[dutchdog]

I remove the caps and make a wire to the new caps. 12uF and 24uf ClarityCap Kondensator PWA and i shorted the red marked caps.
Nothing on the Backside. I asket for the caps on both sides (org + custom) or only on one side (only custom caps).

I do like removing caps alltogether , shorting them on front and using long wire.
Why now only 5 caps instead of 6/7 that are shown in earlier pictures on this thread. Is 5 now indeed correct?

I cleaned up after reading the thread fully to make 1 clear post. Can you mark the points, make a more detailed picture instruction?
If not I will do it myself as after making this summary I now understand what needs to be done. It its 21 steps.

Make numbers and say what you did. I allreadt made the index, just number the pictures on high res pictures.
This if for Front faced mod with long wires. Glue capacitors at the back with hot glue to make it neat.

1. 21 steps to mod your ZXR


1. Location of first AD8597
2. Location of second AD8597

3. Location of first ADA4627
4. Location of second ADA4627

GREEN
5. Remove cap and first 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
6. Remove cap and second 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

PURPLE
7. Remove cap and first 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
8. Remove cap and second 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
9. Remove cap and third 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

RED
10. Remove cap and Short location 1 for stereo
11. Remove cap and Short location 2 for stereo
12. Remove cap and Short location 3 for stereo
13. Remove cap and Short location 4 for stereo

Optional if you want surround to ->

BLUE
14. Remove cap and Short location 5 for surround
15. Remove cap and Short location 6 for surround
16. Remove cap and Short location 7 for surround
17. Remove cap and Short location 8 for surround
18. Remove cap and Short location 9 for surround
19. Remove cap and Short location 10 for surround
20. Remove cap and Short location 11 for surround
21. Remove cap and Short location 12 for surround


2. This is the full list of parts as mentioned earlier


2x DIP8 = AD8597 (OP AMPS)

2x DIP8 = 2x ADA4627-1BRZ ( Precision Amplifiers)

2x 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3x 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3. You shorted only red as you shorted just for stereo, correct? Otherwise one can remove all caps and short them all if one wants surround.
What I find weird is that we remove/short 12 caps and only put 5 back and still card will work fully and better than before. Why is that?

 

[dutchdog]

Since the Z is the same card , not surround, but same dac and a ton cheaper. I would be very intrested to do a similar mod to a Z. Shouldnt be to hard. I will buy one and post PCB.

Anyone keen in making a seperate thread for the Z?

 

[germanium]

Since the Z is the same card , not surround, but same dac and a ton cheaper. I would be very intrested to do a similar mod to a Z. Shouldnt be to hard. I will buy one and post PCB.

Anyone keen in making a seperate thread for the Z?

Card is not the same. DAC is not the same. I have modded cards before with the same DAC that is in the z  card & power supply mods to the DAC portion do not respond the same as it does with the Bur Brown DAC that is in the ZXR card. The Z uses a Cirrus Logic DAC. Power supply mods on the Opamp section are still good though. The Burr Brown DAC is a superior DAC to the Cirrus Logic DAC as well. 

 

[dutchdog]

Card is not the same. DAC is not the same. I have modded cards before with the same DAC that is in the z  card & power supply mods to the DAC portion do not respond the same as it does with the Bur Brown DAC that is in the ZXR card. The Z uses a Cirrus Logic DAC. Power supply mods on the Opamp section are still good though. The Burr Brown DAC is a superior DAC to the Cirrus Logic DAC as well. 

Thanks. My bad. I thought they were the same.but indeed they are not. From web:

the ZxR is a completely different soundcard, as it has a better DAC in the form of a BURR BROWN DAC and has a Texas Instrument 600Ohms high fidelity AMP both of which ARE NOT on the Z or the ZX. The ZxR is also almost 2x the size of the Z/Zx card and also comes with another daughter board which comes with it's own soundcore chip on it meaning you get 2 soundcores on the ZxR vs the Z/ZX. The ZxR is meant to compete if not and in my opinion surpasses the Asus Xonar Essence STX as it's almost identical to the STX legendary sound qaulity but the ZxR has a few up on it as the ZxR supports full DTS and has full support for 5.1 via digital and analog which the STX doesn't.

Is my sumamrized instruction below ok @germanium?

I do like removing caps alltogether , shorting them on front and using long wire.
Why now only 5 caps instead of 6/7 that are shown in earlier pictures on this thread. Is 5 now indeed correct?

I cleaned up after reading the thread fully to make 1 clear post. Can you mark the points, make a more detailed picture instruction?
If not I will do it myself as after making this summary I now understand what needs to be done. It its 21 steps.

Make numbers and say what you did. I allreadt made the index, just number the pictures on high res pictures.
This if for Front faced mod with long wires. Glue capacitors at the back with hot glue to make it neat.

