Modding the MF V-LPS

For the serious and not so serious in audio: DoItYourself and Tubes (SET, PP, Vintage).

Moderator: kabubi

Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby alexg » Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:57 pm

I recently acquired an MF V-LPS from Tas.

It sounded decent, but the diyer part of my brain thinks that I can make it sound better.

After buying 2K worth of Panasonic and Mundorf Mcap, and spending 1.5K on a regulated PSU, I think I have succeeded.

After I put the regulated PSU on a proper chassis and I re-chassis the V-LPS, I will take pix and show it to you guys. Heck, after I finished listening to Cole Porter's LP, I will take pictures on how it currently look and post it. :D
User avatar
alexg
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:22 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS with pix

Postby alexg » Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:07 pm

The pictures:

Image
The V-LPS

Image
Starting the mod.

Image
The Jamicon 100uf electrolytic non-polar cap with the mica bypass.

Image
Output caps replaced with Philips 0.47uf (from 100uf non-polar lytics) and almost all power caps replaced with Panasonic caps.

Image
Regulated power supply, using Talema toroids and motorola fast diodes. Am using Nichicon caps for now, as the Aerovox caps for the PSU has not arrived yet.

Image
The rest of the PSU, on the upper left is the 7812 regulator and on the upper right is the switch with CMC, X2 caps from an old PC PSU. The unit is so dusty, I had it sitting away from the rest of the equipment.

Image
PSU caps finally arrived.

Image
Second iteration of the V-LPS, new 2.2uf Mundorf MCap for the output, made a lot of difference, bass is much better.

Image
Installed a 6 pin socket for opamp rolling, here am using a Burr Brown OPA2134 instead of the stock JRC5532DD. The Burr Brown has better highs than the JRC. This opamp is the first stage amplification (a dual opamp on one package), the second stage is a JRC5534 which I will be replacing with NE5534 or a Burr Brown 134 (still in transit from RS UK, stuck daw sa RS because of volcanic ash).

Image
Just below the big Mundorf MCap, I replaced the existing Jamicon with this 10uf Panasonic which I bypassed with a Vishay 1837 MKP (the Vishay is the big blue rectangular cap, it is 0.1uf polypropylene rated at 100V, which is an overkill as far as voltage is concerned. The small 10uf panasonic cap is rated at 25V). This cap is the opamp bypass. This modification alone should make the V-LPS so much better than stock, clarity is there and it becomes a much more accurate phonostage.

The stock Jamicon capacitors work, but the Panasonic is much, much better. Am tempted to go to my ATM, get enough cash for Blackgates!

For less than 15K, I have a phonostage that works and sounds better than most phonostage that I have listened to. Compared to my aikido phonostage, I will keep them both! :D
User avatar
alexg
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:22 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby TheAnalogSource » Fri Apr 30, 2010 8:28 am

Warranty Void :lol: :lol: :lol:

forgot to tell you there was a optional outboard psu upgrade but i'll bet that what you've done is even better. :)

Congrats Alex :) :) :)

btw, one of feedback i got re vlps while its a good phono...it has that boring looks so while you are at it maybe you can wrap it with some bling bling case ;)
User avatar
TheAnalogSource
Where beautiful music begins
 
Posts: 7465
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:10 am
Location: THE ANALOG SOURCE

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby arnoldc » Fri Apr 30, 2010 8:41 am

Sure ka walang pshycoacoustics? :lol:
arnoldc
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 14118
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2003 2:22 pm
Location: Makati

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby alexg » Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:21 pm

arnoldc wrote:Sure ka walang pshycoacoustics? :lol:


A friend have a stock V-LPS without the internal upgrade, just upgradedo outboard psu, we can compare.

My wife thinks it has better clarity.
User avatar
alexg
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:22 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby alexg » Sat May 01, 2010 9:49 am

TAS wrote:btw, one of feedback i got re vlps while its a good phono...it has that boring looks so while you are at it maybe you can wrap it with some bling bling case ;)


I have to put it in a new case, the output caps barely fit on the current case, hahahaha.... If I have to replace the MCap with a better cap, the silver in oil is a larger cap. :D

I have to source a "bling bling" case, maybe from Hong Kong.
User avatar
alexg
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:22 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby alexg » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:23 pm

So I went crazy and replaced all the power capacitors into Standard Blackgates.

