Modding the RME PAD
Feb 21, 2004 at 12:55 AM Post #107 of 243
Nice results, but am I right, if I say that there is no difference between the tested opamps used ?
Can you hear any difference between the op-amps, benchmarks aside ?
Also, sometime you replaced the stock caps (50V 22uF) with the same valued Black Gates. Did you do any before/after RMAA measurements at that time ?
 
Feb 21, 2004 at 1:07 AM Post #108 of 243
Well the Blacjgates are on the card that I sold, the measurements are from a new card that I just modded this afternoon, which does not yet have blackgates. I can hear a difference between the opamps, the AD8610 is a little bit punchier and slightly brighter than the AD797, so far. THey are both an improvement over the stock opamp. Look at one of my recent previous posts for the reasoning behind the opamp change making little or no differece in the RMAA results.
 
Feb 21, 2004 at 4:05 AM Post #109 of 243
Pics of your progress? Inquiring minds want to know.

When you're done send me the card so I can evaluate it.
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Feb 21, 2004 at 5:31 AM Post #111 of 243
LM7171 is getting hot becouse it's oscilating, so forget about this opamp unless you provide additional supply bypass directly by it's legs.. there's serious distance between bypass caps on the PAD's board and opamp's legs - two adapters are not the cleanest way
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your ADC definitely couldn't catch here, If only I stayed a few thousand km closer to you - I've got the best ADC from AKM on my Waveterminal 192X
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if you like AD8610, you may like LT1360 even more.. Burr Browns are also waiting for their first appearance on your PAD
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edit:
regarding those problems with dynamics on the first card - I don't believe it was becouse of the Black Gates.. something was bad if your card sounded quiter then before modding and the lack of dynamics must have been becouse of that, not becouse Black Gates not burned in
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Feb 21, 2004 at 5:44 AM Post #112 of 243
Glassman, I don't think anything was wrong with the first card, after all, it did stack up soundwise with the stock one, but who knows, since this one definitely doesn't sound the same, even with the AD797's in (of course I haven't installed the blackgates yet).

How does the LT1360 compare to the AD8610 soundwise? What makes it better in you opinion?

I suppose I could try adding some small caps to the LM7171, I really wanted that chip to work, it seems like it has a ton of potential.


I know it's early, but I prefer the AD797 so far, it's midrange sounds much richer than the 8610, and the soundstage is noticeably better with better instrument seperation.
 
Feb 21, 2004 at 10:02 AM Post #117 of 243
Heh, now you're talking. Make sure to get the SOIC version of any chips that you order. If you're in for sticking the socket on your card, you will also need a single DIP8 socket (with legs), one of these to attach it to the card, and one of these per set of opamps to fit them into the socket (order with legs already attached).

EDIT: BTW after about 5 hours of burn-in the AD797's really opened up with a lush, emotional midrange. I just switched back to the 8610, which is not as smooth or lush sounding, but maybe a bit more detailed, they need some time to burn-in, I will re-evaluate ther performance in the morning.
 
Feb 21, 2004 at 10:57 PM Post #119 of 243
I already ordered blackgates for you. They should be here with mine on monday.

You have to get those adapters from the website I linked to, they guy there is very friendly, just call them up on monday (for some reason the web ordering system wasn't working for me).

To get the opamps on digikey, just type their name in the search box, and they should come up. I have recieved my orders from them in 2 days, using priority mail.
 
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