1. 21 steps to mod your ZXR


1. Location of first AD8597
2. Location of second AD8597

3. Location of first ADA4627
4. Location of second ADA4627

GREEN
5. Remove cap and first 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
6. Remove cap and second 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

PURPLE
7. Remove cap and first 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
8. Remove cap and second 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
9. Remove cap and third 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

RED
10. Remove cap and Short location 1 for stereo
11. Remove cap and Short location 2 for stereo
12. Remove cap and Short location 3 for stereo
13. Remove cap and Short location 4 for stereo

Optional if you want surround to ->

BLUE
14. Remove cap and Short location 5 for surround
15. Remove cap and Short location 6 for surround
16. Remove cap and Short location 7 for surround
17. Remove cap and Short location 8 for surround
18. Remove cap and Short location 9 for surround
19. Remove cap and Short location 10 for surround
20. Remove cap and Short location 11 for surround
21. Remove cap and Short location 12 for surround


2. This is the full list of parts as mentioned earlier


2x DIP8 = AD8597 (OP AMPS)

2x DIP8 = 2x ADA4627-1BRZ ( Precision Amplifiers)

2x 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3x 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3. You shorted only red as you shorted just for stereo, correct? Otherwise one can remove all caps and short them all if one wants surround.
What I find weird is that we remove/short 12 caps and only put 5 back and still card will work fully and better than before. Why is that





Can you answer question 3 as Stadtpirat didnt delete and short the 5.1 caps,

 

[germanium]

Thanks. My bad. I thought they were the same.but indeed they are not. From web:

the ZxR is a completely different soundcard, as it has a better DAC in the form of a BURR BROWN DAC and has a Texas Instrument 600Ohms high fidelity AMP both of which ARE NOT on the Z or the ZX. The ZxR is also almost 2x the size of the Z/Zx card and also comes with another daughter board which comes with it's own soundcore chip on it meaning you get 2 soundcores on the ZxR vs the Z/ZX. The ZxR is meant to compete if not and in my opinion surpasses the Asus Xonar Essence STX as it's almost identical to the STX legendary sound qaulity but the ZxR has a few up on it as the ZxR supports full DTS and has full support for 5.1 via digital and analog which the STX doesn't.

Is my sumamrized instruction below ok @germanium?

I do like removing caps alltogether , shorting them on front and using long wire.
Why now only 5 caps instead of 6/7 that are shown in earlier pictures on this thread. Is 5 now indeed correct?

I cleaned up after reading the thread fully to make 1 clear post. Can you mark the points, make a more detailed picture instruction?
If not I will do it myself as after making this summary I now understand what needs to be done. It its 21 steps.

Make numbers and say what you did. I allreadt made the index, just number the pictures on high res pictures.
This if for Front faced mod with long wires. Glue capacitors at the back with hot glue to make it neat.

1. 21 steps to mod your ZXR


1. Location of first AD8597
2. Location of second AD8597

3. Location of first ADA4627
4. Location of second ADA4627

GREEN
5. Remove cap and first 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
6. Remove cap and second 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

PURPLE
7. Remove cap and first 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
8. Remove cap and second 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc
9. Remove cap and third 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

RED
10. Remove cap and Short location 1 for stereo
11. Remove cap and Short location 2 for stereo
12. Remove cap and Short location 3 for stereo
13. Remove cap and Short location 4 for stereo

Optional if you want surround to ->

BLUE
14. Remove cap and Short location 5 for surround
15. Remove cap and Short location 6 for surround
16. Remove cap and Short location 7 for surround
17. Remove cap and Short location 8 for surround
18. Remove cap and Short location 9 for surround
19. Remove cap and Short location 10 for surround
20. Remove cap and Short location 11 for surround
21. Remove cap and Short location 12 for surround


2. This is the full list of parts as mentioned earlier


2x DIP8 = AD8597 (OP AMPS)

2x DIP8 = 2x ADA4627-1BRZ ( Precision Amplifiers)

2x 24uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3x 12uF ClarityCap PWA 160Vdc

3. You shorted only red as you shorted just for stereo, correct? Otherwise one can remove all caps and short them all if one wants surround.
What I find weird is that we remove/short 12 caps and only put 5 back and still card will work fully and better than before. Why is that





Can you answer question 3 as Stadtpirat didnt delete and short the 5.1 caps,

The difference between my caps & the other guys is he used 1-24u cap in the place of my 2-12 if caps allowing him to use a total of only 5 caps to get the same values.

I did not choose to remove the original caps as I did not want to potentially damage the board traces/connection points as these boards are multi layer boards with hidden connections within the layers of the board it self that can be easily damaged.

I also felt that removing the original caps in the power supply could result in a kind of glaring sound without other having sufficient capacity capacitors to put in their place. Plus there is a lack of room for my prefered caps if I wanted to eliminate the original caps, I would have used larger metalized film caps in order to minimize glare.

 

[Stadtpirat]

My Mod are finish:

 

 

 
Thermalpad on SoundIC and the DIP8 = AD8597 & 2x ADA4627-1BRZ

 

[NCSUZoSo]

LOL, did you put the caps inside of a movie box?
 