Seems to have improved a lot!
User avatar
alexg
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:22 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby jimny » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:39 pm

nice project
jimny
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 178
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:31 am

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:49 pm

No offence but none of the cap replace mods do any benefit to VLPS sound :( . In fact it is worsening the sound by loosing the phase and rhythm as well the overall tonality of the sound. This is what I felt after trying the same mentioned mods (except the PS cap changes) with the exact same components. I felt a better change of sound than this when the unit burned-in.I am still waiting for the BB chips to arrive and post the results as soon as I try it.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby edwin » Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:48 am

coolzero wrote:No offence but none of the cap replace mods do any benefit to VLPS sound :( . In fact it is worsening the sound by loosing the phase and rhythm as well the overall tonality of the sound. This is what I felt after trying the same mentioned mods (except the PS cap changes) with the exact same components. I felt a better change of sound than this when the unit burned-in.I am still waiting for the BB chips to arrive and post the results as soon as I try it.


Might be because the components you put in haven't broken in yet. Break-in time of every component/brand/model varies. :)
User avatar
edwin
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 745
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Singapore

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:56 pm

edwin wrote:
coolzero wrote:No offence but none of the cap replace mods do any benefit to VLPS sound :( . In fact it is worsening the sound by loosing the phase and rhythm as well the overall tonality of the sound. This is what I felt after trying the same mentioned mods (except the PS cap changes) with the exact same components. I felt a better change of sound than this when the unit burned-in.I am still waiting for the BB chips to arrive and post the results as soon as I try it.


Might be because the components you put in haven't broken in yet. Break-in time of every component/brand/model varies. :)


I doubt. Because most of these parts I have used in my earlier DIY projects and most of the times before, using those components in certain places in a circuitry is quite prominent. That is one reason I thought that these changes are not working as it suppose to be. It was very much noticeable that the speed of sound going for a toss as soon as I put those mods.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:30 pm

Tested the VLPS with a regulated DIY PSU and the results were much more promising. What I noticed was that VLPS sounds better with voltages between 9-12V (lower voltages close to 9V makes the sound smoother) but become harsh with voltages above 12V which is the case with the stock PSU. Stock PSU voltage normally operates at 13+ volts. I kept the voltage at exactly 12V because I like bit of a forward sound.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:01 pm

Tried the OP amp replacement and in fact this is some what better change comparably. It added a body to the sound; better resolution in bass and treble, wider sound stage. I would say all of a 30 to 40% improvement. Wonder why the MF engineers didn't think about this. If it because of cost, it doesn't make sense because this change does not cost much. However, this change will make the VLPS bit hot, in the sense that it will be more sensitive to all the ticks and pops.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Fri Dec 31, 2010 1:09 am

At latest, I changed all the caps to Panasonic FC's and second stage OP amps (JRC5534 or OPA134) to LME49710. This is so far the biggest improvement I got out of these mods. If someone likes weighty bass and authoritative sound, this is the mod to try. Far better control in the sound and better channel separation than the other op-amp IC's I tried (OPA134/JRC5534).
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:18 am

In case someone use MC and having issues of overload, try to connecting the pin3 and 4 of SSM2210 dual matched npn on the MC path with 1 meg resistor. Along with this and the above mods (replace all the caps with Panasonic FC's and second stage OP amps to LME49710) are hands down the best mod I have done for my V-LPS so far. It is now in a different level. Try it yourself and you will understand.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby FR Drew » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:34 am

Am I reading this wrong? Reading the original post it appears that the original output caps were 100uf Electros?

Seems like a crazy high value (although cheap for MF to implement), but if a good 2.2uF works well, 100uF seems very strange.

Does anyone have a schematic lurking around? Be nice to know how many electros on the board were similarly oversized and in the audio path.

Aside from the obvious DIY outboard PSU upgrade, rolling the opamps and the output caps seems like the quickest return for effort expended.
FR Drew
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:21 am

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby tony » Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:08 pm

FR Drew wrote:Am I reading this wrong? Reading the original post it appears that the original output caps were 100uf Electros?

Seems like a crazy high value (although cheap for MF to implement), but if a good 2.2uF works well, 100uF seems very strange.

Does anyone have a schematic lurking around? Be nice to know how many electros on the board were similarly oversized and in the audio path.

Aside from the obvious DIY outboard PSU upgrade, rolling the opamps and the output caps seems like the quickest return for effort expended.



ecaps are small and cheap compared to film and foil types......so replacing it with a film type is a definite improvement....

designers do not really know how the end user will connect his amp, using a 100uf cap is good from noise standpoint and the ability to drive loads in the vicinity of 600ohms....the IC's used are capable of 600 ohms loads anyway....
User avatar
tony
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1882
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2003 7:18 am
Location: Pasig City....

