[Vinnie R.]

All,

The Sharp SD-EX111 modifications are here:

http://www.redwineaudio.com/mods.html

 

Feel free to email me at vinnie@redwineaudio.com if you have
any questions that are not addressed on the website.

[brj]

Hi Vinnie.

First, good luck with your new venture!

Second, do you think there is any means of adding a digital input (either optical or coax or even USB) to this unit?  I was really tempted to get one of these as a bedroom system, but want to be able to connect it to my computer in some fashion.

Thanks!

[Brad]

I thought the EX had an optical input already

It's listed as having one on the Sharp website

[dave_c]

I thought the EX had an optical input already

It's listed as having one on the Sharp website

Its a misprint. . .the japanese website shows it as an output as does the manual and the printing on the unit itself.

[dave_c]

Sweeeeeeet Vinnie!

[hubcaps]

How does the modded one sound compared to the stock?

[Vinnie R.]

How does the modded one sound compared to the stock?

Hi Hubcaps,

Compared to the stock unit, the modded Sharp has much improved bass control, weight, and speed.  I found a pair of signal caps in the stock unit that were robbing the sound of bass performance.  

There is also much greater transparency to the music, along with a deeper soundstage, and a more refined top-end that pulls lots of detail from the music without sounding hard/fatiguing.  Changing out the stock opamps, signal coupling caps, and bypassing a few unnecessary resistors in the signal path really did wonders to these aspects of the sound.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Vinnie.

First, good luck with your new venture!

Second, do you think there is any means of adding a digital input (either optical or coax or even USB) to this unit?  I was really tempted to get one of these as a bedroom system, but want to be able to connect it to my computer in some fashion.

Thanks!

Hi brj,

Thanks!

Adding a digital input will require a spdif receiver and dac chip.  Probably the easiest (and less expensive) way to do this is to have a dac board like the Scott Nixon DacKit installed (which is a nice non-oversampling digital filterless design at a very good price BTW).  This could be fed from one of the 12V lines, and then a coaxial jack could be installed.  

Regards,

[JLM]

Vinnie,

This may be an apple and oranges question, but how does the modded Sharp sound compared to the Clari-T?

[Bemopti123]

You have read my mind Vinnie!  But the one modd that I am mostly interested on it to be able to use the Sharp as a full digital amplifier and running the section directly via the Aux inputs with my choice of amplifiers.  How difficult or expensive would be a mod like this.  Furthermore, there must be a way of adding a toggle switch to be able to use the unit back with all its functions.  

Would there be degradation to the sound if the amplifier had a variable gain via its own volume control and then, run with gain via an outside preamp?  

What is the best or most appropriate way?

PS:  These units are really, really selling like hotcakes.  I think I might order myself a second one just for fun.  

Paul

NYC

[lyapunov]

Hi,

My Sharp sd-ex111 died in it's first hour of operation. No response anymore except for a clicking sound when attempting to turn the unit on. Resetting does not work either. Can anybody provide me with some insight? Is there hope for the little machine or should I send it back to overstock?

Thanks!

[Vinnie R.]

You have read my mind Vinnie! But the one modd that I am mostly interested on it to be able to use the Sharp as a full digital amplifier and running the section directly via the Aux inputs with my choice of amplifiers. How difficult or expensive would be a mod like this. Furthermore, there must be a way of adding a toggle switch to be able to use the unit back with all its functions.

Would there be degradation to the sound if the amplifier had a variable gain via its own volume control and then, run with gain via an outside preamp?

What is the best or most appropriate way?

PS: These units are really, really selling like hotcakes. I think I might order myself a second one just for fun.

Paul

Hi Paul,

I'm trying to understand exactly what you are looking for.  Are you looking for the option to use the Sharp just as a power amplifier, thus bypassing the volume control and preamp sectoin?  If this is the case, you don't want to use the AUX input jacks, because the external signal that enters the AUX input is sent to the volume control and preamp stage.
What would be needed is another pair of RCA jacks that take the signal directly to the power amp section.  

I'm pretty sure this can be done.  Here's how...

I would install a pair of RCA jacks and a simple two-way selector switch
(something simple but of high quality, like the one used for the Goldpoint SA-1 passive preamp).  The switch would provide two modes: 1) normal mode, and 2) power amp only.  

Is this what you are looking for?  If yes, it can be done    
Red Wine Audio is all about customization!  

Unless you are using your own passive preamp, you 'may' actually prefer the Sharp's simple volume control/preamp circuitry.  It is nice and simple, which = less coloration.  Keep is simple and sweet  

[Vinnie R.]

Hi,

My Sharp sd-ex111 died in it's first hour of operation. No response anymore except for a clicking sound when attempting to turn the unit on. Resetting does not work either. Can anybody provide me with some insight? Is there hope for the little machine or should I send it back to overstock?

Thanks!

Hi lyapunov,

The clicking sound is most likely the relay in the power supply section, but I'm not sure why is isn't turning ON.  Could be a loose connector.  

Feel free to email me at vinnie@redwineaudio.com and give me as much detail as you can and I will try to help you out.  

If it comes down to you having to send me the unit, it makes more sense to order and new one from overstock (while they last   ) and send your defective one back for a credit.

Regards,

[brj]

Hi Vinnie - Thanks for the response!

