Audigy 2 modding

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ufokillerz

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 17, 2000
Messages
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I've been reading up and modding a Audigy 2 is possible. You get cleaner and clearer sound as well s better response from replacing the opamps on the audigys, now where the heck is x86dude and the pictures? He told me at 6am in the morning that he was going to take some pictures

anyone mod a audigy 2 before?
 
If he told you so at 6am that probably means he was up for 48 hours straight again soldering $10 caps into a headphone amp for some ungrateful whelp he charged far too little.
Probably by this time he's passed out in the gutter with a pair of HD600's strapped firmly onto his ears.

Give him a while, eh? ;)
 
Originally posted by ufokillerz
I've been reading up and modding a Audigy 2 is possible. You get cleaner and clearer sound as well s better response from replacing the opamps on the audigys, now where the heck is x86dude and the pictures? He told me at 6am in the morning that he was going to take some pictures

anyone mod a audigy 2 before?
Click to expand...

There is nothing dramatic about pictures of a modded Audigy 2. It looks the exact same...'cept the writing on the op amps say AD8610 or AD8620. ...unless you get the *barf* Burr Browns...then it will say OPA627 or OPA637.

Trust me...I know. He modded mine.
 
he told me 3x ad8620s but i'm not sure, because you guys are saying ad8610s as well.
 
Originally posted by ufokillerz
he told me 3x ad8620s but i'm not sure, because you guys are saying ad8610s as well.
Click to expand...

He's probably right. I always forget. :p
 
why not just buy a better sound card, like one of m-audio's offerings? or not buy shitty creative cards?
 
Originally posted by stub
why not just buy a better sound card, like one of m-audio's offerings? or not buy shitty creative cards?
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Ummm, stewpid cheese. :(
Lets crap on a thread started by one of the mods and see how long you manage to have even that status.


Probably by this time he's passed out in the gutter with a pair of HD600's strapped firmly onto his ears.
Click to expand...

lolol, not quite but something like that. :p


unless you get the *barf* Burr Browns...then it will say OPA627 or OPA637.
Click to expand...

Ummm hark, you want a dual channel opamp not a single channel one. If you want to add the Burr Brown signature sound (dark, murky and highly detailed) to one of these cards the 2134 would be a better choice.
 
Originally posted by X86Dude




Ummm hark, you want a dual channel opamp not a single channel one. If you want to add the Burr Brown signature sound (dark, murky and highly detailed) to one of these cards the 2134 would be a better choice.
Click to expand...

Like I said,
Harkamus:He's probably right. I always forget. :p
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moddness.JPG
 
I don't wanna sound like an idiot, but you're replacing the DACs on your sound cards right?
 
Originally posted by GOATGOAT
I don't wanna sound like an idiot, but you're replacing the DACs on your sound cards right?
Click to expand...

IDIOT! :D

J/K.

No, he replaced the op amps. The opamps(the new ones at least) are labeled as AD8620 in the picture.
 
yup just opamp, the DAC is much harder to replace. Let me know if you figure out how to do that =P

flamer!!
 
Originally posted by ufokillerz
yup just opamp, the DAC is much harder to replace. Let me know if you figure out how to do that =P

flamer!!
Click to expand...

What are you hoping to gain by this?
These cards already have one of the better DACs of any card on the market.
To bad the rest of the card negates that advantage. ;)
 
Op-Amp = Operational AMplifier. It's a voltage amplifier, uses the feedback from the output to set the gain of the amplifier.

*EE Mode off :p"
 
Have you guys tried replacing the 4556 op-amp with the same 8620 part?
I don't have the schematic of the card circuitry, so it's not possible for me to optimize the analog circuitry.
However, the electrical specs for the 8620 ic should suffice to meet the requirements imposed on the 4556 part.

The other chip on this board that is an old legacy component is the 'AC97' part. It seems there is at least an SNR improvement using the updated pin-compatible component by the same vendor.
Of course, driver support for the newer part would not be available.
 
However, the electrical specs for the 8620 ic should suffice to meet the requirements imposed on the 4556 part.
Click to expand...
With one exception.
The 4556A has more then double the current capacity of the AD8620.
Judging from were it is on the board and how it is configured my guess is that it serves as a buffer (read current amplifier) for the mirrored channels.

Would you care to try it and tell us what happens to the volume on those channels? ;)
 
All of the usual sources have them.... Digikey, Newark, Ect.
Be prepared for some serious sticker shock though.
At 10 to 12$ each you are looking at a 36$ mod.
 
You guys are the best :cool: Yeah, looks like one of the more expensive mods on my spectrum, but I've got to treat my ears to the best reproduction I can afford while I can before the aging process sets in :eek: Sounds fun, it'll be a nice change of things from modding game consoles and motherboards :D *cracking knuckles*
 
Are you sure it has twice the load capacity?
When I browsed through the datasheet, I remember the max output current rating of the 8620 being less than 10 mA below the 4556. This was on the table for +/-12V rails.
Have you measured the Vss and Vdd of the 4556?
If it is operating at 12V, then I could try out the 8620 in it's place.
The worst thing that could happen is the output gets clipped and it causes distortion.
Of course, if the designers spec'd everything appropriately, there should be enough margin to account for a 15-20% dev.
If the chip is running on less than 10V, then I think you were right about the large difference in output drive capability and I won't try swapping them.
Let me know your findings.
 
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