Overall you did a good job on finding an alternate solution to the way germanium and I did it.
 
Oh and just to clarify for future readers (or current), you do not have to buy the exact same opamps as me in order for this mod to work

  I did spend a decent amount of cash to figure out the combo that would fit and I liked, so feel free to go with them.  However you can also get by with much cheaper opamps or leave the stock ones.
 
 
ZoSo

 

[germanium]

Yes the stock ones work great for me & that is what I presented to my manufacturing friend.

 

[Stadtpirat]

Yes my one and oly old VHS Moviebox.
Soundcard - Mainboard Screw - Moviebox (Isolated with Tempo / WC paper).
 
Can you say me please the value of your EQ from Page 3 post #32
31
62
125
250
500
1K
2K
4K
8K
16K
Level
 
Thank you all for the Mod and your great help.
I love the new ZXR Sound. And with the EQ from Page 3 post #32 the sound is perfekt!!!

 

[NCSUZoSo]

  Yes my one and oly old VHS Moviebox.
Soundcard - Mainboard Screw - Moviebox (Isolated with Tempo / WC paper).
 
Can you say me please the value of your EQ from Page 3 post #32
31
62
125
250
500
1K
2K
4K
8K
16K
Level
 
Thank you all for the Mod and your great help.
I love the new ZXR Sound. And with the EQ from Page 3 post #32 the sound is perfekt!!!

 
Here are the EQ settings I am using (the one I am using is ZXR Mod 2), the one you saw on page 3 is the bottom one:
 
ZXR Mod 2
19 16 13 9 10 10 11 15 15 12

ZXR Mod 1
13 14 13 9 14 11 10 15 14 12

ZXR Mod
8 8 11 9 8 9 11 14 11 8
 
You can't exactly copy EQ settings though with so many variables at play, although our sound cards are almost identically modded, our speakers/headphones aren't even close to the same.  If I was you I would use my EQ settings above as maybe a guide to start at, but you should play around with them to see if you don't find your "sweet" spot for your own setup.
 
Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

[germanium]

Given the high average recording levels of most music now days & given the nature of digital EQ, EQ levels should not be boosted. Any EQ should be accomplished by cutting instead of boosting other wise you run the risk of clipping the music or running into on board limiter, both of which sound horrible.
 
Clipping makes the music sound harsh & the limiter causes odd sudden shifts in volume as it yanks the volume down extremely quickly to avoid clipping & releases the volume somewhat more slowly causing short term holes in the relative volume making the music sound trippy but in a very uncomfortable sort of way.

 

[Stadtpirat]

Thanks,
i make a little Pic.
i play with the EQ but your Profile very good for me.
 

 

[NCSUZoSo]

  Given the high average recording levels of most music now days & given the nature of digital EQ, EQ levels should not be boosted. Any EQ should be accomplished by cutting instead of boosting other wise you run the risk of clipping the music or running into on board limiter, both of which sound horrible.
 
Clipping makes the music sound harsh & the limiter causes odd sudden shifts in volume as it yanks the volume down extremely quickly to avoid clipping & releases the volume somewhat more slowly causing short term holes in the relative volume making the music sound trippy but in a very uncomfortable sort of way.

 
Are you saying you only run the EQ in the negative directions with flat (0) across the board as your start reference?  If so I have never heard anyone say what you just did, but that doesn't mean it's not true.  Can you show/tell us what your EQ is set to?
 
 

  Thanks,
i make a little Pic.
i play with the EQ but your Profile very good for me.

 
I'm glad to hear that it is helping you and that my settings are very close to what you find to be a sweet spot on your system.

 

[germanium]

If you really need to boost a frequency then first cut the overall volume by at least the same as the maximum boost of any one frequency.

There is a volume slider at the right hand side of the equalizer. It seems to be limited to +/- 12 dB so maximum boost should be 12 dB since you can only cut overall volume by 12db from the equalizer volume control.

Remember that any midrange & high frequencies ride on the low frequency waveform which means they are additive to the overall output by 50% of the maximum swing of the high frequency. If you have a low frequency signal that is right up against clipping a mid or high frequency signal will be clipped or limited causing a short term drop in overall volume from the limiter if present by the amount that the signal is drive past the point of clipping.

By the way I'm not using the EQ as I like the sound the way it is with my setup. Room placement does wonders in my case as I have largely eliminated standing waves & any near reflections due to the placement I have chosen in spite of my small room.

The reason you want to use the volume control in the EQ section to do this is that you need to reduce the overall volume before processing. If you wait until after processing the damage has already been done by the processing & will likely remain present even after reducing volume by the windows volume control which is a separate process. Reducing volume on a stream that has already been clipped will remain clipped because it was clipped before reaching the volume control process. The clipped wave will be reduced in volume but the clipped nature of the stream remains if correction doesn't take place where the original processing takes place.

 

[germanium]

bump