[Theodore]

keep us informed please.
Theodore.

 

[MrPorcelain]

So far I've removed the original clock which was pretty difficult with a single soldering iron and I'd say I've probably fried the original clock. Going to mount the vanguard clock tonight. 

 

[MrPorcelain]

Got it installed. What a difference! The music flows beautifully now, it's like a layer of hash was removed. There's a new level of resolution, cymbals shimmer more and bass is more natural but overall the sound signature is sweeter and more lush. A very worthwhile upgrade. I'm going to do my other STX now! 

 

[Nemeske88]

Can you post some photos? Wich crystal did you use?

 

[MrPorcelain]

I used the vanguard 0.3ppm TCXO. I went with the previous suggestion and used the 7805 as the vdd and ground. 

I have another STX that I'm going to upgrade. I'll post pics of that one when I do it. This one isn't pretty, there isn't much room to mount neatly on the STX. 

 

[RubberBootz]

Quote:

I used the vanguard 0.3ppm TCXO. I went with the previous suggestion and used the 7805 as the vdd and ground. 

I have another STX that I'm going to upgrade. I'll post pics of that one when I do it. This one isn't pretty, there isn't much room to mount neatly on the STX. 

Pictures, please! Mine's on the way and as so far I've not been able to get my head around others instructions or photos!

 

[vodkex]

Hi there guys. I'm asking about this here since it's the main thread about these ultra precision 0.3ppm TCXOs... sorry if it's meant to go somewhere else.
 
 
 
I couldn't afford an essence STX, too expensive. But I could get my hands on a xonar DX and its sound is quite out of this world for me! Anyway, I've upgraded the front line-out opamp to an OPA1612 with excellent results (as I had already done on my old x-fi xtrememusic), and now I'd like to upgrade the crystal. I think it can be done since both cards use a 24.576 mhz crystal and they look quite alike: the crystal on the stx says "24.576 IT475" while the one on the DX says "24.576 IT869z". They even have the same shape and the same solder points!

Someone here did the same mod on an x-fi xtrememusic which also uses a 24.576 mhz crystal, and it's a completely different card... I believe it can be done on the DX. What do you think?

 

[recepky]

@MrPorcelain can you explain in detail how to do this mod to STX card? with pictures please 

 I also looked at the previous posts but I didnt understand anything because someone upgraded thier ST card, other one upgraded STX card, someone used kingwa audio gd clock, other one used Vanguard clock on his ST etc. 
 
I am listenin stock stx card right now that I installed 4 days before. When compared to onboard VIA 108dB sound chip and FiiO e10 usb dac, difference was enormous! (I am using mid-fi speaker system with a technics amp, not headphones, I only have koss portapro as my favorite headphones)

 

[alphaman]

If you're using the Vanguard or similar oscillator -- and not a purpose-built clock like Audio-gd, or TentLabs, etc -- the following "tips" should help to further clean the output signal ....
[Note: I do not have one of these soundcards nor do I have access to schematic. The components in the tips below may already be incorporated into stock design. Let me know...] 
(1) Use a ferrite on the (+) pwr  input -- i.e., replace that red wire in the pics with one or more of these...
 

 
(2) Input pwr (+) to ground, use a high-quality 100nF (aka 0.1uF) cap.
 
(3) Osc. out to ground: use a polystyrene film cap = approx. 10-20pF. These are a bit hard to find (popular with old radio hobbyists), but are highly sought after in the audiophile community. [Newark/Farnell apparently has them for $1.94/ea.] They look like this:

Note that this "tip" is from the schematic on the eBay sale page for the Vanguard osc.:

There may already be a 10-20pF SMD cap. in the stock PCB. But, usually, they are of much lower quality than the above polystyrene type. 
 
(4) On osc. out, solder in a metal-film resistor = approx. 47 ohm.
 
Refs:
 
Some ideas above were gleaned from TentLabs (a DIY clock):

Another option is the excellent DIY Flea clock project by Martin Clark.

 

[alphaman]

I may have missed this in this thread, but did those of you replacing the stock crystal with either the Vanguard oscillator or an after-market clock (Audio-gd, etc.) remove the two stock SMD caps (in the pic. below, you can see them below the stock X1 crystal, on either side of the SMD resistor--the caps are white)?
 
In almost every aftermarket tutorial I've seen, those caps are removed. Reason: the orig. (stock) is a crystal that needs external bypassing/filtering; whilst  aftermarket is an oscillator (Vanguard) or clock  (Burson, Audio-gd, TentLabs, etc.), and these have their own "built-in" caps. 
Quote:

Here is a picture how to upgrade the clock crystal on stx!
1 POINT: unsolder the stock crystal
2 POINT: solder a wire to point 1(red mark) and connect to output of your new crystal
3 POINT: solder a wire to point 3(red mark) and connect to ground of the new crystal
4 POINT: solder DC 12V power supply wires to new crystal
THATS IT!

 

[joyman]

Quote:

 
I couldn't afford an essence STX, too expensive. But I could get my hands on a xonar DX and its sound is quite out of this world for me! Anyway, I've upgraded the front line-out opamp to an OPA1612 with excellent results (as I had already done on my old x-fi xtrememusic), and now I'd like to upgrade the crystal. I think it can be done since both cards use a 24.576 mhz crystal and they look quite alike: the crystal on the stx says "24.576 IT475" while the one on the DX says "24.576 IT869z". They even have the same shape and the same solder points!

 
Hello every one,i got an asus xonar dx too,can crystal can be changed?
thanks.
 

 

[recepky]

 
hi everybody
 
I upgraded with the audio gd JZ-1 clock TCXO version
 
I am neither an electrical engineer nor technician so it took 1-2 hour to complete desoldering and solderin process.
 
Result is definitely tremendous, at first I was a lil bit dissappointed because I didnt realize I was playing an mp3 file, then I switch to my FLAC archive. difference is like day and night compared to old crystal. 3D improvement of the soundstage is very succesful I played Infected Mushrrom - "Blink", "Drop out" and "Avratz" from "converting vegeterians" album bass texture is also beatiful.
 
I also listen onboard sound card while trying the desolder old crystal on the STX, I noticed again how bad the onboard audio

 

[Gradius]

Just to let you know the 0.3ppm is a HUGE lie.
 
Perhaps just for few seconds, but no way it will be trully 0.3ppm.
 
FYI real 100ppm costs over $40.
 
The price can go easily to over $100~$200, or even more.

 

[EdibleStereos]

Anybody have the spec sheet for the stock crystal?

I'm looking to keep something that fits the stock board. I think all of these clocks being run with such long runs of wire would introduce more problems then they would solve. As PCB's are designed to optimize layout, and having a few cm of wires run all over likely destroys any design plans for the pcb.

I'm looking just for a tighter tolerances easy swapped piece.

 

[recepky]

using the discrete master clock a few cm away from stock crystal is not a new thing, old cd players can also be upgraded with new master clock and there are lots of examples of them on the web, some discrete master clock designs have SMA jacks and a few cm of RG316 wire...