anyone comment on this? I went through the description several times, but couldn't come up with a clear...

Quote: Originally Posted by rickcr42 if you want the "fun way" over the simple then check this little program : http://focus.ti.com/analog/docs/samp...igationId=9742 That was a very useful link.. Thanks a lot.. OT: Why isn't there a Beyer Big smilie? L L

If it's a tabless Neutrik Combo-jack, get a pair of M3 screws. If it's the tabbed version, get a matching pair of nuts as well. Some of the combo-jacks that are tabbed do not need the nuts. They have a metal plate surrounding the jack which are already tapped for M3 screws.

Quote: Originally Posted by Edwood Well, Srajan wasn't that brave, he didn't remove the PCB so we could see the "underside". Of course my bravery/stupidity involves firing up a soldering iron. Nice pics though. -Ed Not really.. He'd just have to unscrew the back...

A pair of 3.5mm, mono plugs and a run of 75 ohm coaxial cable will work fine.