Interface Modification Services

Started by Hurricane, July 15, 2017, 11:54:24 PM

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Hurricane

8)

I was checking stuff on the net and came across this on Reverb :

http://www.reviveaudio.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=103&product_id=314

Their claim's I wanted to have some of the forum's members comment on .

Seems interesting if it indeed lives up to it's claim's  ???

They have a rather large list of different interface manufactures that they do mods on .

This comes as an interesting surprise . 

EZ :

HR

carlb

#1
These kinds of mods (replace op-amps with cleaner versions) can be really pronounced or very subtle. Sometimes their performance kicks in at the edges, when you're pushing them hard.

Sometimes ... the change is so subtle you have to ask yourself: really just a placebo effect?

No experience or independent reviews that I've seen or this mod ...
ES Les Paul, internal Roland GK
Boss SY-1000, Valeton Coral Amp pedal
Morningstar MC8 & MC6
QSC CP8 powered speaker

Hurricane

8)
Carib :

This in the first ever I have heard on interface mod service .
I have seen many an amp mod and  pedal mods , guitars ,
blues harps , this one took me by surprise .

EZ :

HR


montyrivers

In the turn of the milennium people were having their digi 003's and Motu PCIe interfaces upgraded in a similar fashion for hundreds of dollars.  This was a good option back then because you could take a consumer level A to D converter and get comparable performance to ones that cost thousands more at the time.

  Now, though, basically everyone is making modern recording interfaces with burr brown converters and decent mic pres so really the only frontier left to compete over is thunderbolt/usb/pcie drivers, and there is virtually no way for a third party to upgrade something like that.

TLDR
Don't waste time getting a modded interface.

Buy a new interface based on good reviews of its recording latency benchmarks and how well its software drivers work

billbax

#4
All of my front-end preamps have their op-amps swapped out.  The results can be quite dramatic, with lower total-harmonic-distortion, improved signal-to-noise-ratio, and noticeably cleaner audio.  There is no 'placebo effect' with upgrading op-amps.

VG-88 op-amp swap out with OPA2134 throughout.  Modification date: 2003.


OPA2134. Generally, a great replacement op-amp, although today it has been taken over by new designs.


Cheers,

Bill

Hurricane

:)

Quote from: billbax on July 16, 2017, 02:39:56 PM
All of my front-end preamps have their op-amps swapped out.  The results can be quite dramatic, with lower total-harmonic-distortion, improved signal-to-noise-ratio, and noticeably cleaner audio.  There is no 'placebo effect' with upgrading op-amps.

VG-88 op-amp swap out with OPA2134 throughout.  Modification date: 2003.


OPA2134. Generally, a great replacement op-amp, although today it has been taken over by new designs.


Cheers,

Bill

8)
Hello Bill :

Using my 6i6 it's really quite apparent that the clarity and gain are completely
unreal and out of sight .

Now when I listen on the net to vids here and other forums and while just searching
and listening in general I use one of the Scarlett's headphone jack's they are now my [ go to ]
choice to enjoy sound sources of audio , it is that that good . I'm going to really enjoy
how the 6i6's headphone monitoring is going to help in the process of recording and editing .

The statement of :

[ " The results can be quite dramatic, with lower total-harmonic-distortion, improved
signal-to-noise-ratio, and noticeably cleaner audio
" ]

, leaves me thinking just how good can it get , it's already at the " state of the art "  levels
of audio excellence in clarity and gain being so loud & clear and brilliant ,  I understand what
[ State Of The  Art ] means too .

I am open to it , but , just at the moment while my 6i6's warranty is still engaged for 2 years I don't
want to jeopardize the time period .

I'm thinking that with in the time of/in two years I will gain enough knowledge to really make a
solid decision on whether to mod or not to mod and risk the warranty should I learn it's a sure
thing and to go for it . Thing's do change in time , this whole post's theme maybe a none issue/topic
with improvement's in technology that bring better products to surpass this in a few months  :o .

EZ :

HR
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billbax

Hi Hurricane,

Front End audio preamp design and component choice is a big subject. Swapping op-amps in an existing preamp design can often bring measurable audio improvements.  You might like to try out some of the existing free/paid software, and check out your 6i6's audio Front End preamps.

