Any good digital mods for Sony X555ES CDP?

[AudioCats]

Just got a Sony X555ES CD player (very nice and heavy.

)

I think I will do the input/output cap, power cap and Op-amp upgrade (have NE5532's inside), is there anything I can do to the digital side, like a clock upgrade etc? Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Pars]

For clock, I would recommend (highly) a Tentlabs XO of the right frequency on a Flea board (power supply... http://www.acoustica.org.uk/). If you can't find or build a Flea board, then the Tentlabs XO2 or XO3. If you do the Flea route, build a Tread (tangent) setup for 18-20Vdc off its own transformer (or grab appropriate power internally in the player), and use it to power the Flea.

 

[AudioCats]

Thanks Pars

.
How many seperate power supply do I need? There are already two trans in the 555ES, one for digital one for analog. The clock supply seems to be provided by a NE5532 driving a small transistor. I have desoldered the 5532 and put in a DIP-8 socket, so I can install faster chips. What op-amp(s) do you recommand for replacing the NE5532's (6 for signal, 1 for D/A PSU)? The only one I can think of right now is LM4562, is there anything better?

 

[spritzer]

I'd also add a transformer to bypass the output stage altogether. It will be much better then any opamp

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Pars . How many seperate power supply do I need? There are already two trans in the 555ES, one for digital one for analog. The clock supply seems to be provided by a NE5532 driving a small transistor. I have desoldered the 5532 and put in a DIP-8 socket, so I can install faster chips. What op-amp(s) do you recommand for replacing the NE5532's (6 for signal, 1 for D/A PSU)? The only one I can think of right now is LM4562, is there anything better?

I was only discussing the PSU for a clock. The Flea board, as well as the Tent XO2/XO3, and I would guess most aftermarket clocks (Superclock, etc.) are not setup as AC-DC power supplies. The Flea board takes 18-20Vdc and provides the 5V (or 3.3V) needed for the Tent XO. I suggested the Tread to do the AC-DC conversion because it is inexpensive and small, but it really is overkill... all you really need are a bridge and a filtercap.

I wouldn't think the 5532 powering the clock supply that you mention would benefit from changing the opamp. I haven't ever looked at Sony's as far as opamp upgrades. Is it a current out (needing an I/V stage) or voltage out DAC in this? I'm guessing with that many opamps this must be a 5.1 player? I personally did not like the LM4562 in my Rotel. Typical candidates include the AD823, AD826, AD8066, OPA2132, OPA2604, OPA627/637, etc. Of course there is always discrete output, but these are typically 2 channel only. I'm not sure if spritzer was suggesting transformer I/V or not (seemed like it); good transformers can get expensive and linearity can be an issue.

 

[spritzer]

What I suggested was to completely remove the output stage from the picture and use a pair of Lundahls instead. It's also an easy way to get a balanced output at the same time.

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wouldn't think the 5532 powering the clock supply that you mention would benefit from changing the opamp. .

The Flea board you suggested has a AD797, which is an extra-low noise opamp (nothing else is too impressive), I will guess that is why they are using it. The LM4562 is not quite as quiet, but it is still a lot quieter than others. And 4562 has the lowest temp drift. I don't know what is really wanted in a clock supply, just by looking at the 797 data I'd guess noise and drift is important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't ever looked at Sony's as far as opamp upgrades. Is it a current out (needing an I/V stage) or voltage out DAC in this? I'm guessing with that many opamps this must be a 5.1 player? .

The X555SE is one of those high end CDP that came out around 91/92, on line search shows the price back then was around $1k. It has only two channels, though has fixed and variable output (a knob on the front can change the out put, probably has a internal pre-amp?).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally did not like the LM4562 in my Rotel. Typical candidates include the AD823, AD826, AD8066, OPA2132, OPA2604, OPA627/637, etc. .

Which one of the above sound the best? The 5532 is a dual op-amp.....I think the 627/37 are just singles.

thanks for your help

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I suggested was to completely remove the output stage from the picture and use a pair of Lundahls instead. It's also an easy way to get a balanced output at the same time.

