[HiGHFLYiN9]

So we have a photo gallery for builds and DIY cables, but nothing for mods yet. So without further ado, this will be the electronics modification gallery, where you post pictures of mods, whether done by you or you've had done by a company that does modifications (ie: Partsconnexion / Underwood HiFi, etc.). Maybe you've restored an old tube amp, or done something as simple as added a couple of bypass caps to a circuit, you're encouraged to add it here. Members are welcome to post photos of previously posted work too.
 
The Fine Print:
Please remember that modifications can be dangerous to you and/or your surroundings and should only be performed by a certified technician. HeadFi and all associated parties in this thread can not / will not be held responsible if you attempt a modification posted below and cause physical harm to yourself or your surroundings. Many electronics contain high voltages that can kill, and mods, if performed improperly, can be a fire hazard. Please keep this in mind. 
 
 
 
Here's a couple of mine:
 
Music Hall DAC25.2 Mods (done by me):

 
 

 
 

 
 
You'll find 5 Audience Auricaps, 3 Burson buffers, a little bit of Dynamat on the empty areas of the chassis, replaced a couple of the resistors in the tube buffer for the heck of it, installed a Vampire BNC connector in place of the existing RCA SPDIF, swapped the feet with EAR feet, and rolled in a NOS Tesla gold pin tube with a Herbie's tube damper on it. It's pretty crowded around the tube buffer area, but the tube has ample space around it for heat dissipation.

 

[tamu]

nice idea! will be great to see modded equipment.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Music Hall MDR-1 Table Radio

Mods include replacing the driver with a Fostex full range driver FF85K, lining the cabinet with Dynamat damping sheets, replace the wiring leading to speaker with Cardas 20.5 gauge wiring, and replace the power supply caps with Rubycons.

Below is a comparison shot between the two drivers. The left one is the stock driver, and the right is the Fostex FF85K

 

 

[juanharu4913]

Quote:

Music Hall MDR-1 Table Radio

Mods include replacing the driver with a Fostex full range driver FF85K, lining the cabinet with Dynamat damping sheets, replace the wiring leading to speaker with Cardas 20.5 gauge wiring, and replace the power supply caps with Rubycons.

Below is a comparison shot between the two drivers. The left one is the stock driver, and the right is the Fostex FF85K

 

Looks like alot of work, how much did it inprove after this?
 

 

[JamesL]

How does the ff85k sound in a sealed enclosure?
Are you running them without any filters?

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

The MH Table Radio was much improved, I'd imagine the driver is 98% responsible. It wasn't too much work, just a couple of hours. I didn't find much enjoyment listening to the radio stock as I found it lacking in clarity. The MH is indeed ported, although I've heard the 83 in a sealed enclosure and it sounds excellent. The 85K is running wide open, no HiPass filter or anything.

 

[tamu]

 
A small mod on my p3+
changed the caps to 2700uf panasonic fc's
Soundstage is improved but not much, bass is stronger and tighter now. I also think the wider soundstage makes the sound a bit more cleaner.

 

[dean0]

 
 
[size=x-small]Auzentech Prelude;
Recapped Panasonic FM / Blackgate Nx
x2 OPA637
Sounds very good nothing like stock[/size]

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Good work on those small joints, that's a beastly soundcard.

 

[Pars]

Modified Rotel RCD-855 CDP. This player uses the standard Philips late '80s/early '90s players (SAA7210 / SAA7220B / TDA1541a).
Mods include:

1. Shottky PSU diodes (11DQ10 player, 31DQ10 o22)
2. Tentlabs XO clock on a PFM Flea board (my own layout), modified to provide /2 direct DAC clocking
3. Tread board taking ~25Vdc down to 18-20Vdc for the Flea
4. Discrete output stage: rbroer's less simple I/V for TDA1541a, modified to use 2SA970/2SC2240 transistors, FET buffer per cetoole's I/V stage (I removed this for the time being), and muting relay. Current board was laid out to fit the screw pattern on the main board, so no more plexiglass mounting, just M3 standoffs.
5. home-etched double-sided PCBs (I used tinnit for the first time on these, works pretty well).
6. home layout of an amb o22 PSU for the discrete stage (I needed a smaller board than the o22 at 3.5" x 6.5")

 

 
Sounds much better than stock. The clock made a good difference, but the output stage made more of a difference. Still would like to get commercial PCBs made, though these have worked for > 2 years with no problems.
 
EDIT: Before doing the discrete I/V stage, I had rolled opamps from the stock NE5532 (AD826, LM4562, LT1469). The AD826 sounded the best of those that I tried, but not even in the same league as the discrete stage. Coupling caps had been changed to BG Ns as well. DC coupled now.

 

[jantze]

Modified Woo Audio WA6
 
Added parts:
2 x V-Cap TFTF .15uf 600V (teflon film / tin foil)
4 x Black Gate WK 220uf 200V (non-polar, asymmetrical "power tank")
4 x Black Gate N 470uf 16V (non-polar)
2 x Black Gate VK 150uf 350V (polarized)
1 x Black Gate VK 22uf 350V (polarized)
Mills & Kiwame resistors
 
Before:

 
After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

My woo3 has become a capacitor fiesta too:
 

 
Most of the capacitors have been swapped out for Black Gates (aside from the brown one and the photoflash), the output caps are Auricaps (preamp and headphone), Resistors are Kiwame, wiring is Cardas, Vampire copper RCAs, Neutrik locking jack, Cardas bypass caps, EAR feet, herbie tube dampers, etc, etc

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Here's some Musical Fidelity X-10 v3 mods:
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
All the stock electrolytic Jamecon caps have been swapped out for a combination of Nichicon Fine Gold and Black Gate Caps, film caps were swapped with Solens, wiring is Neotech PCOCC copper in teflon, larger resistors are now Kiwame, and RCAs were swapped with standard Vampire RCAs.

 

[mrarroyo]

Nice work there Bryan, a while back I modded an X-10 V3 using the PinkFloyd mods. You can view the result at: http://picasaweb.google.com/109437154048011247077/MusicalFidelityX10V3#

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Here's an MHDT Constantine with a few little updates. There are a few slots on the board for film bypass caps that hadn't been taken advantage of, so Sonicaps were used, along with a couple other places where they would fit. Two of the original Elna Silmic caps were in the way of the capacitors, so they had to be removed and replaced with longer legged Silmics (with teflon tubing preventing any shorts). The BNC was replaced with a Vampire BNC and the output caps were swapped in favor of gold Obbligatos.