CoiL
Member of the Trade: Wood Audio Accessories & Modifications
Ok. Anyway, I hope You like how it sounds after changing them Don`t forget babs ! He is the one to thank for all this!
Btw, I did little write-up on caps in original thread and I`m not sure when (if at all) I`ll manage to do to more in-depth "review", so, I`ll post this here too:
Btw, I did little write-up on caps in original thread and I`m not sure when (if at all) I`ll manage to do to more in-depth "review", so, I`ll post this here too:
...but i feel the music instrument sound not very clear, ex: the guitar strumming is not sound real. Will try mod my DX50 next week, hope this work.. wish me luck!
Yeah, stock caps lack guitar(bass)/drums/percussion punch/kick/tightness. This is the weakest point of DX50, even with SU 1.3.3. Capacitor change will improve those things greatly imho. Good luck with modding! Be patient and calm when opening DX50 and think every move through carefully so You don`t brake anything. Once You get PCB out, it`s easy to desolder old caps (use desoldering wick) and solder new ones.
If help needed, ask from iBasso DX50 MODS thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/720776/ibasso-dx50-mods/180
Edit:
Just my 2 cent before trying out any Hardware changes, as they are completely irreversible
I don`t agree... capacitors are easily reversible mod imo Though, guarantee sticker on one screw will brake and You`ll lose it if You want to remove whole PCB. But if You are skilled, it can be done without removing PCB
I still recommend to remove whole PCB.
Also I do want to note that the LO seems to have better quality than the HO, as even through a cheap amp like the Topping NX1 the sounds from LO seems to be clearer while HO sounds muffled and lost some detail in comparison.
That`s because LO has Nichicon FW caps by stock, which are good Stock HO caps are Jovial TK UTSJ "audio caps" - they are the cause of that muffled/hazed/less detailed sound. Despite they are hyped in Japan by some audio companies, IMHO, they are pretty crappy sounding. I can`t understand why iBasso didn`t go with Nichicon FW for HO also - they are almost same good sounding as Panasonic FC that I highly recommend in case of DX50.
I tested all those following caps on my DX50 HO (with quick-change breadboard, all had at least 50h "burn-in" before comparing):
* Nichicon FG 100uF 10V
* Nichicon FW 220uF 10V
* Nichicon KW 220uF 10V
* Panasonic FM 220uF 10V
* Panasonic FC 220uF 10V
* Panasonic FR 220uF 10V
* VISHAY BC 220uF 10V
* Panasonic AM 330uF 10V
* Nichicon KA 220uF 10V
* Nichicon SW 220uF 6.3V
Some pics I took (some are in camera) for short follow-up review I haven`t had time to write yet:
This is by memory atm but here is the list from best to worst (my subjective opinion):
1. Panasonic FC
2. Vishay BC 038RSU
3. Nichicon FG
4. Nichicon FW
5. Panasonic AM
6. Nichicon KA
7. Nichicon KW
8. Jovial TK UTSJ
9. Panasonic FR
10. Nichicon SW
11. Panasonic FM
First 3 are almost same good and one should decide by his own taste/gear synergy. Recommend to try out all those three!
Nichicon FW is also solid choice. But I think You can`t go wrong with FC.
Nichicon KA and Panasonic AM were quite same sounding to me (didn`t bother to find differences since others sounded better). Despite FR, FM and SW had better detail/clarity than Jovial, I thought they lacked in dynamics/musicality(mids?) and soundstage wasn`t also so good.