[dboy]

dboy,

Thanks so much for your answer! making a list of parts to order all at same time:
For now i have:
2 oscons 25SEPF330M
4 bourns ind. 2200HT-220V-RC or should be 2100HT-100-V-RC-ND as diy audio site indicated? just making sure..
2 caps for astron ps, PANASONIC-EEU-FM1V102, PANASONIC-EEU-FM1E222L
for the snubber mod, which are the parts for it? it will risky, i hope i do not damage the board. but looks like its necessary!
there's another cap in board, that one does not need replacement? i see in pictures you are not using it as you use transformers in?
Any other parts to upgrade  this ybdz board needed? i know maybe some more discoveries will be made soon, but up until now?

Thank you again and to all the rest like Rhing and Xrk971 which have kindly responded to my questions..and the others for their contributions here!

Hi,

You could use 3x330uF Oscons. I have 2x220uF Elna Cerafine at the moment as I use a Bybee Music Rail and advice I got from the company said to keep capacitance below 470uF (although this does conflict with other info they have given and I am not sure how much it matters).

BTW I did recently compare the Cerafine to the Sepf Oscons on a different board and the Oscons are definitely better. Just wanted to clarify this as I said earlier how much I liked Cerafine.

Re. the inductors, the second part number is for 10uH. 22uH is on the YBDZ board so not a like for like swap, but you may want to change the output filter to match your speakers? Others here will advise on this if you do. Otherwise, that part should sound fine if you can mount it. It seems it is oriented differently to the one I used so I cannot comment on how easy or otherwise it would be to mount. Look at the pictures and dimensions of the parts online to compare. I can confirm the ones I used fit, so if that certainty is what you want then I would advise those.

I personally have not done the bootstrap snubber mod and as only an occasional visitor to the diyaudio thread I am not very up on it, although it is at the back of my mind as something to research and try. Perhaps Rhing or Lacro would be kind enough to summarise this mod for both/all of us?

[lacro]

Nice job lacro! You've really come a long in your DIY skills since starting this thread. How do you like the sound?

Thanks Rhing! - I have become much better at slinging solder since Wushuliu suggested replacing the PS caps on the original 3110 board which I had no idea how to accomplish at the time In reality I am just following many of the mods you have done, and find your photos invaluable for copying you .

In my system the Bootstrap snubber mod has been the single best SQ improvement so far The stock YJ blue board had harsh highs which several other mods tamed well. This BS snubber mod that costs a little over one US dollar! Has brought out much fine detail in mostly highs and mids. I am hearing sounds that were simply not there before.

I listened for several hours to familiar songs to be sure it's not just a placebo affect. It's not - the SQ improvement is amazing!! I was listening to "Once Upon Another Time" by Sara Bareilles, my wife came from the other end of the house saying "what did you buy now, that sounds fantastic" We sat there memorized by this great song, sounding like I have never heard it before!  I highly recommend this mod.

[OzarkTom]

Here is a very cheap C&C mod for your TPA amp. Get a set of moongel drum pads for $6.99 and place your amp on top of three of the pads. You actually get four in a package. Sweetwater sound is a good place to get these, Sweetwater also sells them on Ebay. Shipping is free for your $6.99. These will improve your sound, more detail and more open.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RTOM-Moongel-Drum-Damper-Pad-Moongel-Drum-Damper-Pad-/171242036275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ded21c33

[Markvdv]

Here is a very cheap C&C mod for your TPA amp. Get a set of moongel drum pads for $6.99 and place your amp on top of three of the pads. You actually get four in a package. Sweetwater sound is a good place to get these, Sweetwater also sells them on Ebay. Shipping is free for your $6.99. These will improve your sound, more detail and more open.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RTOM-Moongel-Drum-Damper-Pad-Moongel-Drum-Damper-Pad-/171242036275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ded21c33

How big/small are they ?

[OzarkTom]

How big/small are they ?

