Modification Options
Modification Options
Disclaimer: The Guru3D Audio Lab offers these suggestions for educational purposes.
We do not recommend any of these modifications for the novice. You can easily turn your card into an expensive paperweight and you will surely void your warranty. That being said let's see what parts we can modify,
OpampsThe Essence ST has a similar opamp setup to what was seen on the STX and the HDAV 1.3. These cards use 3 opamps per stereo pair. Two opamps are used for Current (I) and Voltage (V) conversion and one for buffering the output of the I/V section. The STX has 3 and the H6 contains the other 9 opamps. For the modder, such a setup allows a great deal of opportunity to modify your output signal. The Guru3D audio lab has a very large opamp collection and we did some extensive testing. We can point you in a few directions but don't want to take all the fun out of testing for yourself!
LME49710HA Buffer
The Dual LME49710 is a dual chip module built from the single channel version of the LME49720 which is said to be identical to the LM4562NA. This chip offers many of the sonic qualities of the stock LM4562NA buffer but is a bit higher up the ladder for sonic qualities. The lower end bass is improved, the clarity and detail is further improved.
THS 4032 I/V section
The THS4032's are one of our favorite chips for use in DAC conversion sections. They are very fast and do a great job of conversion. They provide an excellent, musical sound and the clarity and detail are still present.
Notes on opamps: We performed extensive testing with opamps; however we do not want to take all the surprise out of your testing and playback. We should also note that there is a separate dual channel opamp for the center and subwoofer.
For example, you can use an opamp that is great for bass in the subwoofer or an opamp that is great for dialog for the center channel. Such as above, we used the OPA2107 for the center channel and the OPA2227 for the subwoofer output. We further refined both of these signatures using a dual LME49710HA for the single ended buffer.
Capacitors
Capacitor upgrading or bypassing is always a great way to further improve your signal quality.
For these mods we are concerned with the coupling capacitors. They are used on the signal outputs to block and DC voltages from reaching the next stage in your signal chain. In many cases these caps are redundant and they always degrade the signal quality. They are being mentioned here but these mods are not for the novice as you have to ensure there is no DC or the values are negligible.
I2S signals: This is for the experience modders out there, the ST allow you modders with I2S DAC's to access the needed signals directly from the pin header. You have the LR Clock, Bit and master signals present.
