DIY Audio Articles
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DIY Headphone Amp with Burson HD Opamps - Andreas Germany  Here is a DIY Headphone-Amp with your OP-Amp.Built variable to compare different Op-Amp. The winner is: Burson  DIY Cayin CDT-17A by Teiki Arii of Perpignan, France. My tweak story began when I bought a Cayin CDT-17A CDP on February 2005. I was a little disappointed for the price. Nevertheless, I could hear its potential. So I decided to improve it by very easy ways : replacing existing tubes 6922EH and IC-OPA -6 OPA604AP, 4 AD827JN- by better ones according to the PCM1792 scheme, one per channel. I found the tubes : the great Mullard grey plates E188CC among excellent CCa Siemens and RCA E88CC/E188... Asus Xonar STX sound card upgraded with Burson opamps  The sounds have really opened up with further extension in the top AND bottom.  Adrian          Pioneer PD-S801 upgraded with Burson Opamps Well, you?ll never guess what I?ve just upgraded? Recently I stumbled on Lukasz Fikus?s Lampizator site, where he has an example of modding the Pioneer PD-S703. I have an old Pioneer PD-S801 machine which I replaced a few years ago with a Shanling CD-T80 ? a breathtakingly good player for the price. The Pioneer has been doing service in the dining room for background noise. I was intrigued by his enthusiasm for relatively low... DIY Passive preamp by Chris Is it worth it?You bet! 3 hours and $50 is all it took for a result that would surely have cost me much more if I was to have bought a branded passive...Full text:It has been a while since I last took out my soldering iron.In the last couple of years I have been listening to a Marantz PM8003 integrated Amp. But recently I was attracted to the idea of a passive preamp. (Just a volume control)From a purist?s perspective, a passive preamp is better ... Effective Tweaks for Your HiFi Speakers Heavy Weight Speaker Adding extra weight on top of your speaker will force your speaker to have firm contact with the ground, therefore grounding the vibration to the floor more effectively. This tweak can apply to bookshelf and floor stand speakers. Speakers with spike will benefit more from this tweak. Timber floors with carpet will notice more improvement.From our experience a typical 20 liter two way bookshelf speaker requires 5kg or more... Burson Opamp review - Eindelijk Geen OpAmps Meer .... (At last, no more opamps) Gisteren zijn de laatste OpAmps uit mijn installatie verwijderd, m'n CD speler is nu voorzien van de Burson Operational Amplifier hetgeen heeft geleid tot een slapeloze nacht waarin een deel van mijn CD collectie als proefkonijn heeft mogen fungeren.Jongens, welk een opluchting, ook CD's blijken drager van muziek !Tonaal, dynamisch en in detaillering lijkt een wonder geschied, zaken die voorheen niet of nauwelijks hoorbaar bleken worden onthuld, ... Music Hall DAC 25.2 upgrade with Burson HD Opamp I thought I would post this in case anyone else was considering modifying their 25.2 as I found little to no info on the net when I was looking. I don?t usually modify components for a couple of reasons including resale and the possibility of bad results. I did, however, decide to modify my Music Hall DAC 25.2 because I was very curios of the Burson audio discrete opamp modules http://www.bursonaudio.com/burson_opamp.htm and this isn?t a Mark Lev... Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 upgraded with Burson Opamps It comes stock with a user replaceable National LM4562NA opamp and the Burson Audio dual opamp unit is a direct upgrade for the lm4562.I noticed on the Burson Audio website ?Please solder a good quality foil capacitor (MKP caps) across the power intake (V+ and V-) of the Discrete Op-Amp.? I have a bunch of .1uF Panasonic ECQ-P Polypropylene caps handy? I was curious, why is this not part of the circuit?Burson Audio explained that the extra cap is... Marantz CD63 MkII upgrade with Burson Opamps, Clock, Regulators by Wee Chai Ong, Malaysia I'm glad to say I am very happy with the modifications, far more improvements than I expected. I never knew I can still get my old CD63 to sound so good after the mod.Bass - is tighter & more punchyTreble - is sweet & naturalMid - is warm & naturalVocal - stands out more focused & with body imagingLive CDs - more listenable, 3D sounding & realistic, depth & wider sound stageIt was that good that I replaced my Marantz... Rotel 965-BX CD Player upgrade with Burson HD Opamps, Burson Jitter Correction Clock and Burson Regulators - By Eric K. I now prefer to listen to the Rotel and more importantly, I no longer have a great urge to look for the next CD upgrade!Comments on the modifications done on the Rotel 965-BX CD player which included HD Audio Opamps, low jitter clock and low noise regulator.Rotel 965-BX CD player about to be totally stripped down. Notice the empty space inside, on the right. Dis-assemble!!!!Clean, neatly laid out circuit board, fitted with Blackgate capacitors!! ... Burson HD Opamp 101 Part 1 (MKP cap tweak) In this article we have short listed a few easy to follow steps to help you get the most out from our HD Audio Opamp.Please solder your HD Audio Opamp directly to the PCB board instead of using a socket. Silver loaded solder will yield the best result.Please solder a good quality foil