Very small and thin, just about 1" wide x 1.5" long x 1/8 inch thick. You can cut them in half with scissors and have two sets of them for your TPA amp and another small component.

[rhing]

Very small and thin, just about 1" wide x 1.5" long x 1/8 inch thick. You can cut them in half with scissors and have two sets of them for your TPA amp and another small component.

Thanks. I'll have to check that out. Have you tried these:

http://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2E-EVA-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

Or these:

http://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2C-Rubber-Cork-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

An audiophile and music vendor sells similar rubber/cork pads for $24.00 or more.

Thanks Rhing! - I have become much better at slinging solder since Wushuliu suggested replacing the PS caps on the original 3110 board which I had no idea how to accomplish at the time In reality I am just following many of the mods you have done, and find your photos invaluable for copying you .

In my system the Bootstrap snubber mod has been the single best SQ improvement so far The stock YJ blue board had harsh highs which several other mods tamed well. This BS snubber mod that costs a little over one US dollar! Has brought out much fine detail in mostly highs and mids. I am hearing sounds that were simply not there before.

I listened for several hours to familiar songs to be sure it's not just a placebo affect. It's not - the SQ improvement is amazing!! I was listening to "Once Upon Another Time" by Sara Bareilles, my wife came from the other end of the house saying "what did you buy now, that sounds fantastic" We sat there memorized by this great song, sounding like I have never heard it before!  I highly recommend this mod.

An audio friend of mine came over yesterday and brought his SOTA Sapphire turntable over, so we could install new springs onto the turntable's suspended sub-chassis. After we completed the work, we connected his turntable to my system. I had my modified YJ blue amp connected, but he thought I had my Dynakit Stereo 35 tube amp playing, it sounded so good. We played the new Music Matters 33rpm pressing of Grant Green's "Idle Moments" and my friend's original copy of the RCA Living Stereo pressing of Bizet's "Carmen."  It was fantastic with a real, organic presentation.

[OzarkTom]

Thanks. I'll have to check that out. Have you tried these:

http://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2E-EVA-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

Or these:

http://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2C-Rubber-Cork-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

An audiophile and music vendor sells similar rubber/cork pads for $24.00 or more.

Yes, my buddy Rex and I have tried those and a lot of the more expensive isolation pads, and these drum moongel pads are the best. Just because they are real C&C, don't hesitate to try them. The pads are a best buy, like the TPA amps are.

[rhing]

Yes, my buddy Rex and I have tried those and a lot of the more expensive isolation pads, and these drum moongel pads are the best. Just because they are real C&C, don't hesitate to try them. The pads are a best buy, like the TPA amps are.

Good stuff. Guitar Center music retail stores sell them too, so I'll stop by a local store and pick them up this weekend. Thanks!

http://www.guitarcenter.com/RTOM-Moongel-Percussion-Dampening-Gels-100233674-i1137356.gc

[OzarkTom]

Rex even tried a small set of the very expensive stillpoints, moongel pads were better. Remember, Rex and I have been constantly tweaking our TBI TPA amps for over 2.5 years. The finding of the Astron power supply and these moongel pads was very accidental.

[DaveC113]

Rex even tried a small set of the very expensive stillpoints, moongel pads were better. Remember, Rex and I have been constantly tweaking our TBI TPA amps for over 2.5 years. The finding of the Astron power supply and these moongel pads was very accidental.

If you look back at the first TBI tour thread, I said a linear PS was better than my Optima yellow top, even with banks of caps added. I said it more than once, but for some reason nobody seemed to believe me.           Battery PS are hugely overrated.

[lacro]

Stuffed a TPA 3110 with volume pot into an Altoids tin. Had to move everything to the bottom of the board. Sounds great!

[OzarkTom]

If you look back at the first TBI tour thread, I said a linear PS was better than my Optima yellow top, even with banks of caps added. I said it more than once, but for some reason nobody seemed to believe me.           Battery PS are hugely overrated.

