[uzziah]

well, i know this has been discussed, and i've read the threads throroughly. still seems a bit confusing. no one has actually put out a "modding guide" yet, have they? i just started soldering, did a lot of it, and feel quite confident. still, some of the mods out there for this card seem difficult

well, i wonder what would be the most easy mod to do?

this one:?

"Anyway, the easiest mod to do is to solder across the legs of the AC coupling capacitors (4 caps marked 16V 47uF to the left of the DAC chip, holding the card with the PCI slot facing downwards), this takes almost no time and little skill, and costs nothing if you already have a soldering iron and solder. This improves the directness and detail of the sound, as if a bit of a veil had been removed.

most likely i'd try that first. question: is that certain to make a definite improvement?

i suppose i'm confused because some have reported very mixed review when they modded their cards. on the other hand, there are some out-of-this world reviews. thoughts?

 

[sanne]

why don't you just send it to a fellow headfi member have them mod it for you?

 

[Fidelity]

Hmm I'm kinda interested too, I'm wondering what caps to use as there are many types each with varying characteristics that may alter the way the card sounds in a positive/negative way, if the mod can be performed by soldering the caps on the back of the PCB then it should be a fairly simple mod.

An E-MU 0404 mod guide with detailed images would be great...

 

[Magsy]

I did post a few half assed pics a while back..

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102152
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100912

I bypassed the caps and removed the buffer opamps, I also changed to a AD8610 at the same time.

It made a difference, it felt like it opened up and got wide, I did get a bright top end and thinner midrange though.

I later changed to a LT1364 because the AD8610 is a little sharp, this gave me a stronger midrange, possibly warmer and also tamed the top end nicely without losing any (much?) detail. Overall I gained a little bit of 'everything'.

The hardest part is taking the opamps off, I've killed mine now by doing this so many times I became careless and pulled up traces. Its not a difficult task really just requires care, patience and more patience.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanne why don't you just send it to a fellow headfi member have them mod it for you?

because i'm doing diy as a hobby. this is as much about learning as it is about a better sounding card.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magsy I did post a few half assed pics a while back.. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102152 http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100912 I bypassed the caps and removed the buffer opamps, I also changed to a AD8610 at the same time. It made a difference, it felt like it opened up and got wide, I did get a bright top end and thinner midrange though. I later changed to a LT1364 because the AD8610 is a little sharp, this gave me a stronger midrange, possibly warmer and also tamed the top end nicely without losing any (much?) detail. Overall I gained a little bit of 'everything'. The hardest part is taking the opamps off, I've killed mine now by doing this so many times I became careless and pulled up traces. Its not a difficult task really just requires care, patience and more patience.

thanks much. that really helps. i searched "emu 0404 mod" and that's why your post didn't come up. thanks for the link

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah because i'm doing diy as a hobby. this is as much about learning as it is about a better sounding card.

for your own experience, just try stuff out instead of following somebody's guide. see if you can tell the difference.

 

[uzziah]

well, i'm going to solder accross the caps on the bottom of the board. then i'll catch my breath and listen to it for awhile before i try anything more bold. i actually have a spare 8610 lying around (though, wouldnt' i need 2?? or a 2 channel opamp?) so i'm tempted to try it, but i won't do that yet. i want to screw around with protoboard a bit more and perfect my soldering technique

question: making "solder bridges" just sort of rubs me the wrong way. couldn't I just as easily (probably easier) take 4 little lengths of star quad wire and use that to connect?? i have plenty of space. it's my only pci card.

well, i'll report my findings after i do this first basic mod. then i'll get a drink and think some more about other mods (if this goes ok

)

 

[uzziah]

I did the "soldering acrross the 4 output caps" mod

i do notice a definite improvement

i think idea of "veil being lifted" is prety accurate

high end seems slightly more bright

will post more observations when i have more listening time

the mod was very easy. i heated up both solder joints, then drew my iron from one on my left (iron in right hand, solder in left; with the part of the card that you plug your cables into pointing at me), and drew the solder after the iron. used slightly more solder than i would have liked, but all in all it went fine. clapton's guitar seems more "transparent", the "twang" and echo of it is there. vocals fade in and out with more clarity. not a massive improvement, but certainly a noticable one, and for 0 dollars

it seems my card is a newer revision than the ones i've seen pics of. there are a few less caps in the very bottom right of the card (if you have the card oriented so that the place where it plugs into the PCI slot is down)

if you've ever read Ender's Game: the enemy's gate is down!

i'm pretty convinced i'll go ahead and change the caps suggested on Bg's thread, and the opamp as well; and also remove the buffering opamps at some time. i want to wait a bit and do some serious listening first.

suggestons for caps? i'm thinking Panasonic FM or Nichon. using default values (should i put bigger caps in?)

suggestions for opamp? i have an 8620 here, but it is socketed. i hear much about LT....... opamp. who makes this?

is removing the buffering opamps a good idea? i've heard mixed reviews about this, so that's the mod i'm most uncertain about

 

[uzziah]

i think the high end is significantly more bright. i have opa637's in my pimeta, and i think if i didn't it could be too bright. with the 637's it actually seems to bring back a good deal of brightness i lost when switching from the 8620 in my pimeta. i really like it. it's not fatiguing, but nice and clear and crisp

 

[uzziah]

i don't think the change is subtle. this is certainly a good mod for anyone who can do this safely.

 

[Glassman]

ok, seems like you desperately need someone to talk with

great success uzziah! you're a brave hearth

those were the best four joints you've ever made

)

now switch to hard training on removing those damn' SOIC beetles, that's the real men's thing

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah suggestons for caps? i'm thinking Panasonic FM or Nichon. using default values (should i put bigger caps in?)

You could go with higher capacitance value, but voltage rating, there is no need. Try higher capacitance value for power caps.

Quote:

suggestions for opamp? i have an 8620 here, but it is socketed. i hear much about LT....... opamp. who makes this?

As Glassman, said. Remove the opamps. Then solder a SOIC to DIP8 Browndog adapter with a DIP8 socket there, then you can use socketed OPamps via DIP8, and you can swap them for different ones.

-Ed

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glassman ok, seems like you desperately need someone to talk with great success uzziah! you're a brave hearth those were the best four joints you've ever made ) now switch to hard training on removing those damn' SOIC beetles, that's the real men's thing

har de har

ya ya. one step at a time. then i'll be.........................

 

[uzziah]

not to post again, but.......

so i get a brown dog and dip8 socket. i solder the dip8 to the browndog, then i solder the brown dog to the emu (after removing previous opamp of course). then i can opamp roll au naturale?

question: which brown dog is it i should use? i didn't see "soic to dip8" on their site.

edwood: on your pic it looks like you have two browndogs there. am i mistaken?

if i'm on the right track, i suppose i'd need to use another brown dog in that dip8 socket if i wanted dual opamps. do i hit the marK?