[BobM]

The input impedance on my amp is 100K. What would you suggest?

The 300pF mica you are using on PER10 as a bypass (parallel) is that correct?

Brad,

You should be OK with the .47uF coupling caps on the output, but remember if the bass isn't as deep as you think it should be then a slightly larger cap might remedy that.

The silver mica should go right across the RCA's, from + to -. But if the sound isn't as transparent as you think it should be then try removing these. It did open things up for me and I have no problems with switching noise (clicks, pops and such). Your mileage may vary.

Enjoy,
Bob

[GefellTaper]

I am curious...has anyone used blackgate's instead of panasonic's for any of these tweaks?  I switched out the main ps cap with a 25 dollar blackgate and the improvements were quite dramatic.  Just curious if the cost factor would make it worth it.

Daryan

[STeveL]

I am curious...has anyone used blackgate's instead of panasonic's for any of these tweaks? I switched out the main ps cap with a 25 dollar blackgate and the improvements were quite dramatic. Just curious if the cost factor would make it worth it.

Just finished up installing Blackgates on the voltage rails for the DAC (AE7,8,9,22) and the SACD processor (SAE1,3,7).  Only have 1 hour on them, so I'll report back.  This tweak has been worthwhile for those modding the Toshiba 3950, so I'd expect similar results.  

I also replaced the main ps cap with a BG about a week ago and agree, there are improvements here also.

[BobM]

My Toshiba had some very heavy competition this weekend, with a CD Pro2 kit and an Empirical Audio modded Sony 7700 as transports into a modded ART DI/O or Perpetual Technologies P3A DAC. See this post for more details:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=16390

As much as I would like to say that the modded Toshiba 4960 held up it's end, I really cannot. The transport/DAC combinations handily beat it out in most every category. The only exception was the Sony 7700 with the unmodded P3A DAC - this was truly unlistenable digititis.

Yes,  the Toshiba sounds damn fine for less than a $200 layout after mods, but more money does buy you better digital. Fortunately, the combo's that were presented this weekend for the shootout are not all that expensive, in relative terms (less than $1000 overall).

Modded DI/O's are available used for about $200-250. The CD Pro2 is a $700 kit. Sony 7700's sell for about $250 on Amazon or Ebay, and the EA mods will run you another $500 or so. Then there are plently of other highly regarded DAC's, likt e Benchmark and Ack DAC 2.0.

Then of course there is vinyl ...

Enjoy,
Bob

[Ektalog]

I take it that no SACD or DVD/A got into the act. If so, you should nurture hopes that the BobM-Toshiba may still be able to shine in this kind of comparison.

[speedcenter]

I am curious...has anyone used blackgate's instead of panasonic's for any of these tweaks?  I switched out the main ps cap with a 25 dollar blackgate and the improvements were quite dramatic.  Just curious if the cost factor would make it worth it.

Daryan

Ive used Blackgates instead of Panasonic FCs or Nichicon Muse KZs in some other components, and the difference always was quite significant, especially in my DAC. I just spent $230 on Blackgates to build me a new tube Preamp - they get expensive when you go for the higher voltages, but inside of a Toshiba, there's only one cap that sees high voltage. I think the proper WKZ blackgate for that voltage is about $50. If you spent $25 you didn't increase the capacitance over stock.

The prices of smaller Blackgates are also quite acceptable. As long as the voltage is 5V or less, you can get some pretty inexpensive nx series caps that are actually the best BGs. The N series can get expensive at certain sizes, but if you put things into perspective with a factory purchased player that actually sports blackgates throughout, you are paying pennies on the dollar.

I think if I run out of ideas in my tweaking projects, I may build me a second 3950 transport with Blackgates throughout.

Peter

[BobM]

Hey - it's been a while. Everyone enjoying their modded player these days? Well there's a few other modders who have experienced an epiphany of sorts using this player. Here's a link to the thread over at Audio Asylum:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/digital/messages/102843.html

What are th RAM mods? Look here:

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Tosh_3960&Category_Code=MODS

From what I can see in the description, there's only a few things different than what I proposed:
1 - using Rubycon ZL/ZA capacitors instead of Panny's
2 - using a Jensen 4 pole cap as the main power supplpy filter. Here's a link on how to implement that particular replacement:
http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24
3 - implementing a Superclock 3

Now I know the Jensen will make a difference, but fitting it in there has got to be a squeeze. As for the Superclock 3, well that's probably where most of the increased magic lies.

