[Stadtpirat]

I have a question.
Do you use the SBX Pro Studio?
I only use the EQ.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Depends on the source material, but all I ever run is Crystalizer to give tracks some presence if they are lacking, nothing else is used in SBX by myself.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Ok I now believe in capacitor burn in time, which is because over the last 6 months the sound has only gotten better and better (my speakers already had at least 100-150 hours on them when I did the mod).  I have tracks that are 24 bit 96khz (some are binaural recordings) to test the quality along with Blu-Ray audio and movies, not only myself, but my gf can even hear this difference.  Once you do this mod the thing you will notice off the bat is more presence and the best way I know to describe other properties it is a more analog sound.  However as you keep using it the sound becomes even more detailed with a wider sound stage without losing the analog type sound you love from the first minute you hear it.
 
Also if anyone is doing this mod, please ask any question you can think of or if you aren't positive about something.  I don't want to hear someone fried their card because they attempted this without asking a question they should have asked (there are no "dumb" questions when you are modding things like this). 

 

[Stadtpirat]

I use the Mod to game with T70 and EQ ZXR Mod 2.
The sound is great.
But i must say for me and my pc.
- i must use thermal pads for the dip8 and the EMI Shield
- the dip8 are hot and shortcut with the EMI Shield
- i must use the emi shield for best sound
- my friend use my backup dip8 ( 2x AD8597, 4x ADA4627-1BRZ ) and he love it with beyerdynamic MMX 300 - 32 Ohm
 
I think so:
Stage 1: dip8 2xAD8597
Stage 2: dip8 2xAD8597 + 4x ADA4627-1BRZ
Stage 3: Custom Caps ( 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc )
Stage 4: EQ Zxr Mod 2
 
Stage 2 is good but Stage 4 is the best.
I write a tutorial in German, later if i have time
Because in Germany it is hard to buy the Dip8
 
No i search a cap with 12uF and 24uF but little and great sound.
i found this:
http://www.visaton.de/de/chassis_zubehoer/bauteile/mkp_kondensatoren/index.html
But not with 12 and 24uF

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Well yea, if we could use any capacitor I would have gone with Sprague black beauties

Is your "Stage 4" my EQ I posted, if so I am flattered my EQ = Stage 4

Have you checked to see if your opamps are fully seated? That may sound obvious, but it is easy to overlook. However don't use too much pressure or you could damage the opamps, the sockets or even the pcb. I thought you used the same opamps on the same adapters that I am. Look at my picture in the gallery for a close up of the adapters I used. If you aren't using the same are all your opamps below the stock caps? If yours are the same as mine then you should have no clearance issues.

BTW, have you put enough hours on the caps yet, say 100 min, to hear a difference from burn in?

Also anyone in Germany could just use Google Translate and read this thread, just a thought.

 

[Stadtpirat]

You are right sir.
Yes your EQ ZXR Mod 2 is the best what i hear in my life .
I think the sound is after the burn in better
- bass is not so deep but very very very good
- vocals are very clear
- instrumental i think i have the ear on it
 
My heart go on or Candle in the wind or  i walk the line are soooooo good.
 
My friend loves the dip8 too Thanks from him to you

 

[NCSUZoSo]

bump, this mod deserves to stay alive, although Google sends you straight here if you just search "ZXR Mod"

 

[Reckless95]

So I guess since you bumped this and I have a ZxR in my system that I just got, I might as well go through with this. Are these the caps you guys used?
 
http://www.erseaudio.com/Products/PulseX250v/MPX25-03-12-00
 
Thanks

 

[NCSUZoSo]

One person used Clarity caps which are pretty costly, I am the one who used ERSE caps because they are available in the US and come at a fair price.  However yes, those are the same capacitors I have installed on mine.
 
It is more important you understand the mod from beginning to end than it is which mylars you go with.

 

[Reckless95]

One person used Clarity caps which are pretty costly, I am the one who used ERSE caps because they are available in the US and come at a fair price.  However yes, those are the same capacitors I have installed on mine.

It is more important you understand the mod from beginning to end than it is which mylars you go with.

So just one question about how he worded this. "The caps in the blue box are for the surround sound analog output section. These only need to be shorted if you are using 5.1 speakers with analog input." What does he mean by shorted?

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I don't intend this negatively at all, but if you are asking that question you may want to rethink doing this type of mod on equipment this expensive.
 
However I will answer your question as I was one of the first people on head-fi to perform the mod.  A short takes the existing capacitor out of the circuit allowing you to use the mylars.
 
You can see in the OP of this thread a picture of my shorts, which are essentially just pieces of metal (I used leads from the many extra LEDs I have).  Here is the picture, each location where a piece of LED lead is cut and soldered at two points corresponds to the picture and instructions you quoted above which are the stock capacitors you are taking out of the circuit.  Electricity follows the path of least resistance and because of this it flows across one solder point of capacitor directly to the other, in other words the capacitor is shorted out of the circuit.
 
 

 

[germanium]

  I don't intend this negatively at all, but if you are asking that question you may want to rethink doing this type of mod on equipment this expensive.
 
However I will answer your question as I was one of the first people on head-fi to perform the mod.  A short takes the existing capacitor out of the circuit allowing you to use the mylars.
 
You can see in the OP of this thread a picture of my shorts, which are essentially just pieces of metal (I used leads from the many extra LEDs I have).  Here is the picture, each location where a piece of LED lead is cut and soldered at two points corresponds to the picture and instructions you quoted above which are the stock capacitors you are taking out of the circuit.  Electricity follows the path of least resistance and because of this it flows across one solder point of capacitor directly to the other, in other words the capacitor is shorted out of the circuit.
 
 

 
Correction the caps do not need to be shorted to use the Mylar caps however you will not get the full benefit of the Mylar caps without shorting the coupling caps. Shorting the caps must be done before you permanently attach the caps to the board as they will need to be glued down to prevent movement in case the computer gets bumped so as not to stress the solder joints & cause them to come loose & possibly cause a short where there should not be one.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Well germanium I am sort of confused the point of using mylars if you don't short the existing ones.  You would then be using the old ones in some sort of way since they are not removed from the circuit.

 

[germanium]

Well germanium I am sort of confused the point of using mylars if you don't short the existing ones.  You would then be using the old ones in some sort of way since they are not removed from the circuit.

No need to be confused as I said that to get the full benefits from the Mylar caps that the coupling caps need to be shorted, it's just not an absolute requipment if someone feels uncomfortable doing that part. They just need to be done to get the absolute best from this mod.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Bump for a mod that just sounds better and better with time.  If you have the skills and you have the ZXR this is one of the best mods I have ever done in terms of soldering iron to hardware.  I know germanium and I have both said it, but the best way to tell you the difference is like going from a solid state guitar amp to an all tube amplifier (more analog sound).  Keep in mind I have taken soldering irons directly to motherboards (two) and video cards (three) to increase voltage for higher clocks