[aphex944]

After playing my Sonica for awhile, I opened it up and took a look at what was inside.

It's a really simple device, with an AKM 4353VF DAC, some sort of TI usb controller I believe, and 2 10uF 25v capacitors in the signal path that I could easily upgrade.

This thing already sounded great, miles above my old MX300 soundcard. But I decided to order replacement caps from www.referenceaudiomods.com, I got 2 Black Gate 10uF 16v caps for $5.

After letting them break in a little bit, things sounded more accurate. This device has a nice, very subtle "sweet" sound to it. The caps kept this sound, and added a whole new level of clarity. I was pretty skeptical about how the AKM DAC would sound, but it turned out to be great. This device is without opamps or digital filtering, it's all done inside the DAC. Time and time again I find out keeping things very simple with audio components leads to the best sound. As Einstein said, "Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler."

I compared the modded Sonica to my modified Marantz CD67SE, it wasn't as full as the Marantz, but it was pretty close. Probably as close as I can get with computer audio. Anyone looking for a simple, very inexpensive($55 Sonica + $5 caps) computer audio solution should check out one of these.

Here's a picture of the insides, and the Black Gates(marked with green dot):

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Nice! Thanks. Will have to do that on mine someday...

 

[xtreme4099]

cool ... yeah i started a thread on the maudio revolution a while back ..replacing the op-amps ...

 

[Glassman]

you don't really need those caps in the signal path at all, but if it's Black Gate, maybe it's not so bad.. I strongly suggest adding more power supply line capacity - find the cap with the highest value - it will be the one responsible for filtering - and replace it with the highest capacity cap from Black Gate, ELNA or Panasonic FC you can fit in the small Sonica's box.. I guarantee you this will give Sonica the fullness

oh and if you can, please post here photos of the Sonica's inside..

 

[hottyson]

I too have the Sonica. I didn't win an amp from Headroom so I thought of this idea. You could remove the 3.5mm jack and use about six inches of silver wire to connect it strait to the innards of a large Cmoy or Meta. Shield it and throw out the Sonica casing. The end product would be something related to a Headroom Bithead sitting next to your computer. It could be a lot cheaper than a Bithead too. This would work for me cause I don't plan on using headphones on a portable laptop. If you got really creative you could even put a fiber optic cable extension to a s/pdif jack on the case of the headphone amp.

 

[Voodoochile]

Like this?

This one's with a MINT... but it works very well, and it's nice to have around. I use it with the laptop all the time. I'm thinking of redoing it with a pimeta. Go for it.

Nice thing was that I didn't have to mod the sonica itself at all. The two screws holding the board to the standoffs are through the existing holes, and the leads are tabbed right on the output pads. Snip off the wires, remove the two screws, and it drops right back into the housing. Knowing that it works well, I should do some mods to the sonica itself I suppose.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by Voodoochile Like this? This one's with a MINT...

Wow, that is friggin gorgeous!

Quote:

Originally posted by Voodoochile I'm thinking of redoing it with a pimeta.

If you do decide to redo it, I'll swap you your old one for my new Sonica and a Sony CD780 headset.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by hottyson If you do decide to redo it, I'll swap you your old one for my new Sonica and a Sony CD780 headset.

Actually, I would be willing to trade you my new Sonica and TWO Sony CD780 headsets.

 

[aphex944]

Whoa.. that is a really cool idea!! That's awesome, now I am getting all sorts of ideas

 

[Glassman]

Voodoochile, how about using the battery power for the Sonica instead the USB? this will kick the sound to another level

 

[Voodoochile]

Quote:

Originally posted by Glassman Voodoochile, how about using the battery power for the Sonica instead the USB? this will kick the sound to another level

I could test it to see how much it affects the battery life. Right now the thing runs for a very long time on the eight AA NiMh cells. I have since added a pair of RCAs, and a toggle to switch between the two inputs. One PC feeds the data via USB, the other PC feeds analog line to the RCAs... flip the switch when I change screens.

What I like the most is that before, I had a small amp, the sonica, the usb cord, an interconnect... this is much neater. As for the Sonica itself, the sound for music is nicer with the amp and external dac, but the biggest improvement is in the simulated surround for DVDs that the Sonica provides. Way better than WMP, I feel.


Hottyson- I'll let you know.

 

[joe_cool]

Really neat idea! What power voltages are on the USB cable? Maybe just +5v and ground?

 

[Voodoochile]

I believe it's 5... I don't recall though. I'd bet it's very noisy power, too.

 

[Glassman]

the USB controller from Texas is TUSB3200, which requires 3.3V and the small SMT thing I haven't saw the first time is thus 3.3V regulator, so you need at least 3 battery, but 4 will be better to perceive some headroom for the regulator..

do it and tell us how does it sound

 

[ITZBITZ]

Once the Sonica comes back in stock at NewEgg.com (unless somebody knows another source just as cheap), I'm going to get one to mess with.

I think replacing the USB power with a feed from the power supply, isolating the USB data from the USB power to avoid noise, replacing all the power supply caps with something better and mounting it inside the amp case might be a good start. Also looking at relocating the USB port to a rear-panel mounted hookup so board placement isn't so critical.

Anybody know of a place with it for $55 or less shipped?