A lot of this information has been posted in various places. I thought it worthwhile to collect it here as a sticky.
The analog modded BOLDER SB2 and SB3 have had the analog op-amp removed. This is done to allow the cleanest signal to come through. The DAC chip is connected through high quality capacitors to directly to the RCA jacks. With the op-amp gone the signal phase is not changed. In a stock SB, the signal is inverted as it passes through the op-amp.
THIS CHANGE DOES NOT APPLY TO USING THE DIGITAL OUTPUT. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN PHASE WHEN THE DIGITAL MOD IS DONE.
THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO THE DUET SYSTEM. STOCK OR MODDED. THE DUET SYSTEM PHASE AND OUTPUT LEVEL IS NOT CHANGED.
In order to hear the correct phase of the signal, you CAN use Firmware 15 with your modded SB 2 OR 3. Mike Galusha has written a great little piece of software for a Firmware Selector. It is available
here. There is also some good discussion about various firmwares and where to get them.
If you use a later version of the firmware, you should reverse the polarity of your speaker wires to get the correct phase. This means changing the + and - wires around. So the wire that normally go to your + terminal will now go to your -. This can be changed at the amp or the speakers.
I currently use SqueezeCenter 7.4. You are of course free to experiment with different versions but 7.4 works. The latest beta versions of all software may have some bugs in it. You can find SqueezeCenter 7.4 and other builds
hereBy removing the analog audio op-amp the output voltage is reduced. This means it will not be as loud as most other consumer electronics. This will not normally be a problem. Most amplifiers do have plenty of gain to reach full rated power at 1 volt input.
You can run the modded SB direct into a power amp's input. The SB does have an internal volume control. In most cases, people have found that the sound of the modded SB direct into a power amps sounds better than most pre-amps. If you find that the modded SB is too loud into your power amp, you can use a pair of attenuators to lower the volume.
The very first mods of the SB2 and some early SB3 had one of the crystals removed. There were some tests that showed that there was some better jitter specs with the crystal removed. Removing the crystal also prevented some internet radio stations that streamed lower quality signals from being reproduced. I have not removed the crystal for for a few years. The gains made in jitter specs were not audible enough to justify the prevention of receiving all the internet stations that some folks want to listen to.
The mods to the internal power supplies and output capacitors WILL take some time to "break-in". Depending on what output caps are used, this can take between 300-800 hours of CONSTANT play. I suggest you plug the analog AND digital outputs into a load and put the unit on repeat. Your amp, pre-amp, DAC, etc can act as a load. The unit the SB is plugged into does not have to be on.
Some folks ask what router to use, here is my answer to that from another forum:
I have tried 5 different wireless routers in my house. Thank God for having a CompUSA, BestBuy and a Circuit City all with a couple of miles of home.
For my use, I found the NetGear WPN824 to be the best. I run 1 wired computer (which has Slimserver and all my music), 1 wired SB2, three wireless computers, a wireless SB2 and a wireless PDA. There are times all are running at once.
I have all the extras, like 108 mps, disabled. The computers are staggered over three floors. According to Netstumbler, I average a 24 mps throughput in the basement while the router is on the top floor. My 2.4 mhz phone system does cause drops. No problems with the microwave.
A lot depends on how many networks are in your neighborhood and what channel they are running on. Most routers are set to channel 6 as default. If you run channel 1 or 11, you should not have a problem.
My son likes to game on-line. When he is playing WOW and talking to his team mates over the net, it does slow things down a bit. I am planning to run a CAT5e drop for him.
For this system, SlimServer 6.2.2 was not a good thing. I was getting lots of drops all across the network. Rolling back to 6.2.1 solved all the problems.
So my answer to you is, it depends. I do suggest you try at least a couple of different brands to see if one will work better for you. It is cheaper to buy them through the net, but I do suggest you use a B&M location at first to see what works before you place an order on-line. I did end up buying from the CompUSA near me.
Break-in
This topic is subject to a lot of debate. I can say as a modder, I have heard a great deal of changes over time as a result of the mods I do. The biggest "culprit" is the capacitors. In the SB mods, I change out a lot of the internal power supply capacitors to Black Gates. these take at LEAST 400 hours to fully form. There will be a lot of changes in the sound during this time. Please do not critically compare a modded SB for at least a month as the caps will still be changing the sound. The Platinum Sonicap and V-Caps take even longer to fully break-in. You can expect to have the unit go through changes for at least 600 hours. Others have reported up to 1000 hours of constant 24/7 signal running through them to fully break-in.
Black Gate caps are used in the ELPAC PS mod. It will change sound for about 3-4 weeks and then settle down.
If you plan to compare a linear power supply to the stock switcher, please unplug the switcher from the WALL before you listen to the linear. The switcher does pollute all the AC when it is plugged in. This will cause any audio gear to sound bad when plugged in near a switching PS.
STICKY UPDATED 02/07/09