capacitor (MKP caps) across the power intake pins (V+ and V-). You can try different value capacitor between 0.1uf to 1uf. Please see diagram below for the differen... DIY Passive preamp with Burson Audio Buffer modules Pre-amps are the hardest part to get right in system matching and have caused more anxiety than any other component. Over the years I've tried several commercial and DIY designs ranging from tubes, op-amps and discrete. All exhibited some issues such as too coloured, too sterile, too much gain, over blown, veiled.A passive pre using only the potentiometer provided the clarity and transparency required but passives can lose dynamics and roll off i... Tweaks for Geeks When those of us who are into "gadget porn" look at the latest state-of-the-art home entertainment gear, and then check its prices against our dwindling bank accounts, we can't help but feel embittered. Our techno-lust is bust.But we want that US$1500 DVD player; we crave the best audio and video that money can buy. Lucky for us, much of the good stuff in the top end components has trickled down into very affordable equipment. Digital processin... Burson HD Opamp 101 Part 2 (Soft Extension Cable for SMD / SMP installation) More and more IC opamps are now SMD (surface Mount Device). Upgrading such SMD opamp to a Burson opamp requires extension cables.Please take the following steps to prepare such extension cables.Obtain a short length of data cable similar to the one shown below. They should be multi-strand for flexibility. Their length should be kept to a minimum to avoid picking up interference. Less than 10cm is usually acceptable.Strip 2mm off... Denon DVD-A1 CDP upgrade with Burson HD opamps - Hun Mo Y. Korea I think that doing Burson is one of the most effective way to upgrade your CD player.Full Text:I finished installing 5 pairs of Burson single opamps in my Denon DVD-A1 (DAC chips are 4 x pcm1704) a month ago and have listened to it from then on. As shown in the pictures, the denon uses op amp chips such as 3 pairs of ne5532, a pair of op37 and a pair of op 275.Installation would be very simple if you are to replace single opamps with single Burso... Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD Player upgraded with Burson Audio Jitter Correction Clock The Njoe Tjoeb 4000 which is essentially a modified Marantz CD Player with add over sampling DAC. The unit is over 6 years old so it did not come with the Super tube clock that is presently being pushed by the manufacturer. Interestingly they are not that interested in selling the clock component despite the fact that advertised the CD player initially for DIYers. Some suspect they wish to increase sales of their new cd player rather than deal wi... |
| Burson HD Opamp 101 Part 2 (Soft Extension Cable for SMD / SMP installation) More and more IC opamps are now SMD (surface Mount Device). Upgrading such SMD opamp to a Burson opamp requires extension cables.Please take the following steps to prepare such extension cables.Obtain a short length of data cable similar to the one shown below. They should be multi-strand for flexibility. Their length should be kept to a minimum to avoid picking up interference. Less than 10cm is usually acceptable.Strip 2mm off... Velleman Kit K8021 Hi End Control Amplifier (Manual) Repair or upgrade you can get a copy of the manual schematic from here: http://www.filesavr.com/manualk8021  Denon DVD-A1 CDP upgrade with Burson HD opamps - Hun Mo Y. Korea I think that doing Burson is one of the most effective way to upgrade your CD player.Full Text:I finished installing 5 pairs of Burson single opamps in my Denon DVD-A1 (DAC chips are 4 x pcm1704) a month ago and have listened to it from then on. As shown in the pictures, the denon uses op amp chips such as 3 pairs of ne5532, a pair of op37 and a pair of op 275.Installation would be very simple if you are to replace single opamps with single Burso... Music Hall DAC 25.2 upgrade with Burson HD Opamp I thought I would post this in case anyone else was considering modifying their 25.2 as I found little to no info on the net when I was looking. I don?t usually modify components for a couple of reasons including resale and the possibility of bad results. I did, however, decide to modify my Music Hall DAC 25.2 because I was very curios of the Burson audio discrete opamp modules http://www.bursonaudio.com/burson_opamp.htm and this isn?t a Mark Lev... Rotel 965-BX CD Player upgrade with Burson HD Opamps, Burson Jitter Correction Clock and Burson Regulators - By Eric K. I now prefer to listen to the Rotel and more importantly, I no longer have a great urge to look for the next CD upgrade!Comments on the modifications done on the Rotel 965-BX CD player which included HD Audio Opamps, low jitter clock and low noise regulator.Rotel 965-BX CD player about to be totally stripped down. Notice the empty space inside, on the right. Dis-assemble!!!!Clean, neatly laid out circuit board, fitted with Blackgate capacitors!! ... Rotel RCD-971 Low Jitter Clock Upgrade  Here is a simple guild for a low jitter clock upgrade for this classic. Rotel RCD-971 clock mod: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23917738/Rotel-RCD-971-Low-Jitter-Upgrade  DIY Passive preamp with Burson Audio Buffer modules Pre-amps are the hardest part to get