Ctritical Bill
New Head-Fier
This amp isn't really suited to modding because of the cramped case but if you have one and want to mod it then there are benefits in changing the caps and maybe some of the resistors.
This is my modded board :
I have changed the output bypass caps to 1uf Mundorf Mcaps, the coupling caps are MKT1822 from my LD MkIV, and the power supply bypass caps are russian K40Y-9 paper-in-oil. I also changed the input resistors to some Dale ones as I had them spare but don't expect that to have made much of a difference.
The amp now has improved clarity, soundstage, and a better sense of ambiance. Only changes I might make now is to remove the input caps and replace them with just a piece of wire as I have found that works well in other amps I have modded. Also I will be replacing those two 5W cement resistors in the power supply to metal oxide ones simply cause they are better and it is quick, cheap, and easy to do.
These are the caps I removed :
The brown ones are the output bypass caps - no name ( I guess no one wanted to own up to making these ).
The yellow ones are the power supply bypass - Carli 47nf but both of mine measured below 40nf which is close to the 20% tolerance.
The blue ones are the coupling caps - Rifa.
All of these are cheap junk and shouldn't really be in an audio amplifier. The Little Dot website shows a version 1 board and mine is version 4 and it looks like they have been cutting costs. My board was a Wima-free-zone, not that they are the greatest caps but better than what was installed.
So underneath all the cheap components I think there is a good amp waiting to get out and simply changing a few caps will make a great improvement. Just be aware you need to choose caps that will fit in the confined space.
This is my modded board :
I have changed the output bypass caps to 1uf Mundorf Mcaps, the coupling caps are MKT1822 from my LD MkIV, and the power supply bypass caps are russian K40Y-9 paper-in-oil. I also changed the input resistors to some Dale ones as I had them spare but don't expect that to have made much of a difference.
The amp now has improved clarity, soundstage, and a better sense of ambiance. Only changes I might make now is to remove the input caps and replace them with just a piece of wire as I have found that works well in other amps I have modded. Also I will be replacing those two 5W cement resistors in the power supply to metal oxide ones simply cause they are better and it is quick, cheap, and easy to do.
These are the caps I removed :
The brown ones are the output bypass caps - no name ( I guess no one wanted to own up to making these ).
The yellow ones are the power supply bypass - Carli 47nf but both of mine measured below 40nf which is close to the 20% tolerance.
The blue ones are the coupling caps - Rifa.
All of these are cheap junk and shouldn't really be in an audio amplifier. The Little Dot website shows a version 1 board and mine is version 4 and it looks like they have been cutting costs. My board was a Wima-free-zone, not that they are the greatest caps but better than what was installed.
So underneath all the cheap components I think there is a good amp waiting to get out and simply changing a few caps will make a great improvement. Just be aware you need to choose caps that will fit in the confined space.