[mrdon]

This is a work in progress. Keep checking in for more updates.

"Auricap Tweak" - This tweak provides tighter bass, less hash, really smooooths the music out. This is done by installing TWO .47 uF/600V Auricaps in parallel, with the red leads to the hot terminal and the black leads to the neutral terminal on top of the transformer pcb. This is at your own risk as Aurciaps are not safety rated. Nevertheless, this tweak has be performed by many with great results, with no disasters reported. Other brands of .47 uF/600V film caps can be used of course. They can be cheaper in price but they will not provide the same results as Auricaps IMHO.

"Swenson Mod" - This modification removes the stock tizziness as compared to the stock opamp output stage. This can be done as the BB DSD 1751 is an output voltage DAC. This mod is performed by locating IC200 and carefully soldering one end of a film cap to pin 9 (Left channel) and another end of a film cap to pin 10 (right channel). The other ends are soldered directly to higher-quality chassis mounted female RCA's with the ground connected to the ground of the stock pcb mounted RCA's. What brand of film cap to use is up to you. Auricaps seem to be the preferred film caps of audiophiles these days but you can just as well use Solen's or Claritycaps. One thing is for sure. The leads of the film caps must be solid core wire and not stranded, because performing this mod is will be like trying to solder a rat tail on a flea. What size (uf/v) do you use? Voltage is minimal at this point in the circuit, so 100V and below will be fine. However, some premium caps come in much higher ranges. they will work but they will be very large. how about uf? Well, John Swenson (the originator of this mod) says "if you are feeding a preamp with a 50k input impedance a 0.47uf cap works well. If you are feeding a 10k preamp use a 4uf cap. For in-between input impedances choose a cap somewhere between 4 and 0.47." (BTW, The caps in the picture are Illinois MPW 4.7uf/100V are just temporary. B/c of their uf size, they are a little bass heavy, so the 1uf Auricaps are on order.)

The other two-channel output stage mod - If soldering a rat tail on a flea is not for you, then you can replace you can replace IC400 located on the bottom of the pcb with the SOIC opamp of your choice. Be very careful with removal of the stock opamp or you will end up doing the Swenson Mod anyway.

Here's how head-fi member JunctionFET describes the exercise.

The opamps are located on the underside of the board. This mod is a bit tricky because you cannot actually remove the board from the player completely--you will be tethered by one set of wires that cannot be conveniently unplugged like the other connectors. It is not too big a deal though.

Once the board has been flipped over and is in a steady position, you can remove the opamp by very carefully clipping the tiny leads on the chip--there are 8 small leads in all. Be sure you have each one cut, then use some needle-nose pliers to remove the chip. If you have not cut through each lead completely, removing the chip may also lift or break a land.

Once the old chip has been removed, clean up the pads on the board with solder wick, then apply just a small amount of solder to each pad. Carefully place the chip in position--be sure to get pin 1 oriented correctly. Carefully and patiently use your iron to bond each lead quickly to each corresponding pad.

If you are in doubt about your ability, find an old circuit board with surface mount parts and practice some. You get only one shot at this on the CD player, so practice as much as you need to get it right. The recurring theme in all of this is to be careful... careful careful careful. And don't rush it, take your time. Don't bake the components with the iron though, use only enough heat exposure as is necessary to flow the solder. Surface mount stuff is really just tack soldering, and it only takes a moment to flow the solder sufficiently.

For anyone wanting to do this--use an opamp that is actually designed for audio, and do not use one of those insanely fast video opamps. Chances are a high speed opamp will oscillate, and once you install it on this board you will probably not be able to swap it out again without damaging the board--unless of course you are really good at swapping SOIC components on a mass-produced board. Also be sure to pick something that is indeed unity-gain stable.

The 47uf/25V output SMD 'lytics should also be replaced. For two-channel these are numbers C406 and C506. They can be replaced with higher quality, better sounding 'lytics such as Black Gates, Panasonic FC, Elna Cerafine or Nichicon Muse KZ. (Note: Because this unit tends to be more on the bright side of neutral, I would suggest a warmer sounding 'lytic like Elna Cerafine or Nichicon Muse KZ.) To replace them, I offer you again fellow head-fi member JunctionFET's method.

