EMU 1212M modding guide

[zhoufang]

There have been a lot of discussion about EMU 1212M, including general discussion modding.

But until very recently there's very limited specific instruction or solid contents, so much so that I can't be sure of what part I will need before I actually get my card and do some reverse engineering.

Here's some work that I have done, which I hope will help other (potential) 1212M owners that are considering mod.

There may be some mistakes, esp because of the troublesome transfering of drawing on paper into photoshop. Please let me know immidiately if you found any so that I can correct it.

I will add more information to this head tread later.

Pls note that I did this as a hobby, so I will not take any responsibility of any result of anyone modding they equipments after reading my post.

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below are photos of 1212M that I have taken.
most silkscreen printings should be readable.
I hope this will help in the discusion.

1010 digital card

1010 digital card part 1

1010 digital card part 2

0202 analog card

0202 analog card
DAC section, most mods will be here

Thanks Floodo1 for providing the webspace!


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below is my findings after reverse engineering

parts used for modding, total cost about US$20 for caps only

modded 0202
I screwed up C68 (the VD cap) as I pulled out the cap before the joint is totally melted.
PCB trace is damaged as a result, thus the flying wire. I will never do this again.
C76 is not changed as I decided to use a larger OS-Con instead of the 10uF Cerafine.
bypassed DC blocking cap.
op-amp, bypass film caps and 1010 card will be done later.

 

[lucpes]

The small SMD capacitors are X7R ceramics 0.01uf (1nF).

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucpes The small SMD capacitors are X7R ceramics 0.01uf (1nF).

Err... .01µF = 10 nF

Wasn't NPO best for audio and X7R worse than that?

 

[zhoufang]

all caps that are directly in the line of power regulation for the analog lineout are drawn in the circuit above (unless I missed out some tiny bypass caps)

Amount all the electrolytic caps that need to be changed, the highest voltage they will get is 12V.
In fact more than half of them only need 5V or 3.3V, one only need 1.8V. So I suggest getting two lines of caps, 16V and 6.3V (4V cap typically aren't much smaller than 6.3V).
you should be able to tell which cap need what voltage tolerance by looking at the diagram above.

6.3V caps are physically smaller than equivalent 16V caps of the same capacitance. This help us to use better grade capacitors (which are often physically larger given save voltage/capacitance rating),saving a few penny (compared to 16V cap from the same family), while keeping the physical size of the caps managable so that we don't have to sort to creative soldering or breaking PCI specification on phsically dimention (i.e. taking up more than one slot per card)

--------------------------------------
1010 card modding of power regulation caps (electrolytic caps)
the capacitances that I state here are the value creative used.
I will suggest stick with that value while use better caps.
In most cases using larger caps will not have noticable effect, and it may be dangerous because it went out of manufacturer's recommendation
the voltages that I state here are the voltages that the cap will be running at.
Use caps with slightly higher voltage rating (e.g. 6.3V cap for 5V, 16V cap for 12V)
The importance number will state whether the quality of cap used in this position will have an effect on the quality of analog line-out.
0 being totally not affecting
1 being not important at all, recommend not to change
2 being will/may have an effect, recommend to change
3 being important, must change.
ratings are given by analysing the circuit, not that I went to do a AB test for every cap.

C92 100uf 12V
it's for filtering +12V before senting it to 0202
importance 2

C115 100uf 12V
it's for filtering -12V before senting it to 0202
importance 2

C80 100uf 5V
it is for filtering the +5V from PCI before it enter VR1 (1.8V regulator) and VR2 (3.3V regulator).
importance 2

C76 47uF 3.3V
it's for filtering the output from VR2.
3.3V is used by most digital circuit including the clock generator U7 and U9
importance 3

C64 47uF 1.8V
it's for filtering the output from VR1.
1.8V is less important that 3.3V
importance 2

C41 100uf 3.3V
it's for filtering 3.3V before senting it to 0202
importance 2

C29 10uF 3.3V
it's for filtering 3.3V for U5.
U5 is a line driver which buffers digital audio signals before they are sent to 0202
importance 3

C11 10uF 5V
it's for filtering 5V for U2, a line driver that works with sync and Xcard connectors.
importance 0 or 1 (unsure)

all caps shown in photo "1010 digital card part 2" (except C63) are for external Dock.
importance 0 (for 1212M user)

