[nlitworld]

I recently upgraded my dac from a Schiit Modi MB up to the new Bifrost 2/64. First Impressions were that it was good, but further listening showed it to be a bit hyper detailed and etched in the upper treble. This was even in trying NOS mode. So I set off reading SBAF site with a few threads for hacking Schiit dacs. Most often people are doing a simple opamp swap with some doing more major surgery. I decided to say the proverbial inner voice "F-it!" and decided to go overkill on the thing. I figure the worst case scenario I'm out a few hundred to buy a new output card and repurpose the parts elsewhere.

This morning I ordered Burson V6 Classic opamps for the unbalanced connections along with the soic->dip adapters and extension leads to fold the skyscraper sized opamps onto their sides. I also had a set of KLE Copper Harmony RCA connectors lying around so I went ahead and swapped those in already. So far, even the simple rca plug swap brought some much needed naturalness and somehow increased clarity and separation to the mix. I'm real excited to see what comes of the later updates. If I can understand the board layout a little better, at some point I may try some other part swaps. I know spending more money on upgrade parts than the total cost of the board is somewhat a fools errand, but at least I get some good practice and learn a few things along the way.

I'll update with photos tomorrow.

[Tyson]

Ah, a man after my own heart

[nlitworld]

So far I've only swapped the cheap rca plugs for KLE plugs. That was so damn easy I have sworn I'd never use standard rca plugs again. 3 little wires to solder and a quick trim to the plastic circle of the plug itself. Big 1+ in sound quality.

It's gonna get weird smashing those skyscraper opamps in that little space (about 1" clearance to lower pcb), but it should be good fun when it's all done. Worst case scenario we turn the dac into a drop-top convertible 

[poseidonsvoice]

Advice:

1. Fall in love with flux.
2. Chip Quik.
3. Thin diameter solder. Like 0.025 inches.
4. Thin desoldering braid.
5. Hot air stations are cool, but not necessary; use thin tips on a regular soldering station.
6. Loupe/Yoctosun/USB microscope is a must especially if you are > 40 years old.
7. Nice quality tweezers, i.e. Wiha and the like.
8. Flux removal sprays or plenty of isopropyl alcohol.

Good luck.

Anand.

[nlitworld]

Thank you for the tips Anand! I have a few of those things on lockdown already, but I never even thought of tiny thin solder. That could be super helpful. I'm using Cardas solder right now. Is there anything you'd recommend that is thinner than that but same quality? Also for flux used for this type of project, would you recommend liquid or paste? Yes, I'm still a rookie enough that I'm asking basic level questions. Lol.

Thanks for all the help!
-Lloyd

[poseidonsvoice]

Lloyd,

Cardas solder diameters are too thick. Don’t fall into that trap. You’ll be using so much desoldering braid to clean up the mess that at some point you’ll scratch the silkscreen off of the pcb (which you didn’t design and you don’t have extras of).

FireMetall is good. Kester solder is fine as well.

I have both liquid flux and liquid paste. I use liquid paste when I am building/designing a board with mostly SMD and then use hot air for all the SMD components to melt right in.

I use liquid flux for everything else and particularly with rework which is what you are doing here. It’s a matter of style and up to you to be honest.

FWIW, I mostly use FireMetall and Cardas not for the sonics but for ease of use and melting points. I don’t have the golden ears to evaluate the sonic differences between solder. That’s a beautiful rabbit hole to be in but life is short.

Rework is not just about the skill but about the planning. You need to plan the steps. You need to plan the attack. You need to think through the ‘What/If’ scenarios. Because if you don’t you won’t be ‘fixing some schiit’ but turning it into one.

Best,
Anand.

[nlitworld]

I ordered some of the Firemetall solder just now. It appears it's about half the thickness of the Cardas so that should be great. And I agree, asking myself the questions of "what should I do?" is much better than "what did I do?". Lol. I tell customers that at work all the time, but I'm rarely in that situation myself. I'll be going slow and working things one step at a time. I'll be excited to kick this project off when everything arrives, hopefully next weekend. 

[nlitworld]

So a little update at a halfway stopping point. One opamp swapped so far, three more to go. Spacing will get... "interesting" to say the least. These opamps are huge for this little board. I do know that worst case scenario I can operate in cabriolet mode and run the card vertically, but I think I can make it squish.



I plugged it back in just to check that I didn't screw it up and to my surprise it played music. I'll try and swap the rest tomorrow evening now that I kinda know what I'm doing.

Also, that ChipQuik and Firemetall worked fantastic. Thanks again for the tips on that stuff. 

[nlitworld]

I'm working from home this morning and got impatient so I had to check out the improvements so far. Even freshly powered on (which schiit dacs hate) it sounded good. Tiny bit of grain but nothing compared to previously. Most notable though was the lack of hair standing up on my neck from the ice pick sharpness. Cymbals, bells, triangles, etc all had their ringing overtones, but lacked that shrill bite they had previously. It also made the overall presentation a MUCH fuller/bigger sound. I could be happy with just that one opamp swapped, but I'm really excited to hear what it'll be when all 4 are on there.

[artur9]

I do know that worst case scenario I can operate in cabriolet mode

Dave, one of the senior engineers at Schiit, says bare boards always sound better....

[nlitworld]

Do as I say, not as I do...

While it "kinda, almost" worked, there is no space to mount 4 Burson opamps on this board. I kept having issues where it would put stress on the adapter and pop it free from the pcb, and sometimes taking the connection traces with it. While it was a fun experiment, it was a waste of a few hundred bucks to try it out. I will concede and order a new output board. At least it was fun practice.