RightMark  http://www.rightmark.org

https://www.spectraplus.com/ProductOptionsSC.htm

Here's an op-amp swap-out project from 2005, with the once popular PCI M-AUDIO 1010LT sound card. There were 15 X 5532 op-amps and AD8066 is the replacement.  The AD8066 modification almost added a full digit '0' improvement to the THD.

AD8066 op-amp replacement.


LOW M AUDIO 1010LT AD8066 THD


AD8066 is a High-Speed op-amp @ 145 MHz, which means audio passes through with minimal audio gain colouration. In audio terms, this translates to transient audio 'attack' times sounding natural, compared to Low-Speed op-amps transients sounding dull.  There is no B/S with the upgrade, and on critical listening tests the audio benefits were obvious.  Total costs for the project were £75.00GBP, with six hours labour including raw tests.

Cheers,

Bill

Hurricane

Quote from: billbax on July 20, 2017, 02:45:34 PM
Hi Hurricane,

Front End audio preamp design and component choice is a big subject. Swapping op-amps in an existing preamp design can often bring measurable audio improvements.  You might like to try out some of the existing free/paid software, and check out your 6i6's audio Front End preamps.

RightMark  http://www.rightmark.org

https://www.spectraplus.com/ProductOptionsSC.htm

Here's an op-amp swap-out project from 2005, with the once popular PCI M-AUDIO 1010LT sound card. There were 15 X 5532 op-amps and AD8066 is the replacement.  The AD8066 modification almost added a full digit '0' improvement to the THD.

AD8066 op-amp replacement.


LOW M AUDIO 1010LT AD8066 THD


AD8066 is a High-Speed op-amp @ 145 MHz, which means audio passes through with minimal audio gain colouration. In audio terms, this translates to transient audio 'attack' times sounding natural, compared to Low-Speed op-amps transients sounding dull.  There is no B/S with the upgrade, and on critical listening tests the audio benefits were obvious.  Total costs for the project were £75.00GBP, with six hours labour including raw tests.

Cheers,

Bill

billbax :

As I was commenting on how well this 6i6 sounds , it is truly remarkable .

I've worked in service centers that exacted .05 ( and much lower ) readings on THD/S/N and other measurements
on fine analog audio gear - multitrack 10" RtoR , transcription turntables . My fav headphones are electrostatics .

I've not scoped the spec's on this 6i6 but after years of seeing this done and hearing the results
I've trained my ears/hearing to know when I'm listening to the real deal when it comes to [quiet ]
For 7 years on the job I listened frequency sweeps in pre amps / power amps with   .5 - then .1 then .05
and so on - the stuff  improves surely and is noticeable on the bench with reference level monitors and the like .
Then after testing - -
I listened to some of the softest quietest passages in stuff that shows who's got a good monitoring/ recording / play back
system , the least rumble , skate , wow&flutter  ectcetera .

I have been putting the 6i6 to work listening to everything through it now . It rocks .

0.5/0.1/0.05 in public , night clubs , concert halls , huge outdoor concerts with the most unreal state of the art systems ,
it's not apparent to these ears where the change begins to  the better or the latter . Now a days the system many have are far
from reference level and are in the high % of ear bud listening , which ( earbuds ) could be fantastic or so so .  Concerts
( depending on the venue ) can have great state of the art systems < I'll personally attest to that .

Could go on and on about sessions with " QUAD - Yamaha - JBL- Cerwin Vega - Philips " guys at CES shows years and years ago
on these refinements  in " quietness " meaning nothing when the best analog speakers are @ 1% THD-S/N or worse on average .

Which brings me to the full circle - in the end - the final when other's listen to your recordings , is , will this mod's claims really
show a difference to the average listener or to my ears ? As I am really happier than a hooker when the fleets in as this stands with
the audio that's poppin outta my 6i6 . I am really pleased super big time .

And it's not just the gain  it's the silence I hear between the notes - it roars quietly in a most gracefully beautiful manner as is or
shows a poorly recorded wav/mp3 file and/or podcast-TV/radio broadcast.

I just was given a competitors website by the one in question I posted on . This was refreshing to see how they are more than willing
to show how they stand up against others in the competing market for my $'s .

Thanks for the info , I'll try to make out what these site's are selling that you posted on .

EZ :

HR