Adding a digital input will require a spdif receiver and dac chip.  Probably the easiest (and less expensive) way to do this is to have a dac board like the Scott Nixon DacKit installed (which is a nice non-oversampling digital filterless design at a very good price BTW).  This could be fed from one of the 12V lines, and then a coaxial jack could be installed.

I don't know the details of how a S/PDIF receiver works, but do you really need the DAC?  Converting the signal to analog seems to defeat one of the primary advantages of the 1-bit technology - keeping the entire audio chain digital until output from the amps.  So to keep the stream digitial, it appears that you need the chip that converts S/PDIF to PCM, and then PCM to the 1 bit data stream.  Of course, I'm guessing that you can't just pick them up at Radio Shack!

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Vinnie - Thanks for the response!

I don't know the details of how a S/PDIF receiver works, but do you really need the DAC?  Converting the signal to analog seems to defeat one of the primary advantages of the 1-bit technology - keeping the entire audio chain digital until output from the amps.  So to keep the stream digitial, it appears that you need the chip that converts S/PDIF to PCM, and then PCM to the 1 bit data stream.  Of course, I'm guessing that you can't just pick them up at Radio Shack!

Hi brj,

The digital amplifier of the Sharp does not take in PCM.  The analog signal from the preamp section is sent to a 7th order delta-sigma conversion chip (only takes analog input) whose output feeds the L and R switching power amp chips.  

In order to get the feature of an spdif input, there needs to be an spdif receiver, and the signal must be analog to work with the digital amp section.  This is why a simple dac board like the SN DacKit would be ideal.  Plus, it runs off of 12V and can be powered with one of the Sharp power supply sections without a problem.

Does this make sense?
 
Regards,

[F-100]

Vinnie,

This may be an apple and oranges question, but how does the modded Sharp sound compared to the Clari-T?

Vinnie,
   Can you please share your opinion on this question?
Thanks

[Vinnie R.]

Vinnie,

This may be an apple and oranges question, but how does the modded Sharp sound compared to the Clari-T?

Vinnie,
   Can you please share your opinion on this question?
Thanks

Certainly.  Here is my opinion on how these two units compare:

Clari-T-Amp

The Clari-T-Amp gets the edge in sound quality, as long as you are using
speakers that are well-suited for low-powered amps.  The Clari-T-Amp circuit paths are extremely short, the component count is much less, and the Clari-T-Amp is 12V SLA battery powered.  I believe these attributes are the main reason why the Clari-T-Amp has a superior sense of "naturalness" to the sound.  

Modified Sharp SD-EX111

The Red Wine Audio Modified Sharp SD-EX111 is a better choice than the Clari-T-Amp in an application where more power is needed.  While the Sharp is rated at 20wpc into 8-ohms, I find it to play cleaner at louder volumes than the 30wpc Teac amp, and I find the modded Sharp to have power and control that is more along the lines of a 50wpc Class AB amp!  It has very impressive speaker control (the 1-bit delta-sigma digital amplification chips really seem to "grip the speakers by the balls," an expression that I got from one of Dmason's posts   )  

While the Sharp uses a solid all-linear power supply topology (which I find to be far superior than a switch-mode power supply), the Clari-T-Amp's supply is even cleaner (12V SLA battery), which provides power that is completely independent of noise from the AC mains.  

The Sharp is more features-oriented (remote control, AUX input, all-in-one system, etc), and after mods, is a very impressive and competitive sounding piece of "two-channel kit" (to quote how the Brits say it   ), but my ears vote for the Clari-T-Amp when strictly voting on sound quality.  Again, this holds true when using speakers that are intented to run off of "flea-powered" amps (ex. horns, single driver Fostex speakers, etc).  

To sum it all up, if you:

a) prefer not to have a battery-powered amp
b) need more power than 6wpc into 8-ohms (10wpc into 4-ohms)
c) prefer more features
d) are looking for the simplicity of an all-in-one system

then the Red Wine Audio Modified Sharp SD-EX111 is your winning ticket.

If you:

a) want the cleanest, most direct, transparent and natural sound
b) do not need much power (are using high-efficiency speakers)
c) are not looking for extra features
d) want to get away from AC power
e) prefer very small size (portable sized enclosure)

then the Clari-T-Amp is your winning ticket.

Regards,

[Bemopti123]

Thanks Vinnie!  You will be hearing from me pretty soon about extra sets of RCAs and the toggle switch.  More than anything, I would like hear what digital amplification sounds like with my First Sound Paramount Hotrod which amplifies the signal directly through a pair of 6922 tubes.  The best of both worlds, super tube and simple, well made digital.  

Paul from NYC

[Vinnie R.]

Thanks Vinnie!  You will be hearing from me pretty soon about extra sets of RCAs and the toggle switch.  More than anything, I would like hear what digital amplification sounds like with my First Sound Paramount Hotrod which amplifies the signal directly through a pair of 6922 tubes.  The best of both worlds, super tube and simple, well made digital.  

Paul from NYC

Hi Paul,

OK, I'll be looking into modding my Sharp with a pair of RCAs that go directly to the amp section.  I'll post back soon...

Regards,

[Bemopti123]

Tell us how it sounds and the sort of preamp you will use when this is done.

Paul from NYC