But who would have ever thought a ham radio power supply would ever be this quality? And you can get them for 50 bucks or less on Ebay. The battery still matched a $400 King Rex PSU that my buddy Rex owns, but not the Astron. Battery was still much better than the wall wart that came with the TBI. At the time, I had no linear power supplies to compare the battery too.

Can you name any equal or better than the Astron for 50 bucks?

[rhing]

Stuffed a TPA 3110 with volume pot into an Altoids tin. Had to move everything to the bottom of the board. Sounds great!

That is literally pushing the envelope of miniaturization. Cool stuff!

[DaveC113]

But who would have ever thought a ham radio power supply would ever be this quality? And you can get them for 50 bucks or less on Ebay. The battery still matched a $400 King Rex PSU that my buddy Rex owns, but not the Astron. Battery was still much better than the wall wart that came with the TBI. At the time, I had no linear power supplies to compare the battery too.

Can you name any equal or better than the Astron for 50 bucks?

I was just saying "I told you so"     ...because I mentioned linear supplies can better a battery supply and cost less too a long time ago... when the 1st TBI tour was happening... but nobody paid attention.

The power supply I had for my D amp was a "Power-One" linear supply, not sure how it would compare to Astron but I'd guess they are similar. It was better than my battery PS.

[ttan98]

Stuffed a TPA 3110 with volume pot into an Altoids tin. Had to move everything to the bottom of the board. Sounds great!

Very risky, one day you may want to push your amp more than required by playing the music extra loud then the 3116 Chipset gives way whereby 24Vdc will appear at the output------>then your speakers will pop....
No heatsink on 3116 is not a good idea.

[rhing]

Very risky, one day you may want to push your amp more than required by playing the music extra loud then the 3116 Chipset gives way whereby 24Vdc will appear at the output------>then your speakers will pop....
No heatsink on 3116 is not a good idea.

Perhaps you should read the Texas Instruments data sheet for the TPA3110 Class D amp before firing a barb. Seems to be a few trigger-happy people around this forum lately.

I was just saying "I told you so"     ...because I mentioned linear supplies can better a battery supply and cost less too a long time ago... when the 1st TBI tour was happening... but nobody paid attention.

The power supply I had for my D amp was a "Power-One" linear supply, not sure how it would compare to Astron but I'd guess they are similar. It was better than my battery PS.

The Power-One regulated linear power supplies are very high quality supplies. Is your unit an open chassis design? Which model? We have a few surplus electronic supply stores here in Silicon Valley that has a glut of them in 12V and 24V output versions. If I hadn't found my Astron RS-12A for $20 on craigslist, I would have opted for one of those units.

[ttan98]

Perhaps you should read the Texas Instruments data sheet for the TPA3110 Class D amp before firing a barb. Seems to be a few trigger-happy people around this forum lately.

I disagree with you, ask yourself the question why all the 3116 manufacturers(incl. Sure) put a heat sink on their 3116, there must be a good reason, I don't think they would spend money by adding 1 more component for no gain. If don't want to put a heatsink that's your business I just want to highlight the risk, and not commenting for no good reason.

[rhing]

If lacro used a TPA3116 amp, your point would be valid, but he used a TPA3110 amp.

[DaveC113]

I sold my Power-One with a USB > S/PDIF converter I was using it with after I got a USB DAC a few years ago. I originally bought it for an amp... the Trends T-amp... that got such great reviews but really wasn't a good amp in my system. I did a few mods to the Trends and experimented with a few power supplies with the Power-One coming out on top. I had an Optima yellow top with a big bank of caps, even with a reasonable size film cap bypass, and the caps help a lot but it still wasn't as good as the Power-One.

[Markvdv]

Hypex quit making linear supplies designed for their Dclass amplifiers, because their SMPS supplies are so much better. But a Hypex can't be used with TPA. So pretty irrelevant it may seem, on the other hand, for Europeans or any country on another voltage then US, all references to the Astrons may be just as irrelevant.