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby murphythecat » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:05 am

okay, I'm not sure to understand your mods, and I'm totally newbie, this will be my first mod ever.

Okay, I willl concentrate my effort for now on:

Swapping the powersupply
changing the fist stage op-amps and the second stage
changing all the caps to panasonic FC


I have a couple of question:

-I see three IC: IC1 (5532dd jrc 0024b), ic 301(NE5534AP) and IC 201 (NE5534AP). Which is which; IC1 is the second stage and IC301 and IC201 is the first stage? or is it the contrary? Should I need to replace all three with LME49710?

-What "all caps by panasonic fc" mean? All the black one are jamicon and I change ALL of them? to panasonic FC, all with the same value, or I match the same value?
I seems to have 2 different jamicon caps: 100 uf 16V so I replace those with those:http://www.9channel.com/taobao-agent-bd060cd9-dc47-44bd-9119-4b4e87178c30-193915.html
and the 16V 1000uf with those http://www.banzaimusic.com/Panasonic-FC-1000uF-16V.html

Also, can I use something better then those panasonic ones, I could pay much more if I ccan see a difference...
murphythecat
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:31 am

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby coolzero » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:28 pm

These are the steps I did exactly

* Swapping the powersupply - build a good qulity power supply (try SALAS low voltage supply if possible which gurentee the best result - (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/power-su ... lator.html)

* changing the fist stage op-amps and the second stage (There are few options for choosing OPAMP IC's here)

* changing all the caps to panasonic FC (Any good caps will do - Mundorff/Panasonic/Rubycon/Elna)


-I see three IC: IC1 (5532dd jrc 0024b), ic 301(NE5534AP) and IC 201 (NE5534AP). Which is which; IC1 is the second stage and IC301 and IC201 is the first stage? or is it the contrary? Should I need to replace all three with LME49710?

IC301(NE5534AP) and IC 201 (NE5534AP) can be replaced with LME49710. For IC1, you could use Burr Brown OPA2134.

-What "all caps by panasonic fc" mean? All the black one are jamicon and I change ALL of them? to panasonic FC, all with the same value, or I match the same value?

Replace all the stock electro-caps with a decent brand like Panasonic or somethign better. Highly recommend to keep the same value and voltage rating. You may try different values or type (like filmfoil caps) of caps in case if you have an idea about what of each components does in the curcritry. Otherwise keep the valauses as it is and just switch it with better caps. I tried film cpas but results were not that great. Strangly it is with this phono amp but worked out well always otherwise.

I seems to have 2 different jamicon caps: 100 uf 16V so I replace those with those:http://www.9channel.com/taobao-agent-bd060cd9-dc47-44bd-9119-4b4e87178c30-193915.html
and the 16V 1000uf with those http://www.banzaimusic.com/Panasonic-FC-1000uF-16V.html

Keep same voltage rating caps or use higher if you cannot find the same voltage. Do not use less voltage once. Banzai is good place to get the caps where I got mine as well. Fast and quality service with reasonable price for both components and post.
coolzero
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:07 pm

Re: Modding the MF V-LPS

Postby TIMSmiling » Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:05 pm

Hey guys,

So I've gone through my V-LPS and replaced all the electrolytic capacitors (a mix of Elna Silmic II's and Nichicon FG's, with Nichicon Muse BP's for the output caps) and the Opamps (2x OPA604AP's and an OPA2134OPA). I removed the capacitors at C309/209 and C207/307 next to the two OPA604's. (I'm just supposed to remove them, right, and not replace them with jumpers or something?)

After doing these mods, I seem to be getting some hum from my Rega RP1 through the MM stage. It's nothing that interferes with the music (which sounds good otherwise), but it is very noticeable and annoying during quiet parts and I don't seem to recall it being there before. I'm wondering whether this is a problem with grounding somewhere inside the V-LPS? I've gone through all of my solder joints and haven't found any solution. I don't get the same hum when I hook up an old Pioneer TT with a separate ground lead (the Rega grounds through its RCA jacks).

Could anyone help me troubleshoot this? I would owe you my sanity! I admittedly don't know a lot about the circuit and I did a pretty bad job soldering a few joints, but nothing that should break connectivity!
TIMSmiling
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:03 pm

Next

Return to DIY and Tubes

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

cron