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Almi's X-Fi Mod (Hotrodding Sound Blaster X-Fi models) - Page 2

post #16 of 33
1/21/12 at 3:28pm
Thread Starter 

I'm happy to hear about your first experience. Your father must be very good at soldering and doing this sort of things. The first try was not entirely a success for me, still i was eager enough to go nuts on it and keep modding. Risky & fun. L3000.gif

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post #17 of 33
1/21/12 at 8:33pm

I found a company that gives out free of oscillators to businesses. They have the right oscillators for a mod like this. Here's what I got in case anyone else would like it too:

 

http://www.ecliptek.com/stocksearch/Stock.aspx?Partnumber=ES51C1E10N-24.576M&qt=&org=pm&st=SearchOS

 

For desoldering the OpAmp my father took a sharp, flat soldering tip and cut it so that it is the exact same size as the four legs on the OpAmp. So he desoldered all of the legs in two shots. Then he used a regular small tip and put the solder onto the pads, and then put the OpAmp on and connected it to the pads by simply putting the tip onto the legs/pads.

 

For removing the capacitors using a small 30w iron just does not work. With an 85w one the solder will melt in 3-4 seconds for desoldering and 6-8 seconds for the legs. It's short, sharp and sweet with 85w, with 30w it takes ages and I wouldn't suggest using it.

 

I've been repeating my music collection on low volume to burn in the capacitors. The highs sounded harsh and sharp right after doing the mod but now it has gotten better.

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post #18 of 33
4/9/12 at 8:06am

I'm wondering if I might get some guidance as to what I can do to my X-Fi XtremeMusic to improve its analog outputs. I've been wanting to do the opamp mod for a long time, just haven't gotten around to it, when I happened upon this thread. Seems kinda straight forward (though I may need to read it a few more times), but my only concern is that the changes mainly focus on the front L & R channel, with the rest not getting the same love and attention. I understand this is Head-Fi.org, and that this forums main focus would be on simply 2 channels and earphones (obviously ;) ). My focus however, is on multi-channel, as I'm always using my PC to watch TV, a movie, or playing games. Even when listening to music, I still prefer the X-Fi to be in Stereo Surround mode (2 channel stereo audio played through all 6 side speakers). I don't even use headphones at home, only when I'm out and have to ride the bus or train, and its mainly IEMs to help block out noise.

 

I'm basically looking to get the same quality of sound from all the channels, not just the front L & R. Stock, its very apparent the X-Fi XtremeMusic front L & R have a different sound quality then the rest of the channels. I'm aiming for a seamless transition of sound from one speaker to the next (all 7 main speakers are the same for that exact reason). I understand that technically this may not be possible (it does appear to me that the front L & R circuit is different from the rest), but the changes I see in the original post seem to alter the front channel more-so then the rest. Should I stick with just the opamp swap, or go all the way with the caps as well? And can the rest of the channels achieve the same sound quality as the front L & R, maybe with some alterations to what was done in the original post?

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post #19 of 33
4/15/12 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 

This modification of the XtrmeMusic is not only for the front speakers. The only small difference is the two mono OpAmps for the front channel instead of a stereo, but it is not making a big difference. The change of the clock, caps around  the DAC, ect. have the same effect on all the channels.

 

Meanwhile i tried other OpAmps from TI, and i found the OPA1602AID. It is sound like my favorite OPA228p, but the mid and high range is improved. I have plan for a small update later....

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post #20 of 33
4/15/12 at 11:09pm

Ahh, I mis-understood the post then. It seemed to me that most of the modification affected the fronts. So swapping all the OpAmps for identical ones should yield nearly the same sound quality from all the channels, correct?

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post #21 of 33
4/16/12 at 2:28am
Thread Starter 

Correct. Some difference always remain because the 3D sound, not the components.

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post #22 of 33
7/14/12 at 8:15am

I purchased a X-Fi Platinum PCIe (to replace my ageing PCI model and just incase I screw up doing the mod) to do the Op-Amp and Oscillator mod on (refurb price was around $45 + the mods). I was worried that I had royally screwed over the card because I was using a old Rat-Shack 30W iron with the standard (too large for SMD components) tip.

 

While removing one of the old Op-Amps, I applied too much pressure under one of the legs and pulled the circuit pad right off before the solder had liquified. Strike one.

 

When cleaning the pads off I was using a solder sucker, which this particular model has alot of kick, which manged to knocked off one of the SMD capacitor which sits next to the Op-Amp area because of said kick. Strike two.

 

Luckily, no out.

 

I scraped off the enamel from atop the trace that led to the missing pad, used the smallest, finest copper wire I had around and soldered it to the trace and layed it out in the same area the pad was. I manage to solder the new Op-Amp (the OPA1602AID) to it and all was good as tested with my multi-meter.

 

The SMD cap was a little tricky, as working with that oversized tip and trying to keep the cap in place was a PITA. But somehow I managed, and it too was in place.

 

I went with a 0.3 ppm Oscillator as I really couldn't find any 1 ppm, and the price wasn't bad either way.

 

All was soldered up and placed into the computer. I turned it on and kept my fingers crossed that I wouldn't see any magic blue smoke and that oh so familiar smell of burnt electronics wafting to my eyes and nose annnnddddddddd....

 

Success!!

