Comments on: Modding: Audiophile meets iPod (diyMod)

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:23:12 +0000

The positive side of the capacitor goes to the output of the DAC and the negative goes to the line out.

Due to the single supply the iPod runs off, for the audio section to reproduce AC ( alternative current) signals, the audio signal lines have a DC bias voltage – hence the need for the DC blocking caps.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:49:33 +0000

Alright one last question; which terminal of the capacitor is connected where? Is the negative terminal connected to the dac and positive to the line out or do I have that backwards?

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:38:59 +0000

Yes you should be ok up to about 2mm from the bottom sides. be carefull of the left side (assuming the iPod dock is at the bottom) as the power filtering traces are in that area.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:25:43 +0000

Tarken, can I file your iflash adapter down just a tiny bit? I would only do the bottom where the new capacitors go. My ipod fits together put just barley with the bottom being pushed out. I would only need to take 1mm off of each side. Would that interfere with the electronics of the iflash?

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:11:25 +0000

Well if you do not have SMT soldering equipment, the easiest would be to melt the solder on one side of the cap and using the soldering iron tip, push against the capacitor and lift up that side of the capacitor – then it is a matter of melting the otherside for the cap to leave the board – it is safe to do this as the connections on these capacitors dog leg underneath the capacitor body.

If you are not comfortable doing that – if your soldering iron is hot enough, add more solder to each pad and then quickly melt each pad quickly back and forth and the component will get hot enough for you to push the cap off the board with the iron.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:44:44 +0000

How did you go about removing the z caps? I’m afraid of damaging the pads. Did you use a desoldering braid to remove the leftover solder or can I just solder over it?

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:24:31 +0000

Thanks, that’s what I will do

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:54:19 +0000

Michael,

I am confused by the note on that link saying not to remove the components – but you have to remove the components if you want the audio to flow via your upgraded capacitors.

I suggest removing the Z caps, the inductors can be left in – solder to the test pads as shown on that site.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:11:23 +0000

I’m trying figure out mod, do I have to de-solder the original connections or can I just solder my new wires on top of the old ones? And which is a better place to start from: the pads shown in this article straight from the z pads? The reason I ask is that this guide gives a slightly different & slightly simplier method of doing the mod.

http://www.ualberta.ca/~jple/diyMod/index.html

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:51:06 +0000

Thanks for your super fast response, I have actually never tried working on a circuit board before. But this looks like something I think can do, since I have a spare ipod with a broken screen there is no reason not to give it a try.

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:27:48 +0000

Michael,

Yes the iPod will work exactly as it did before – just better.

The capacitor mod improves the sound by improving the transparency and warmth of the audio signal – I think you will notice a difference regardless of the music formats you are listening to.

The mod will not however create detail where there is no detail – so go for the highest quality file format you can – I personally have been happy with 320Kpb mp3s but I do not spend as much time as I used to critical listening….

Soldering iron wise, something you are comfortable with – for a mod like this something which has a chisel point of about 0.8 to 1.6mm will be ok (as long as you have a steady hand and decent soldering skills)…

By: Tarkan

Tarkan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:23:12 +0000

Peter, yes the line-out is still Audio via the internal DAC

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:22:20 +0000

Sorry, to use several posts but I just keep thinking of questions while I wait for my caps to get here (ELNA Cerafines). My ipod doc is connected to a vintage JVC amp that sends 100 watts per channel to a set of modern pioneer towers and I think the sound is fantastic, but since I’m unemployed I need a project. My music collection consists of 320kps mp3s that were recorded from flac using winlame. I can just barley hear a difference between flac and 320kps mp3s, would I get a noticeable improvement in sound quality from this mod? Would I have to re-transfer from flac into apple lossless to make this mod worthwhile or would it improve the sound of my high quality mp3s? Thanks!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:42:46 +0000

Oh yea, and what kind of soldering iron would should I use?

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:05:47 +0000

First off, thanks for creating the CF adapter, it is awesome. If I do this mod will I still be able to control my ipod (switch songs) with the remote controlled dock attached to my stereo?