I have no idea what kind of DAC is inside this CDP, or if it has a A/V stage. Either way I am too cheap to buy fancy stuff like Lundahl's (the way you descriped it sound very expensive)

by the way, It has optic out but no RCA digital out

Have fun

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have no idea what kind of DAC is inside this CDP, or if it has a A/V stage. Either way I am too cheap to buy fancy stuff like Lundahl's (the way you descriped it sound very expensive) by the way, It has optic out but no RCA digital out Have fun

Look here for the specs on your player. The transformer option is expensive but it will depend on the dac. You can also just put a high pass filter on the dac output and see how it sounds.

You can add a BNC digital output as the signal is there.

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Flea board you suggested has a AD797, which is an extra-low noise opamp (nothing else is too impressive), I will guess that is why they are using it. The LM4562 is not quite as quiet, but it is still a lot quieter than others. And 4562 has the lowest temp drift. I don't know what is really wanted in a clock supply, just by looking at the 797 data I'd guess noise and drift is important.

If you read the design thread, it was chosen for very low noise, which is very important in a clock supply. You can just feed the board with a simple bridge rectifier and caps PSU, but the tread is so cheap and small, I figured why not?

I'm not sure why they have so many opamps in that player, particularly being duals. Normally, one dual per channel handles I/V and buffering. The others may be doing other functions... depending upon function, there may be no point in replacing them. I'd look and see if you can find schematics online somewhere before I ripped into it. And supposedly Signetics NE5532s (no other brand, only old Signetics) can sound quite good...

 

[AudioCats]

There are six chips for audio, three per channel. I traced the circuit and it turned out the first chip is probably for I/V (0.5x), the second sums the signals and provides 2x amplification, the third chip does some kind of extra buffering for high frequency? They all work together, have to roll them all.....

I think I will get a LM4562 for the D/A power supply.

 

[aircondition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are six chips for audio, three per channel. I traced the circuit and it turned out the first chip is probably for I/V (0.5x), the second sums the signals and provides 2x amplification, the third chip does some kind of extra buffering for high frequency? They all work together, have to roll them all..... I think I will get a LM4562 for the D/A power supply.

Hi there, i got a Sony X505 ES CD player, which is very similar to the 555 Model (I think it has a little different opt.pickup mechanics). I'm interested in changing the OpAmps too, because I've done the X-FI Hodrodding some time ago (w/ National LM4564) and the difference is astonishing.

I found a few pics of the Sony 555/505 on the web and added some remarks. Look here:

A few questions to you, audiocat

• What are the two OPA27 "jellybeans" (which are closest to the back of the audio board) for? Can they be some sort of "final" opamps before the RCA output?
• When i want to replace the many (8/9!!) 5532 in the player, which one seem to be the most important and should be swapped w/ LM4564 first? I think 2 of them are used for DEemphasis of very old cds, PREemphasis is hardly used today. Dont know if you should swap these if you never hear discs w/ preemphasis.
• Is the 5532 in the middle of the board (Next to the 45 MHz CRYSTAL) the one that drives the clock supply? I think so...
• Finally, which one of the 5532 is the one for the D/A PSU? (which you want to replace)

As for capacitor tuning, can you tell me please which ones exactly are the "input/output cap" and the "power cap" Where are they located? Here are the pics of the psu board of my player:

Are you replacing them with the same specs, just better quality (e.g. blackgate Std or N/NX, Panasonic FC, nichicon etc), or cap upgrade (uF) also...

Shortly i should get a X505 Service Manual off ebay, can scan in some info if you want and post it here!!
A big Thank you! Regards, Mario

 

[AudioCats]

the D/A PSU one should be the one close to the clock crystal.

The 555se doesn't have those four 5532 in the middle. Don't know what they are for.

There is a digital board on top of the audio board in the 555es, and voltage regulators are on the audioboard itself, not on the power board (power board only have caps and diodes)

in the 555 the headamp is done by a JRC4556, in a similar location.

The general functions of the circuit blocks are marked on the underside of the board. Don't know what the opa27's are for. In the 555 the third opam seems to provide some kind of high frequency compensation.

I must say I am not impressed by my 555se's SQ with the 5532's. It does have the kind of quality my Panasonic DVD player doesn't have (better sound stage and smoothness, but not as fast and detailed), so I assume the 555SE will sound great after the opamps are updated.

I will likely go for some 8599's due to low noise and all the hypes here.

Have fun.