 

Man, what a difference!!! Its only the Op-Amps and Oscillator, but wow! Even my poorly encoded mp3s have a analog sound to it. The sound is just so clean and smooth! Thank you so much for the guide!! Now I'll be spending the weekend burning in this card with music and movies, and tweaking the levels and distances for my 7.1 setup. :D


Edited by Mpegger - 7/14/12 at 8:27am
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post #23 of 33
7/16/12 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 

I'm glad you managed to fix the damage and upgade your card.atsmile.gif

 

I think you are very lucky, because this tiny SMDs have a tendency to break into pieces and than no chance to determine the value. Usually not a problem to measure resistance in the nearably output stages because all the same. Unfortunately caps have to come off to be sure, and not to many people have instruments to deal with capacitance. Not to mention about the risk of the of the necessary heat for desoldering or using players to break off another component(s) causing further damage. One of my XtremeMusic died on a faulty ribbon a while ago, and time to time coming handy for experiments. So i was thinking in the last few day to make an update about the values of the SMD components around the OpAmps, just in case something goes wrong for somebody. I will definitely do it as soon as i have the time.


Edited by ramachandra - 7/16/12 at 3:25pm
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post #24 of 33
7/24/12 at 1:08pm

What other mods besides changing the main cap are available for improving the digital output? I don't use the analog outputs at all and I'm interested to get the most out of the card on its digital output. Does the oscilator improve SPDIF out?

So far i changed the main cap with a Nichicon KW 1000uf and bypassed it with a 0.1uf MKP.

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post #25 of 33
7/24/12 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 

I have tried to improve the digital output of the Titanium HD only without success, and i do not think the oscillator have any effect on the digital output, or at least i have not experienced. The Pax Drivers does some changes of the sound trough S/PDIF, and depend on taste to like it or not. Some of the SB cards like Titanium / Titanium Fatal1ty Pro have optical output and the advantage is the lower chance for getting noises from a PC compared to coax.

To improve the sound quality maybe better to start with your DAC, because many modifications possible just like on a soundcard, and worth it.

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post #26 of 33
7/25/12 at 10:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Groundloop View Post

 Also there is a reason some people suggest bypassing ratio to be around 1 to 100 at most ;)

I have gotten my greatest results by ignoring this advice. Some of my bypasses are  larger than the caps they are bypassing on my X-Fi Titanium HD. I have 48uf metalized films bypassing 40uf worth of electrolytics on the opamp side & 24uf worth of metalized films bypassing the 5 volt supply for the DAC which are bypassing 2-100uf caps. This last really smooths the high frequencies of the Titanium HD while improving detail & resolution at the same time. 

 

I also get firmer bass & incredable attack on transients such as hard drum hits. I also get more of a sense of space around such instruments.


Edited by germanium - 7/25/12 at 10:16pm
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post #27 of 33
9/23/12 at 3:18am

Hi guys!

Does anybody know which caps belong to the ADC on the X-Fi Titanium (PCI-e)???


 

BTW I did the full mod for the Titanium step by step and imho the biggest difference and improvement delivered the change of the clock. Before that the card improved a lot, but it performed a bit “cold” and was terrible exhausting. After the change of the clock the sweetness found its way back in to my loudspeakers lol. And after few days of burning-in the card performed even sweeter and warmer. I'm very happy with it now. And I want to thank Ramachandra for his support and for his patience with me. I have bombarded him with questions - and still do ;) - via emails. Thx for that.


 

Now I want to try out different OpAmps. I will post my impressions here, but it might take a while, because I'm still waiting for some OpAmps from China and USA. I will do the comparison not before I have them all. Besides I need SOIC8 adapters to be able to do the test, which I don't own at the moment.


 

So long,

Greetings from Berlin,

 

Robert.

 

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post #28 of 33
1/30/13 at 9:53am

Hey great tutorial rama, describes alot of of good things. So recently I did the op amp mod and got a OPA1602AID  to solder in. I only have one major problem after 4 hours of listening  the right channel went bad and made loud crackling noises. I used 60/40 electronic standard solder and a hakko iron. The solder joints looked great so I don't think it's that. Though I have tried resoldering it and no luck. I am using 30ohm headphone and the card is a X-fi music extreme. I think it might be a bad opamp or I damaged it with the soldering iron.

 

 

EDIT: I have got it to work with no problems. I removed the coating off the pcb near the opamp and that helped the solder flow. Sounds awesome, I would totally reconmend the OPA1602AID to any one looking to mod their X-fi with/without sockets.


Edited by DjRabbit - 1/30/13 at 11:24pm
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post #29 of 33
2/2/13 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 

I have started with standard solder in the beginning too, and it makes the job more challenging. Even without that the solder play tricks some times, and the diode tester on the multimeter is my ultimate way to be sure the connection is ok. I put one probe to the pin close to the chip's body, and with the other i try to find the next connected component. This trick saved me few times from headache. More reliable than magnifying glass.

 

I love the OPA1602AID. First when i received samples from TI i have not pay much attention for them, i just noticed they have a bright sound after a quick tryout. Some time later they are landed in a much better external DAC when i played Skyrim, and instantly became my new favorite. Around new year i used a bunch to modifying two Logitech Z-5500 with great results.biggrin.gif (The new thread on the way.)

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post #30 of 33
2/22/13 at 6:51pm

Hello, I have a X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Pro and I was wondering where the power cap is on that board, the image you had posted explained everything else very nicely. http://cdn.head-fi.org/2/2e/350x267px-LL-2ef11f84_Titaniumupgrade.jpeg

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