The output capacitors are easy to remove. We found it was easiest (and safest) to just pull the caps out of their leads/bases first. The surface mount caps they used are pretty cheesy, and the leads pull out really easily it seems. Once that is done, you can trim the leads back with the cutters and remove the bases. Some solder-wick can be used to carefully extract the remaining lead material from the pads on the board

Your new through-hole caps can be tack-soldered to the pads. Make sure you get the polarity right of course (negative side towards the output jacks). Trim the leads on the new caps so that they are not too long, but long enough that you can work beneath the caps with your iron. Bend the ends of the leads at a 90 degree angle to mimic a surface-mount lead. Melt a little solder on the lead ends and the pads. Line the cap up where it will go and one at a time use the iron to melt and flow the solder from each lead to each corresponding pad. Once the solder hardens, look over your work carefully to make sure it is stable and there are no solder bridges. Don't physically disturb the new caps too much because they will exert leverage on the board lands and could fatigue them.

Other PCB components - Unfortunately, the board is primarily populated with surface mount caps, resistors, and diodes. IMHO, they are not worth messing with. But there are a small amount of through hole 'lytics that can be replaced with higher quality 'lytics (I used Nichicon MUSE KZ and FX.) I wish the capacitance could be increased by 100% on C-921 and C-931 and 20% on the others (ala Bob McNiece's "Tweaks for Geeks"), but the room on the pcb is very tight, and upgrading using stock sizes is really pushing it. BTW, here's the location and sizes needed.

C-971 47uF/63V
C-931 10,000uF/16V
C-921 10,000uF/10V
C-954 470uF/10V
C-924 470uF/10V
C-935 1000uF/16V
C-934 470uF/16V
C-201 1,000uF/6.3V
C-932 470uF/35V

Remember, when ordering the uF (capacitance) remains the same but the V (voltage) can go higher, not too much higher b/c of the space issue.

NOTE: The solder used by Sony is tough stuff. In order to remove the 'lytics you need a really hot iron and some soderwick. Also, be careful as you can easily remove a solder pad while doing it.

More Later! Stay Tuned!

 

[mrdon]

Update: I fired up my CE595 this morning. The only mods I have done to it so far are the "Auricap Mod" and a temporary "Swenson Mod." (I performed the latter not necessarily b/c I like what it did to my Samsung HD-841 but because of an unforeseen accident which occurred while removing the stock soic opamp #1. All I can say is it involved a slip of the needle nose pliers and ripped off a couple pcb tracks.

Take my word for it - be very, very careful if you perform modifications to this machine. The PCB is on the cheap side.)

I ran it through my Morgan Jones Headamp (with Mullard 6x4 rectification and JJ6922's output tubes) and listened to it briefly through my HD-600's with HD-650 cable. The software used was my reference SACD - Diana Krall's beautifully recorded and mastered "Love Scenes."

Of course, the mods and the machine are not broken in yet, but if my aural memory serves me correctly in comparison to a stock CE595, the two mods make the bass tighter, the highs much, much smoother, and the midrange gorgeously gorgeous. At the price of some micro detail (very minor), the stock "tizziness" is gone completely and the machine has become much more pleasant and less fatiguing.

Today, I hope to replace some of the 'lytics. I'll report back later today or tomorrow. Cheers!

 

[JWFokker]

This is great because I'm about to buy a CE595. How would one go about replacing the stock opamp though?

 

[Davesrose]

Based on the thread so far, it looks like replacing the opamps on this one tiny board is very very difficult. Probably why some modding companies won't touch the 595. With my limited soldering skills, looks like the auricap tweak is the main one I'll be doing!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWFokker /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is great because I'm about to buy a CE595. How would one go about replacing the stock opamp though?

 

[joe_cool]

Getting workable access to the chip leads is not always easy. You may have to disassemble the chassis and remove cable connectors to get the board out if the chips are facing the chassis bottom.

Most consumer PC boards are only good for 1 rework, or maybe 2 reworks if you use a temp-controlled iron. Some jobs are easier than others.

See my NX Black Gates and AD8620 on Revo 7.1:

 

[mrdon]

I finished the Swenson Mod by grinding the leads down to a pin, tinning them and soldering them to Pins 9 and 10 on IC200 (DSD 1751). Good grief!! I think I am going blind!!!

I also finished upgrading the stock 'lytic caps with Nichicon Muse. As you can tell from the picture, there is not much room on that board, so I had to literally squeeze the new 'lytics in. When I was finished, I secured everything with hot glue.

With the new 'lytics, the background is much, much darker. The micro details have returned but unlike the stock player there is so much more warmth (which I think is due to the Swenson Mod). The soundstage is very wide. You can hear the slap and pluck of strings. Vocals are very pleasing. The Bass is tight and deep. IMHO, this is a vast improvement over what I heard right out of the box. The new components are still breaking in so things may improve in the next few weeks or so.