right in system matching and have caused more anxiety than any other component. Over the years I've tried several commercial and DIY designs ranging from tubes, op-amps and discrete. All exhibited some issues such as too coloured, too sterile, too much gain, over blown, veiled.A passive pre using only the potentiometer provided the clarity and transparency required but passives can lose dynamics and roll off i... Music Hall 25.5 CDP Low Jitter Clock Upgrade Most CDP/DVD/SACD players contain 2 or more crystals but which one to upgrade?It is a common question for most DIYer when considering a low jitter clock upgrade;The photo below is the inside of a Music Hall 25.5 CD Player. The 16.9344 MHz crystal right next to the laser pickup is the most important. Upgrading this crystal to a low jitter clock will bring real benefit to the overall performance of this Music Hall CDP. The other 12 MHz crystal has ... CAT5 cable basic CAT 5 speaker cables have long been regarded as one of the best value for money DIY projects. There are plenty of CAT 5 projects on the web, and in our opinion, the best one by far is ?Triple Twist? from TNT Audio. This article looks into the physical properties of these gutsy CAT cables.The construction of these cables is four pairs (Blue, Orange, Green, Brown). Each pair consists of a colour and its mate. The colour is the mos... Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 upgraded with Burson Opamps It comes stock with a user replaceable National LM4562NA opamp and the Burson Audio dual opamp unit is a direct upgrade for the lm4562.I noticed on the Burson Audio website ?Please solder a good quality foil capacitor (MKP caps) across the power intake (V+ and V-) of the Discrete Op-Amp.? I have a bunch of .1uF Panasonic ECQ-P Polypropylene caps handy? I was curious, why is this not part of the circuit?Burson Audio explained that the extra cap is... Burson Opamp review - Eindelijk Geen OpAmps Meer .... (At last, no more opamps) Gisteren zijn de laatste OpAmps uit mijn installatie verwijderd, m'n CD speler is nu voorzien van de Burson Operational Amplifier hetgeen heeft geleid tot een slapeloze nacht waarin een deel van mijn CD collectie als proefkonijn heeft mogen fungeren.Jongens, welk een opluchting, ook CD's blijken drager van muziek !Tonaal, dynamisch en in detaillering lijkt een wonder geschied, zaken die voorheen niet of nauwelijks hoorbaar bleken worden onthuld, ... Marantz CD63 MkII upgrade with Burson Opamps, Clock, Regulators by Wee Chai Ong, Malaysia I'm glad to say I am very happy with the modifications, far more improvements than I expected. I never knew I can still get my old CD63 to sound so good after the mod.Bass - is tighter & more punchyTreble - is sweet & naturalMid - is warm & naturalVocal - stands out more focused & with body imagingLive CDs - more listenable, 3D sounding & realistic, depth & wider sound stageIt was that good that I replaced my Marantz... NJM4580 Opamp data sheet The NJM4580 is a very old opamp from JRC. It can be upgraded with a Burson dual Audio Opamp. However, anyone considering this upgrade should confirm that the supply voltage of the machine is better than +/-12V. NJM4580 data sheet: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23880293/NJM4580-Opamp-Data-Sheet  Upgrade LM318 to OPA627 in Musical Fidelity P170? Upgrading LM318 to OPA627 in Musical Fidelity P170 may have problem. Below is an extract of a thread on a DYI forum regarding swapping LM318 for OPA627 - there are a few issues with dropping them straight in"They're LM318's - it was suggested some improvement might be had by swappingthem for 627's, which I have coming with the caps, as I'm sure they will getused elsewhere if not on the P170... I think I've been infected with DIY..I'll have a go ... Burson HD Opamp 101 Part 1 (MKP cap tweak) In this article we have short listed a few easy to follow steps to help you get the most out from our HD Audio Opamp.Please solder your HD Audio Opamp directly to the PCB board instead of using a socket. Silver loaded solder will yield the best result.Please solder a good quality foil capacitor (MKP caps) across the power intake pins (V+ and V-). You can try different value capacitor between 0.1uf to 1uf. Please see diagram below for the differen... Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD Player upgraded with Burson Audio Jitter Correction Clock The Njoe Tjoeb 4000 which is essentially a modified Marantz CD Player with add over sampling DAC. The unit is over 6 years old so it did not come with the Super tube clock that is presently being pushed by the manufacturer. Interestingly they are not that interested in selling the clock component despite the fact that advertised the CD player initially for DIYers. Some suspect they wish to increase sales of their new cd player rather than deal wi... Tweaks for Geeks When those of us who are into "gadget porn" look at the latest state-of-the-art home entertainment gear, and then check its prices against our dwindling bank accounts, we can't help but feel embittered. Our techno-lust is bust.But we want that US$1500 DVD player; we crave the best audio and video that money can buy. Lucky for us, much of the good stuff in the top end components has trickled down into very affordable equipment. Digital processin... |