Just chiming in with a update.
I purchased a used XBOX Advanced A/V pack for $10 on ebay, it allows an S video connection. it also lets me use aftermarket interconnects on the XBOX...holy cow!
I modified the stock RCA cabling way back when, stripping away all the thick stock insulation...this helped a lot. And i've been using the modded stock cabling up until a few nights ago (all previous posts were using the stock cables)
I cleaned the rca inputs on the new cable pack and installed a 1.5M silver Promitheus Audio IC inbetween the XBOX and my TVC...the change in imaging is startling, everything else has stayed about the same though, but the sound is sweeter.
the musicians images, where they 'are' in my L/R, spread out even further...a nice change indeed. There was a slight congestion to the center image which has spread out too.
Since i last posted i almost 2 pounds of Peroplast modeling clay to the inside of the xbox....a little bit on the thin metal panels and then i filled in all the plastic trays where the HD and DVD sit. No clay is anywhere near the harware, its just stuffed into the sides of the plastic trays that can accept clay (you gotta open an XBOX to know what i'm talking about).
Well, stuffing the XBOX with clay sucked, bigtime. Worst outcome from just about ANY tweak i've ever tried. The imaging closed in, bass became a one note thud. Removing 2 lbs of clay from the case was not enjoyable either, but it corrected the issue 100%. I can't believe folks stuff old turntables with this stuff, its not musical.
To date i've removed the 6 main case screws and 3 small Torx screws that hold the HD & DVD drive plastic trays together. Removing the screws + adding an Oyaide P-079 male plug + the new Advanced A/V cable pack are all I have done, and i'm PROUD to say this XBOX sounds excellent as a CDP. now that i can swap IC's, i do not want a DAC. BUT, a cool thing with the new cable pack is it has a digital out, not sure what type though...looks to be optical.
Besides keeping a bathtowel on top of XBOX, i can't figure out any way to quiet the damn thing down. i'll take the tradeoff though though since the sonics are making me happy. I purchased a new quiet fan on ebay, but after digging through the XBOX internals i'm not sure i want to tackle that problem. To me, the DVD drive makes the most noise in the case.
at some point i'm going to buy a piece of mass damped vinyl and will drape it over the XBOX, a small piece laid on top of the DVD drive may help too...but just a small amount of clay added to the very top of the DVD drive (around the spindle area) really sucked the life out of the music.
cheers,
matt
