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Is it possible, to change the ipod touch 4G's DAC?

post #1 of 18
12/6/10 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 

Is it possible, to change the ipod touch 4G's DAC?

 

And how much would the average improvement?

And how much would it cost?

 

 

Thanks Everyone

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post #2 of 18
12/6/10 at 12:49pm

I really don't know if it's possible, but in my opinion, even if it were, it would probably be fairly costly, difficult to do and run a high risk of ruining your ipod for good. Totally not worth it IMO, much better idea to save up for a better source.

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post #3 of 18
12/6/10 at 12:52pm

You could probably turbocharge it, that is, piggyback another identical DAC chip on its back. This idea came from several people who did it on vintage Discmen, so absolutely no guarantee.

That said, Apple probably uses packaged systems, that is, DAC within the logic to save costs. There might not even be an independent DAC.

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post #4 of 18
12/6/10 at 12:57pm

Incredibly unlikely

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post #5 of 18
12/6/10 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 

Firstly: WOW!!! You people are fast!!! That's what I like about Head-Fi....

 

Secondly: I don't know whether to get the new touch 4g or cowon j3....

               I want something with functionality and good SQ (which doesn't seem to exist and somehow never will, for some reason).

 

So I thought about getting the touch but it is sad to have mediocre sq...i thought that may be a possibility to end my troubles.

If i do/did it, i would tell somebody in Indonesia to do it.....

 

Why is it so risky?

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post #6 of 18
12/6/10 at 1:29pm

It doesn't sound bad, but I did hear nice things about the Cowon J3, also I've had fairly good experience with HifiMan 801 (though it's huge).

 

It's not likely you can change a DAC chip on a portable player - different chips generally all have different sizes, pin configurations, functions, etc, not plug-and-play.  And it's risky (even if you somehow manage to get a chip with same operating conditions and in the same package) because you'd be working with such a small board.

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post #7 of 18
12/6/10 at 2:11pm
Thread Starter 

So, it's almost/probably impossible (if i want to change the DAC, i need to exchange everything else too.)

 

Is their any way to improve the touch sq externally (amp, etc.)

 

But why is it possible with iMod?

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post #8 of 18
12/6/10 at 2:15pm

1) Lets say for all intensive purposes, you cannot change the DAC chip in a device (this or basically any other without replacing the entire DAC section which is obviously not possible in any portable DAP)

2) There are certainly things you can do to get the most out of your device - depending on what headphones you use, you may want to use a different external headphone amp

3) The iMod does not change the DAC, it is a replacement of the output capacitors used.

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post #9 of 18
12/6/10 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 

is that applicable on the touch?

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post #10 of 18
12/6/10 at 2:30pm

Which part?  All are technically applicable to every player...

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post #11 of 18
12/6/10 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 

Sorry, i meant the replacement of the output capacitors.....

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post #12 of 18
12/6/10 at 3:03pm

By the time of the Classic, the use of Cirrus chips completely eliminated the need for output caps. Caps were back when Apple put WM8740's in the Videos (thus introducing the iMod).

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post #13 of 18
12/6/10 at 3:20pm

I can tell you that the ipod touches use DAC IC's that are fine pitched BGA packages that are glued to the board after soldering, you don't have a hope of doing anything with it

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post #14 of 18
12/6/10 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 

can it be used on the itouch?

 

I thought apple used the  WM8740 (Wolfson) to the 5th Gen., now they use some cheapy Logic DAC.

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post #15 of 18
12/6/10 at 4:01pm

I don't think Apple ever used the WM8740 (a serious DAC chip), they generally stuck to all-inclusive CODEC chips that have DAC, line driver and headphone amp on one chip...

 

Anyways, this is slightly off topic, as per the diyMod guides, it doesn't look like any iTouch is moddable.

 

Why not simply look for the best portable DAP you can afford and going with that instead of trying to find something to mod?

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