[flecom]

you can easily run the sonica off 4x AA batteries, it makes a huge improvement imo... just cut the power wire in the usb line and attach the batteries to that and ground...

you still need ground coming from the pc or else the usb interface wont work correctly

 

[Megaptera]

Do we know what the Sonica's max voltage is? One of the caps is 10V, easily replaced, but I don't know about the SMD parts or the socketed chip (an EEPROM?)

I'm curious because I've connected it to a Mint, which is running off of a regulated 24V supply, and I'd like to tie their power together if possible. The 24V might just be too much, though.

 

[flecom]

ya 24v will probably kill things... the chips are after a 3.3v voltage regulator but i think 24v might be too much for it too... also there are some other things that are running off usb voltage (the led for sure) so you should try to keep it around 5~6v

 

[Megaptera]

I probably just won't bother messing with the power, though it would be nice if I could isolate it from the computer's. I'm not that picky about the power going into this little mongrel, but I want at least 12V to the amp section. Maybe once I get the case I'll see if there's room for batteries...

 

[flecom]

you could always build a little LM317 regulator to step down the 24/12v or whatever to 5v

 

[Megaptera]

There's already a LM317 in there for the Mint. Does it matter to the 24V regulator whether a second load is added in series or parallel to the first? With a voltage regulator stepping it down to 5V, would it even count as a second load? My real concern with that is heat, though....

I really should stop messing with this thing. I just got it working at the office this morn-- whoops, I just ordered some Black Gates for it.

 

[Jaypetermen]

I was looking for a portable UBS sound card/DAC for a laptop so I purchased a used Sonica.

The Sonica has a very low output from the 1/8" jack, even when running the output through a portable cMoy. As is, the Sonica is useless for portable use, since the laptops onboard sound card has more output.

I am curious if this Sonica is defective or if the Sonica's 1/8" output is just low?

If it's the later, will any of the previously recommended mods increase the output?

 

[dsavitsk]

Try different drivers, this should boost the output (i don't remember off hand which ones are the output limiting ones, but a search might bring it up.) Note, though, that the output is a bit lower with the sonica than some other cards, especially those that are meant to drive phones.

What is the gain of your cmoy? You might need to boost it a bit as well.

 

[Jaypetermen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsavitsk Try different drivers, this should boost the output (i don't remember off hand which ones are the output limiting ones, but a search might bring it up.) Note, though, that the output is a bit lower with the sonica than some other cards, especially those that are meant to drive phones.

I had previously installed driver version 1.2.2.0 from M-Audio’s web site. It appears to be the most current.

Does anyone know if this is the driver, which provides an increased analog output?

I also found this site: http://kiwirant.co.nz/viewtopic.php?...highlight=1205 which has a link to the older 1205 driver.

I installed the 1205 driver and the analog output signal was "garbled", for a better word, through iTunes. I reverted back to the 1.2.2.0 and it sounds okay.

I found that if I turned the system volume to MAX, the iTunes volume to very low and then turned up the cMoy, the Sonica provided a descent output. With iTunes volume turned up half way or more the signal seemed to distort when acquiring the same output level through the cMoy.

 

[Jaypetermen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megaptera There's already a LM317 in there for the Mint. Does it matter to the 24V regulator whether a second load is added in series or parallel to the first? With a voltage regulator stepping it down to 5V, would it even count as a second load? My real concern with that is heat, though....

How did you end up powering the Sonica?

What other modifications did you make to the Sonica?

I am thinking about re-casing a Sonica with a Pimeta and I would like to only build the unit once, so any information would be helpful.

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaypetermen I found that if I turned the system volume to MAX, the iTunes volume to very low and then turned up the cMoy, the Sonica provided a descent output. With iTunes volume turned up half way or more the signal seemed to distort when acquiring the same output level through the cMoy.

Something isn't right. You should turn off any audio processing on the computer end (iTunes "preamp", equalizers, etc) and all volumes on the computer should be all the way up. On the sonica setup, turn off all of the surround sound and upsampling, and anything else it does.

 

[Jaypetermen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsavitsk Something isn't right. You should turn off any audio processing on the computer end (iTunes "preamp", equalizers, etc) and all volumes on the computer should be all the way up. On the sonica setup, turn off all of the surround sound and upsampling, and anything else it does.

I resolved the iTunes problem by switching to Foobar. Wow what an improvment. The Sonica has decent output when using foobar and the 1.2.2.0 driver. Now that I have Foobar setup I will try the 1.2.0.5 driver and see if it works better then the iTunes garble. Thanks.

When using the 1.2.2.0 driver should I apply oversamlping in Foobar? or leave it out?