audio-talk

After varied results with clocks about 10 years ago I left this mod to my Lampy CDp til last. I see Lucasz has commented similar and feels they make a difference but not much.

Maybe it was half-hearted, maybe hopeful, or maybe I'm just a cheap skate but I went for a couple of these from eBay and will put one in the standard player too,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0547895052

Arrived in 2 weeks, Great quality pcb and components so far as I can see. Fitted easily enough (need 8-12V ac supply). Sound is tidier and sweeter, more orderly, less tiring, less splashy, but not night and day different. A good result for the money and has moved the player on a little further. It really is very good now.

Thats worth knowing.
Do you get any fitting instructions with it?
If so do they make sense?

Actually, my Shek DAC (tda1543) has got it's own clock.

I must try it in the main system again soon.

Hi Al,

No instructions other than the diagram on the eBay pics.

Pcb is 90mm x 50mm highest bit is the heatsink 25mm. Try and get it near the original X can so signal leads are short. (I put it upside down over top of player pcb. Reg sink doesn't even get warm.)

Connections are easy once you figure out what's what. The pcb is double sided though it doesn't look it from the top which is mainly ground plane. That caused initial concern that some components seemed to be missing connections!

Power is 8-12V ac into the marked holes.
GND and GND are the same
OUT and MCK are the same (MCK=Masterclock I assume)
MCK/2 and MCK/4 are divisions of the MCK frequency if you should want them.
NC and RE go nowhere I can find
+V is regulated voltage same as clock can is receiving, not checked voltage

Diagram is good and suits Philips/Marantz TDA1541 with 7220 chip. (I took out the 220k resistor between the Xin and Xout legs as well.)

From exp fitting to Pioneer it would fit in a similar way, principle is,

1) Remove the Xstal can, its caps and resistor(s) to isolate the processor input.

2) Supply ac to the clock

3) Connect GND of clock to Ground of player pcb near where can was (this will not be a X can hole)

4) Connect OUT of clock to correct leg hole of where can was. This leads to the processor clock input ( pin 11 7220 chip for example which can be checked by the pcb traces )

Last one I fitted was a Trichord in just the same way but had a dc supply from a player cap. The player diagram will make it clear or the chip data sheet will show the clock input pin to let you check first.

Nice comprehensive reply Richard.

The only reason i haven't bothered with a new clock so far, is that there seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether or not my player really benefits from one.
Might be worth a try at that price. One day.

Yep, and when you've fitted it (asuming the player works!) it isn't easy to switch back to compare so unless the difference is massive it can be a tricky upgrade to assess.

I did fit a Superclock to my PD91 which didn't work well, diffuse and soft sound. That player already has something of an enhanced clock. I changed it for a TRichord 3 and thought that was an improvement, not massive but better.

Years later my friend has a similar player and we swapped his opamps to match mine and compared the 2 players with only the clock different. There is a difference but not massive so at least my perception was good all those years ago!

I do find myself in agreement with Lucasz about these mods. His work looks scrappy and there are some sniffy comments around the forums but I have great respect having tried and tested his stuff.

Richard wrote:
I do find myself in agreement with Lucasz about these mods. His work looks scrappy and there are some sniffy comments around the forums but I have great respect having tried and tested his stuff.

Yes he gets unfair criticism IMHO.

What he's done is highlight the problems with commercial gear, and made it easy for willing people to do something about it.
His ideas may not be perfect but they work.
That's all some of us need to start off with.
Just a shame that the website has got a bit sprawling.

It's people like him and Nick Whetstone (Decibel Dungeon) who inspire others to have a go.

Yep, absolutely, selfless guys, include Rod Elliott and others. Those really confident and talented folk know they can always do better and are only too willing to show and tell their latest efforts. They help and encourage us all.
What tees me off is the sort Mike Audionorth was alluding to in his recent posts about valve regs who know the answers (or think they do) but don't tell.
Not just valves, we see it in all walks of life, what do those sad types think, maybe that they know something that someone else doesn't? Not for long anyway, and they might have done it better if they'd shared earlier.

Rod Elliot seems a nice bloke.
I emailed him recently, and was surprised to get a helpful reply from him the following day.

Well, a couple of weeks on and all is well. The cover's on and it doesn't overheat It's got mellower - or I have - one of the two. Very smooth and dare I say analogue sounding. Maybe all those new bits have settled together, certainly new valves can sound a bit sharp can't they, or it may be me adjusting to the extra detail and soundstage. TBH I've not played vinyl the last month so tonight I will do a serious comparison between Kill to get Crimson on vinyl against the CD.