Anyone have a hookup diagram or basic instructions on how to implement one of these Superclocks? I know there are different values available, but how does it get integrated with the existing circuit?

Thanks,
Bob

[Panelhead]

Hey - it's been a while. Everyone enjoying their modded player these days? Well there's a few other modders who have experienced an epiphany of sorts using this player. Here's a link to the thread over at Audio Asylum:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/digital/messages/102843.html

What are th RAM mods? Look here:

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Tosh_3960&Category_Code=MODS

From what I can see in the description, there's only  ...

  Do you have any idea what value Jensen they are using? I use these in my diy projects, but the highest voltage I have is some 10,000 ufd 63 volt. Seems like most switching supplies use 200 volt or so.
  These things are large, 35 mm x 50 mm or so. Cannot see how they fit in the stock box.
   Stan Warren recommended these to me several years back. They are special.

                              George

[Ektalog]

Wow, Bob, just in time!

I FINALLY got the HD941 from Samsung. I plan to install it this evening and see if it is at least as good as the SD4960/HD841 for SACD playback. That should take me until the weekend. Then it's play time...tinker, tinker.

I still have to get their shop manual which is not listed yet. In the meantime, I'll be taking a visual survey to see how far away the board got from the SD4960/HD841 design. It may be that I apply the scalpel in a reckless impulse.    

BTW, I never got it clear if the shortcomings you found in the modded SD4960/HD841 during the shootout against the CD Pro2 kit and Sony included SACD material.  Would you mind commenting? Tks!

[BobM]

I didn't play SACD at the shootout, but I did experiment with it later on. My own impressions of the 4960's CD vs SACD playback was that SACD's had an added touch of improved imaging and soundstaging. There was more "room" there than in CD playback. No difference in instrument tonality, no difference in extension or smoothness. The SACD was just a tad more natural, probably because of the better ambiance factors I mentioned.

As for the 4960's SACD vs the EA modded Sony 7700 and modded ART DI/O DAC - the Redbook using the Sony and DI/O were better. More solid imaging, better dynamics (micro and macro), equal soundtaging and ambiance.

Now I would be very interested if anyone has foregone the Swenson mod and upgraded the opamps and surrounding caps. That would probably improve on the dynamic and punchiness of this player over the coupling caps, but may change the natural presentation and ease which the coupling caps usually provide.

I have no doubts that the Superclock would bring a vast improvement. Same for the Jensen cap. If anyone tries them please let us know the outcome.

Enjoy,
Bob

[dune0808]

I have a question. I ordered a new 4960 from J&R ($79.99) and am planning to modify it. For a Jensen 4-pole cap, is this right one that will replace two filtering caps on the power board?

JENSEN 68091 4 - pole 220uf 385v 35 x 50 $52.95

Also, can anybody tell me the list of blackgate caps w/ values both for power and audio board?

Thanks, Jay

[BobM]

The're possibly 2 problems with the Jensen
- will it fit inside the case (those are big caps) and where in the world do you mount it / lay it down (no free room near the rectifiers)
- are the diodes sufficient (you should up them to 4A 600V soft recovery Hexfreds, or Shottky's with that size smoothing cap)

As for the Balckgates - just find values that mimic the Panasonic replacements in the earlier posts. For power supply, keep the voltaghe the same and increase the capacitance by about 20%. For digital circuits keep the voltage and capacitance the same as the originals. For the analogue section (if you are keeping the op-amps and not doing a Swenson mod) I would also keep the values the same as the originals (for the most part).

BTW - have you read the postings about Reference Audio Mods and the Toshiba players? If you are willing to spend $$$'s then I would handily recommend replacing the clock with a Superclock3. That change alone is probably more adventagious than almost anything else you can do to an inexpensive player like this one.

Good luck,
Bob

[dune0808]

Thanks for your kind answer.

For the Jensen 4-pole, if it fits in a 3950/60, it might be OK with a 4960, I guess. What I am curious about is the value and connection (I saw the RAM website, but not sure about actual connection on the power board).

