AYA 2 list mods
BGs are great in bringing realism in timbre & bass but they aren't good with treble or transparency so you'd have to add other brand of caps in parallel to the mix.
Bypassing the FC will not push the soundstage back. It's the signature of these caps.
I've fitted temporary small solder tags to allow easy changing the raw supply caps , I didnt like the FC's so have refitted 1800uf FM for -15v and 1500uf FM for the OPA861 . I need to find some alternatives to try out , maybe silmic2
Quote from jaffrie on 20 January 2024, 11:16 AMBGs are great in bringing realism in timbre & bass but they aren't good with treble or transparency so you'd have to add other brand of caps in parallel to the mix.
Bypassing the FC will not push the soundstage back. It's the signature of these caps.
+1
In my experience, it is very hard to correct capacitors for any serious shortcomings by bypassing them. And more often than not, if you use two caps with obvious shortcomings, stacking the two accumulates the shortcomings of both.
For me, bypassing works mostly for tonal balance, and sometimes it may improve the resolution.
The digital circuits supplies with significant noise put aside.
Quote from kingbusoms on 22 January 2024, 8:48 PMI've fitted temporary small solder tags to allow easy changing the raw supply caps , I didnt like the FC's so have refitted 1800uf FM for -15v and 1500uf FM for the OPA861 . I need to find some alternatives to try out , maybe silmic2
Silmic are generally nice and tame, but due to somewhat emphasized texture, in some applications they may be perceived as rough. I started using them as main reservoir caps in the first pieces of the Model S USB DAC (also TDA1541A, of course), but had to give up, due to "incompatibility" with some systems. And I did not like how they sounded in this place in the Gramofone GF02 DAC (PCM1704-K) at all, and I gave up almost immediately.
In all the other units and places, including the signal coupling, I was very happy with them. It is a pity they are now obsolete.
Nice to know that we're on the same page Pedja. Yes I parallel caps of different types to compensate for short comings like BG to get the sound that I want. There's just too many varieties of caps so I focus on boutique caps mostly.
Strange thing is me find most caps sounds better in 50v version of the same value/type.
Cheers
I’ve now changed the 1800uf fm down to 1500uf for the -15v , crazy you can hear the difference using lower value .
I tried adding a 20uf Sanyo sep post regulator and still have the 0.22uf smd pps on bottom of the board . I fitted 1uf oscon post reg for +\-5v
For the opa861 I still have 1500uf fm raw supply , I have fitted 10uf silmic2 post caps . I may try even lower value here 2.2uf silmic.
Is it the use of shunt regs that make these caps have such influence on the sound signature?
I use HD800 a lot for late listening , do you recommend any diy headphone amps Pedja ?
I think you can hear the caps in any regulator type.
I don't have a real recommendation for a DIY head amp. Also, honestly speaking, I am not that much a headphones guy. It is not that I don't like headphones, because I do, but the most of my life I listened to, and still almost exclusively listen to the loudspeakers.
And, if that may address your question somehow, the long-time awaited Asta DAC uses INA1620 in its headphone stage. Its QFN package is not very DIY-friendly, though.
Thank you Pedja , thought I'd ask just incase . I built your regged GC some years ago and loved the sound . I mainly use headphones late at night when family members are in bed so I get chance to enjoy the music
I've changed the -15v RAW to 12oouf FC with and without 220uf fm bypass , all sound different its hard getting the right balance , 1200uf fc certainly sounds different to 1500uf fm
I changed the x4 10uf silmics for the OPA861 to 2.2uf Silmic 2 , I think these are better than the 10uf's here
My AYA 2 uses 470pf for pins 16 and 17, I may try the Grundig DEM mod too seeing as though I have the parts in my stash
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Sure, there are several good uses for headphones.
As for this DEM clocking circuit, since the WS (a.k.a. WCK) is sent directly to the TDA1541A DEM (pin 16), it will work for Fs 80 kHz, so 2 x oversampling for CD format, or higher. It is because the DEM circuit divides this frequency by four, and the resulting frequency should not (supposedly) be inside the audio band.
There is no balanced clock signal here, so C309 keeps TDA1541A pin 17 at ground voltage, in AC terms. This is what I also did lately in most of my TDA1541 DACs which employed synchronous DEM clocking.
As for the diode D301, I don’t know if it is efficient protection, but it may be welcome, and probably can not hurt anyhow. In my experience, in the TDA1541A, it is its DEM circuit that almost always fails first.
Thank you Pedja ,
I'll try the Grundig DEM mod and let it run , I will report back after listening .
I remember one of my TDA1541A chips (one Philips stamped ) was noisy had hissing noise . I presume that was the DEM faulty ? Once faulty I suppose the chip is beyond repair ? Luckily I have a S2 and a Taiwan stamped spare
BTW AYA2 sounds brilliant , it still hints it has more to give . I hope I can find the ideal -15v raw cap. After trying it several times now I'm still not convinced 1200uf FC is the best . I may refit the 1500uf FM back.