I have another CE-595 on the way. It should be here tomorrow. I think I will approach this one a little differently. I will upgrade the 'lytics, upgrade the clock

,

and replace the stock opamp and output capacitors. I will attach pics and results when I am done in a week or two.

Happy modding!

 

[mrdon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWFokker /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is great because I'm about to buy a CE595. How would one go about replacing the stock opamp though?

Stay Tuned! It's coming.

 

[clarke68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I finished the Swenson Mod

Did you notice a loss in gain from the Swenson Mod? Some people who performed it on the Toshiba units (when the mod was first invented) reported the output was down as much as a 12db.

Kinda makes sense...even though the DAC has voltage output, I doubt it was ever intended to drive a preamp directly.


Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdon The 4.7uf/25V output SMD 'lytics should also be replaced. For two-channel these are numbers C406 and C506.

Those are actually 47uf caps. Also, each output cap has a 0.1uF bypass (C405 & 505 that, if memory serves, are on the bottom of the board). Do you think those should be replaced as well, or just removed?

 

[mrdon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarke68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you notice a loss in gain from the Swenson Mod? Some people who performed it on the Toshiba units (when the mod was first invented) reported the output was down as much as a 12db. Kinda makes sense...even though the DAC has voltage output, I doubt it was ever intended to drive a preamp directly.

There is a slight difference. Instead of the volume knob being at 9o'clock it's at 11 o'clock. How many db that is I don't know but it sounds really musical bypassing the opamp stage.


Quote:

Originally Posted by clarke68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those are actually 47uf caps. Also, each output cap has a 0.1uF bypass (C405 & 505 that, if memory serves, are on the bottom of the board). Do you think those should be replaced as well, or just removed?

Yup, you are right. They are 47uf/25V caps. BTW, I wouldn't worry about the .1uf caps. Too small to matter.

 

[mrdon]

I received my 2nd CE-595 today and I went to work this evening on the opamp stage. I can't stress how fragile the leads on this pcb are and how nasty Sony's solder is. You must be very, very careful not to lift the leads with force or too much heat. Case in point - me. I've been doing this modding thing for a couple of years now and tonight I even managed to rip a lead off as I was extracting one of the 47uf/25V coupling caps. With that, the opamp stage in machine #2 is dead. Therefore I give a warning...If you are a modding newbie, I wouldn't recommend modding this machine. Start with something else with a better pcb.

Nevertheless before my accident with the needlenose pliers I did get to roll in a three opamps. Using a Dip-8 to soic adapter I stuck in an opa2604, AD843's on a browndog, and an AD8066.

First of all, AD8066's do not work in the circuit - distortion all the way. Do not use.

Secondly, the opamps are located on the bottom of the board, so there is not much room for Dip-8 adapters and such unless you cut a hole in the bottom for the opamp to stick through, so anyone who is thinking of opa627's will have to get out your saw or be creative.

Rolling results- The 2604 sounded a bit muddy, but I really liked the AD843's with this machine. Too bad that lead lifted.

After tonight, I really think the Swenson mod is actually easier unless someone could come up with a solution to the opamp room issue.

 

[JWFokker]

The clock upgrade sounds promising. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[mrdon]

Here's some pics from the completed mods on my first CE-595. I replaced the 4.7uF/100V Illinois MWR's used in my Swenson mod test with 1uF/200 Auricaps and attached them to two Cardas chassis mount female RCA's. Everything is hot glued in place. Boy, once those Auricaps burned in the sound is gorgeous. I can't believe this is a $60 CD/SACD player with $35 in parts.

I am waiting for my parts to arrive in order to mod my second CE-595. A little different this time. I'll be using Auricaps to perform the Auricap tweak, I'll do a complete clock replacement with separate power supply, and use (2) 10,000uF Nichicon Great Supply caps instead of the Nichicon FG's (green ones in pic). If I'm industrious, I may also dampen the chassis with Mortite rope caulk. I'll check back next week with an update.

 

[vapman]

OMG BUMPAGE

I'm thinking about doing the Auricap Tweak. I'll probably attempty the Swenson Tweak at one point or another, but what does the clock upgrade do?

 

[clarke68]

Clarity Caps are on sale at diycable.com!

.47uF SA series (their top of the line) are just $1.75 each. .47uF PX series (their next-to-top of the line) are just $0.75 each!

I just picked up 4 of the SA series, enough to do the Swenson mod and the Auricap tweak (except I'll have to change the name), for $12 shipped.

 

[vapman]

ooh, thanks for the heads-up!