C63 10uF 3.3V
it's to filter 3.3V for digital out.
importance 0 (for analog lineout)
importance 3 (for digital out)

C117 and C94 (bottom left on card)
they are for the firewire circuit.
importance 0

C85 100uF 3.3V
it to filter 3.3V for the E-DSP and digital audio section.
importance 0 (for analog lineout)
importance 2 (for digital out)

 

[lucpes]

Also of interest is the c64 capacitor on the digital board. Situated on VR1 out, I think it feeds the two oscillators U7&U9 and the chipsets. Voltage is 3.3V or less. A large value OSCON here should help tame the bright character of the board.

 

[zhoufang]

lucpes
you are right.
VR1 on 1010 output 1.8V, so C64 will only need 2V tolerance.
in fact my last GIF diagram only showed circuit for the power regulation for the analog lineout section.
I will compile of list of the caps in the digital section that are of your interest later.

I have found that U7 and U9 runs on 3.3V from VR2, so C76 is the one that will help and not C64

 

[zhoufang]

texts moved from the main post to a reply, so that the auto line-break will work.
1st phase of mod done, with one screw up.

Before the EMU my best source was th line out from Creative jukebox3. It links to a PPA V1.1 clone then to HD650.
The sound from this system was excellent! The music was so alive that I have problem imaging how can it be better.

When I changed the jukebox3 to 1212M, the sound is just absolutely liveless.
The resolution and SNR is all there, but the music just sounds pale, so bad compare to the Jukebox3 that even my mother can tell "this is not as good" with just a few second of listening.

The phase 1 mod did not change anything substantial, it's still liveless.

Even my on-board SoundMax AC97 system produce more enjoyable sound. Yes the soundmax is noisy (not really noticable for the 300ohm HD650), show much less details, but at least there's some element of energy/liveness that's typical of AD chip.

Now I understand why people call 1212M boring.
Just hope that the with the op-amp change things will get signicifantly better.

 

[lucpes]

Sorry to hear that the mods sound rather bad...

From my experience, use OSCON only for digital bypass/decoupling.

For analog decoupling OSCON tends to sound too dry, even on the harsh side and a little bit too thin. It keeps details but it really kills dynamics and any sign of liveliness in music.

On Vref, Vq and Filt - all analog!! low frequency decoupling should have been used (Black Gate/Elna Cerafine/even Panasonic FC would be better than the oscons).

Also, the cerafine is a rather bad choice on the Vd+ pin on the dac which need high frequency decoupling.

DAC Vq is internal quiescent current for the DAC's own output buffers - analog/low freq - oscon has nothing to do in there...

I'll also try to use Panasonic FC as reservoir caps (all the 100uf caps on both cards) and OSCON SEP for local decoupling thus having good low freq&high freq filtering on the digital side.

Will update with photos/data regarding the sound changes using SANYO SEP for digital and Panasonic FC for analog decoupling / compared to stock, when my caps arrive, hopefully this week.

Then again, will see how the mod sounds in the real world

Capacitor removal: first, add new solder/flux to the joints you're about to re-heat; I use either a 100W soldering gun to remove the capacitors whilst heating BOTH legs at one time (takes about 2 seconds/cap) or gently wiggle the old cap back and forth without applying any heat until its legs break then use a soldering iron&soldering pump to clean the through-hole.

Opamps removal: add small! quantity of new solder to the joints, then use a pin to gently lift one pin at a time while heating the pad with the soldering iron. Add flux/resin, remove excess solder using a soldering braid, clean up with a cotton swab dipped in solvent, then put the new opamp in.

Regarding the film caps you bought, WIMA MKC 3 uses polycarbonate as dielectric, have not had any good results with that for audio. I usually use MKP 1837 (metallized polypropylene) from Vishay with good result, but I really think that additional bypass caps won't be needed in this case.

 

[zhoufang]

Thanks for the advice

I was using 25W iron initially.
Later changed to 40W, which works well.

What I was saying is that the sound was pretty bad to start with, and did not improve noticeably after the mod (without doing AB test though).
So it either improved a bit or stayed the same.
I really did not expect 1212M to perform so badly out of the box.

