The Apple diyMod: My Take on the Famous iMod [56k killer] Featuring 3G, 4G, 5G and nano 1G! - Page 175

I was gonna look for a pair of small caps to stick on the back of the iMod between LOD and an amp, and here's, among others, what I've stumbled upon: http://www.partsconnexion.com/capacitor_film_mundorf_sgo.html

BUT what I completely don't get is what e.g. "0.1uf / 1000V" means? They (0.1uf / 1000V) are the smallest ones and I'd love the size, but are their specs enough? How does it work: the higher the 'uf' the better? Plz pardon my outrageous ignorance but I tried to research it and didn't manage to find much info on caps for noobs, which I totally am. Thx

Edit: I also have another question: What are the best caps that actually fit inside of an iPod (30 and 80 gigs respectively)? Thx Bros
Edited by paulus germanus - 3/17/13 at 12:11pm

This is obviously too complex for me.  Anyone around Seattle, Washington that I can pay to have this done?

 

Thanks in advance,

J

Hi guys, excellent thread here!  I am getting back into headphones and would love to do this mod on my ipod 4g Photo.  I am having a difficult time finding thorough instructions except for this guide right here http://macintoshhowto.com/hardware/how-to-imod-a-4th-gen-ipod-photo.html .  This will just be used as a home audio solution so I would like to mimic his execution and send the line out through the headphone jack.

 

The part where I am confused is the removal of both the resistors and the inductors.  From what I have read online, to remove the inductors you simply heat both sides up evenly with a soldering iron so that it eventually falls off.  But how do I go about removing the resistors?  

 

I do not have any soldering experience but just bought my first iron which should be here next week.  I appreciate any help or insight you all can provide =]

Today I had a chance for first time to test the DIYmodded iPod 5.5g with CF+SD mod. One word. Just AMAZED. Better sound quality than iMac's audio input for me! Using WIMA 4.7uf caps and direct connection to dock pins, Meier HeadSix as amp and HD650 cans. This thread is best :) Thanks to all.

What is the best capactior for Imod? 47uf 6.3v, 30uf 6.3v. etc?

The exact uf rating depends on the input impedance of the amp being used. Under any circumstances, 8uf is enough. You will never need higher than that. Voltage of 6.3 is fine or higher, doesn't matter much.

I've been reading up on diyModding my 5G, but I still wasn't sure if there's there a way of keeping the headphone jack running via the internal amp for when I don't have a portable amp with me or it runs out of juice (as with the iMod), as it's a feature I'd like to have.  I'm guessing for someone with basic programming skills (i.e. not me) it would be easy enough to put together an IC that can switch depending on whether the headphone jack is ground.  Would just leaving the capacitors in place by the DAC allow me to do this (and how much would this alter the line-out quality)?

 

Also, would these capacitors be suitable for an internal mod?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271184554571?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

Thanks

Edited by Marmotta - 4/27/13 at 5:37am

I totally agree on the Wima caps. Amazing sound! Make sure you go with a pure silver LOD cable. It's heavenly sound and I am really astonished.

OK guys just want to share my experience on the caps. I thought the Silmic caps are good, then the Wima's surprised me, now the Kemet/Evox film caps took this by storm. Wow I am really impressed. Just be sure to give these film caps at least a week of burn-in time to open it up and clean up the initial roughness.

 

The results are very clean sound with best separation, bass and lows' more extended and treble more refined, bigger sound stage. I never expected such a big improvement to the ipod SQ with these caps but now I am a firm believer of what these caps can do.

 

I have been listening the whole day in my office to the mod with the Kemet caps using the UHA-6S MK2 and EX1000, and I just can't have it enough.

Ok so I want to have my 5.5 imodded

I have an 80gb version with a thick back plate, a small battery from the 30gb model, and a 64gb cf card.

I know that there's a lot of room in my ipod for internal caps, but what I really want to know is am I able to use internal caps WITH external caps for even better sound?

No need for multiple caps. In fact, for the best sound quality, NO caps would be the best solution, as there would be nothing in the signal path. But the caps are necessary to block harmful DC voltage from reaching down your signal chain. So one properly chosen pair of caps is all you need. (one left, one right) anything between 4.7 - 8 uf is fine. There is really no reason under any circumstances to use anything higher than 8uf. 

 

If you have the thick back, I strongly recommend using film caps rather than electrolytic. WIMA 4.7 or Kemit (as Dminor recommended a couple posts up) will fit in the thick back. In fact, you can use the bigger battery as well. It all fits inside. 

Why do some people use caps as big as they're dap then?

Different qualities of material.

Take a 4.7 cap for example. Electrolytic caps are tiny and can have huge uf ratings. Many people think these are fine, perhaps because of the convenient size. I personally think the sound is lacking.

Next there is polyester film caps. In the same 4.7 rating, each cap is about 2-3 times the size of the electrolytic. But it will still fit in a deep back iPod. These sound much better and is the minimum quality I would recommend to use with the mod.

Next film cap is polypropylene. These sound fantastic! But the size of one in a 4.7 rating is about half the size of an iPod and more than twice as thick. Also pretty expensive. That's the giant caps you see.
Then there's other more exotic materials but I won't comment because I haven't tried them.

Personally, my favorite iPod mod has two fairly large 3.3uf Wima polypropylene caps mounted in an altoids tin on the back of my 5G iPod. Any larger value wouldn't fit the tin. It's all wired from the DAC with solid silver wire to the caps then direct to the line out pins, bypassing everything in the iPod.

It sounds great but it's big and ugly! A sensible middle ground is the polyester film caps, maybe Dminor will chime in here and back me up.
Edited by thegrobe - 5/25/13 at 4:05pm

Haha my friend I happen to be here right now. :)

 

I totally agree, from my own experience, that the film caps sound much better than the electrolytic ones. This is from my auditions of the Silmic II's, Wima's and the Kemet's. The Kemet's are amazing as I am listening to it right now. Both the Wima 4.7 and the Kemet 4.7 fit the fat ipods perfectly. What else can I say about these Kemet caps. Please try them and thank me later.

 

One thing I would like to mention is with these Kemet caps, I can crank up the vol on the UHA to the max without hurting my ears (maybe hurting my head a little bit, LOL). No distortions no loss of details or separations, and everything is transparently zoomed in or out. The sound is very elastic with that well controlled extensions.

 

With that said, I would like to try those BIG polypropylene caps in the future and do a comparison.

So the Kermet cap is a polyester film cap?