This post is the 2nd episode of my Terratec Aureon 7.1 FireWire mod. You can check the 1st one here.
Below is the final appearance of my Aureon. Sigh… despite the colorful capacitors, I don’t see any reason to say it’s a beauty or an art 🙁
The first thing was to remove all the capacitors on the main supply section. It took almost an hour just to trace and find the right combination. This sound card was quite unique as it was supplied with an AC Adapter transferring AC supply directly to the sound card module. So the rectification would be done on the card itself, not on the AC Adapter (so I would call it as step down transformer, instead of AC Adapter).
The main bridge was the DF04S from Fairchild Semiconductor rated at 1.5A. At this stage, I would let this rectification section as-is.
The DAC section also got another modification. The VMID (midrail decoupling) of the DAC now decoupled with Rubycon ZA, upgraded to 22 uF from 10 uF. Rubycon ZA is a nice replacement for the famous Black Gate capacitor. On the right of the ZA, you could see Os-Con for the digital supply section.
The VMID section also bypassed by default with a SMD Ceramic Capacitor, but I added another Vishay MKP 1837 to clean up all the noise on this section.
The final appearance of the DAC section. Elna RBP2 used as final smoothing caps for the 5V signal. A pair of 100 uF Rubycon ZA also used nearby.
The main supply section was powered most likely by Elna Cerafine and RBP2. The first smoothing capacitor was Black Gate NX Series. This should be the ultimate combination for a supply section. Also note the “giant” 2200 uF Elna Cerafine. This was used to clean up all noise before entering the LDO Regulator to power up the DAC and the clock.
The sound? It was a huge improvement over the previous mods. The separation, staging, and depth were improved a lot. I mean, A LOT!
That’s all I can say for now. I think I’m gonna love it…
Arie
June 24, 2010 21:50Dahsyaatttt :D, itu jd SC paling mahal jg tuh kayaknya hehehe.. Great job Oom Jim 😉
Jimmy Auw
June 24, 2010 22:03Hi Om Arie,
Gak koq he he he. Damage cost-nya ga besar karena sisa-sisa stok capacitor yang ada aja didayagunakan.
Thanks.
Aren
June 30, 2010 23:12when is cap shoot out hapening? i look forward to the one you have coming soon. . .
thanks
A
Jimmy Auw
July 4, 2010 20:05Later… Sorry don’t have enough time later these days. Even now I’m away from home for about a week.
Thanks.
Iwan Gunadi
July 5, 2010 11:34Ko Jim, btw about BG,
elko apa yg bagus selain BG untuk jalur signal out pada amp JLH?
kalo bisa yg dapat dipesan in our country
mohon tanggapannya, Tq
Jimmy Auw
July 7, 2010 16:28Halo Pak Iwan,
Butuhnya ukuran berapa Pak?
Thanks.
Iwan Gunadi
July 9, 2010 00:48ukurannya 2200uF/50V 2bh
lagi belajar bikin JLH 2000 yg Trafo EI
Jimmy Auw
July 12, 2010 21:58Hmm… signal sih pake elco susah dapat yang bagus Pak… Kalo mau ya mesti elco yang high grade, even sebenarnya high grade-nya elco pun kurang ok suaranya. Mungkin bisa cari Silmic II atau Elna Cerafine kalo emang mau pake Elco.
Thanks.
Dani
February 11, 2011 09:17Manttabs nih upgradenya Oom Jimmy…! ;-D
Btw kalo nyari elko cerafine ato silmic II di mana ya? coz lagi butuh 220uF 4 biji nih Oom
Auw Jimmy
February 11, 2011 10:07Hi,
Coba ke Glodok bro atau LTC.
Thanks.
Дмитрий
March 9, 2013 10:43ПриветÑтвую, извините что Ñ Ð½Ðµ могу пиÑать на английÑком, предложу полноÑтью переделать блок питаниÑ, удалить импульÑный и поÑтавить транÑформатор и выпрÑмитель 220=> +5, +12, -12
Возможно звук будет лучше, Ñ…Ð¾Ñ‚Ñ Ñ Ð¼Ð¾Ð³Ñƒ и ошибатьÑÑ.
ниже перевод через онлайн ÑервиÑ:
I welcome, excuses me, that I can not write in English, I will suggest fully to do power module, to delete impulsive and to put a transformer and rectifier 220=> +5, +12, – 12
A sound will be better maybe, I can wrong although.
below translation through on-line service:
Auw Jimmy
March 11, 2013 11:54Hi,
СпаÑибо за ваше предложение!
Krystian
September 27, 2016 19:11Hello! What you think about elna rbp2 capacitors??? I want to replace mine with nichicon es, it is good idea? Becouse i think rbp 2 is not the same quality like silmic 2
Auw Jimmy
October 17, 2016 23:00RBP2 is bipolar one. A bit different with Silmic/Cerafine.