I have heard of regular OS-con being bad for audio, so almost all the OSCON I used are SP series, which Sanyo lable as for audio.

I have used SP series 6.3V/680uF to parallel with Jukebox3's 200uF Tant headphone output coupling cap, and the result is positive.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhoufang texts moved from the main post to a reply, so that the auto line-break will work. 1st phase of mod done, with one screw up. Before the EMU my best source was th line out from Creative jukebox3. It links to a PPA V1.1 clone then to HD650. The sound from this system was excellent! The music was so alive that I have problem imaging how can it be better. When I changed the jukebox3 to 1212M, the sound is just absolutely liveless. The resolution and SNR is all there, but the music just sounds pale, so bad compare to the Jukebox3 that even my mother can tell "this is not as good" with just a few second of listening. The phase 1 mod did not change anything substantial, it's still liveless. Even my on-board SoundMax AC97 system produce more enjoyable sound. Yes the soundmax is noisy (not really noticable for the 300ohm HD650), show much less details, but at least there's some element of energy/liveness that's typical of AD chip. Now I understand why people call 1212M boring. Just hope that the with the op-amp change things will get signicifantly better.

That is not uncommon when people hear mastering grade type equipment, often is highly detailed, but sometimes 'boring'. Others, like myself, really enjoy this sound. You should check out the 0404 or perhaps the audiophile 192, because there is definetly a step up from that creative jukebox

PS: Have you heard the 1212m on any speakers ? Or just your headphone setup?

 

[lucpes]

I have the card hooked up to a pair of Infinity Reference Standard II speakers (old classics dating from '82 which I recently put through a rejuvenating process as in crossover/production wiring reworking, bass drivers refoaming and further cabinet strenghtening) and I like the soundcard very much in stock form (only coupling caps bypassed). Everything sounds like it's supposed to be - especially the soundstage is great - except for the card being a little harsh on the upper midrange - should go away with the new caps/opamps upgrade (hopefully

).

 

[pranza]

The best mode u can do to EMU1212M is to replace it by RME Digi 96/8. EMU sound so helpless and has so many elements on it, that one can't decide from which side to start modding it... I'm very happy that I didn't start fiddling with it and bought a normal card instead. Not only 1212M sounds / records bad (yea, worse than cheaper M-Audio's Audiophile 2496), but VU meters show peak whenever there is no peak, so what for is that huge panel "Patchmix DSP", if the meters there are just for fun?

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pranza The best mode u can do to EMU1212M is to replace it by RME Digi 96/8. EMU sound so helpless and has so many elements on it, that one can't decide from which side to start modding it... I'm very happy that I didn't start fiddling with it and bought a normal card instead. Not only 1212M sounds / records bad (yea, worse than cheaper M-Audio's Audiophile 2496), but VU meters show peak whenever there is no peak, so what for is that huge panel "Patchmix DSP", if the meters there are just for fun?

No offence, but your commets have no foundation for your claims, you are the only person who has this opinion. Not saying not liking the 1212m is bad, but you input into any conversation with the 1212m being 'junk' is unfounded and does not help the conversation any.

 

[zhoufang]

Yesterday I was listening to the card straight after the mod. Now my 1212M has being running for about 12 hours since the mod. (before the mod is runned for about another 12 hours).

I don't know is it placedo or it's my brain getting used the the 1212M sound (it's true that I find myself get more comfortable with a speaker/headphone after long period of use), now the sound from it is quite listenable.

I would call it different from the Jukebox3 lineout, but not clearly inferior as I have it yesterday.

I never thought that electronice will have so much difference with burn-in. The difference I noticed after burn in with 1212M is equal or greater than my Sony MDR-E888LP earphone.
And since I have a new pair of 1/4" to RCA cable made for the EMU, it could be the burn-in of the cable that's making the difference, who knows?

Of course since I did not do any AB test, so the 1212M may actually be the same. Anyone shared my experience?

 

[lucpes]

Regarding burn-in, I have found the same things, the 1212m really sounds better after a couple of days inside the PC. Regarding the on-topic subject (changing caps/modding, the capacitors will be here tomorrow so I'd better get a camera

).