About superclock3, I really want to try it, but have some questions too. Is this (http://www.audiocom-uk.com/) only place I can get one from? How to connect it to the unit? Any cheaper alterntives?

All these considerations come from the experience with my higly modified 3960 player. I like its sound.

Thanks, Jay

[CornellAlum]

Has anyone identified the opamps in this unit and changed them?  To what?  I am in the process of doing another full mod, all blackgates, new clock if I can figure that out, etc.

Daryan

[BobM]

Here's the description from the parts list for the op-amps:

IC-OP AMP;4560,SOP,8P,173MIL,DUAL,100V/m

Haven't tried to replace them but I would bet there's plenty of options.

Hope this helps,
Bob

[CornellAlum]

Thank bob, never heard fo any of those suckers, but alas, who cares right!  I will give it a whirl.  Also, is there anything else that can be done to the digital path of this unit?  The analog is very secondary to me.

Daryan

[elaubile]

I need someone's help on this.

I just changed the power cord on the Samsung 841 model tonight (soldered cable onto pins). I had changed out all of the recommended caps and did the Swenson mod previously; everything was working fine. However now, when I play a DVD audio disc, I hear this strange echo effect. When comparing the sound output to the MAIN OUT, the sound seems louder and less "echo-y" from the MAIN OUT. It seems that something in the path to the RCAs has been affected. I switched back to the old stock cord but the unit kept doing the same thing. Oddly, I do not hear this when I play a regular CD (whether through MAIN OUT or the self-added RCAs). I checked the caps and they look solidly in place. I checked the RCAs and they seem fine - no loose connections or anything... Might anyone have an idea what might be causing this? It didn't sound like this before and i'm at a loss for what could be the problem...

Thanks!

[BobM]

I need someone's help on this.

However now, when I play a DVD audio disc, I hear this strange echo effect. When comparing the sound output to the MAIN OUT, the sound seems louder and less "echo-y" from the MAIN OUT. It seems that something in the path to the RCAs has been affected...

A truly strange phenomenon. It doesn't occur on anything other than DVD-A's? Then I would eliminate any part of the circuitry that is common to other media (power supply, analogue out, CD and SACD processing section).

Check the DVD analogue and video processing sections - I believe there is some shared functionality for DVD's there (but perhaps I'm mistaken). I'd also look at the traces from the power supply that feed into that section.

Good luck,
Bob

[elaubile]

A truly strange phenomenon. It doesn't occur on anything other than DVD-A's? Then I would eliminate any part of the circuitry that is common to other media (power supply, analogue out, CD and SACD processing section).

Check the DVD analogue and video processing sections - I believe there is some shared functionality for DVD's there (but perhaps I'm mistaken). I'd also look at the traces from the power supply that feed into that section.

I will need to check again tonight. Which sections are for DVD analogue? So far, I have only one DVD-A and no SACDs yet, but I shall be getting some during the week. I don't know if this problem will also happen when playing SACDs. Other than a weakly soldered joint and the traces, is there anything else that I should be looking for?

It is very strange. The disc I have is the Alicia Keys - Songs in A minor DVD-A. Before the power cord swap, the sound was very much like a CD though with much more detail and character. Her voice sounded very present. Now, it seems as though the vocals are much further back. The lows and highs are still strong, though the mids seem to have weakened. When plugging headphones into my amp, I also hear this echo/reverb effect of the vocals. I think it is because of this that the mids sound muffled. I don't hear this when plugging into the 5.1 Mains RCAs. When comparing the 5.1 audio out and Swenson audio out, the sound from the latter seems "mono-like", where the vocals seems to be "above the head."    And yet CD playback sounds fine, so the problem's not likely related to anything between the wires coming out of AE10 or AE20 and the RCA jacks...

I've also noticed this after doing the cap changes: when I plugged in the Samsung to the TV for speaker setup, I would only hear sound if the Surround L&R channels are on. Is this the way it's supposed to be?

Thanks Bob

[elaubile]

I just opened up the Samsung again and noticed that there's a buzzing sound coming from the power supply area of the board. Okay, now I know this is not a good thing, but might anyone know why a buzzing sound might occur (bad solder, defective cap, etc.)? I'll look into which part is making the noise... Hopefully it also relates to my sound problem...