Preamp mod

[brendandwyer]

I've got two Bellari Rp220's and i'm wondering if there are alternate tubes i could use, or simple mods to alter the sound.

I like them, wondering if they can be better

 

[chessrock]

The easiest would be to replace the output opamps for something decent, like an OP275 or a Burr-brown OPA2604.

A little more expensive and slightly trickier would be to replace the cheap, piece of shit transformer with a Jensen JT-115K-E. This would yield, by far, the greatest improvement.

There are others you could try, but these are the "easier" ones.

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[brendandwyer]

The easiest would be to replace the output opamps for something decent, like an OP275 or a Burr-brown OPA2604.

A little more expensive and slightly trickier would be to replace the cheap, piece of shit transformer with a Jensen JT-115K-E. This would yield, by far, the greatest improvement.

There are others you could try, but these are the "easier" ones.

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thanks man. do you have any leads on where i can buy those components?

thanks

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

A little more expensive and slightly trickier would be to replace the cheap, piece of shit transformer with a Jensen JT-115K-E.

Honest question here chess:

What makes replacing the transformer "trickier"? Is it a probelm with physical form factor or is there something else involved?

G.

 

[brendandwyer]

Honest question here chess:

What makes replacing the transformer "trickier"? Is it a probelm with physical form factor or is there something else involved?

G.

and how difficult is the opamp mod in general. Can i type in the specified one in the first post and click buy and know that it's correct? Can i then easily locate it in the chassis and replace it?

 

[chessrock]

Honest question here chess:

What makes replacing the transformer "trickier"? Is it a probelm with physical form factor or is there something else involved?

It's more of a physical form factor. It doesn't fit as tidy as the stock one; you'd have to leave it moreless free-floating, or find another way to mount it to the board manually. Not a really big deal.

Brendan, if I'm not mistaken, I believe the opamps are socketed, so replacing those would be a breeze. Just yank out whatever's in there, and you can try out several different opamps (just pop 'em in) in it's place until you find one that grabs you.

.

 

[brendandwyer]

It's more of a physical form factor. It doesn't fit as tidy as the stock one; you'd have to leave it moreless free-floating, or find another way to mount it to the board manually. Not a really big deal.

Brendan, if I'm not mistaken, I believe the opamps are socketed, so replacing those would be a breeze. Just yank out whatever's in there, and you can try out several different opamps (just pop 'em in) in it's place until you find one that grabs you.

.

awesome.

i would imagine the transformer mod involves a bit more? soldering and all that fun stuff?

 

[brendandwyer]

awesome.

i would imagine the transformer mod involves a bit more? soldering and all that fun stuff?

this page shows a bunch of different ones.

http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/opa2604.html#topsidemarking

i'm wondering if i can choose one or many and i won't run the risk of damaging the unit. I'm not well versed in modifying audio gear

 

[brendandwyer]

Chessrock, any tips to mod the behringer T1953? i ordered opamps for the bellari and would like to change out the behringer.

i don't suppose you know of any tutorials to swap out the transformers?

 

[chessrock]

You're not going to damage anything by trying out different chips. Just make sure to touch them, periodically, to see if they overheat. If they get really warm after a few minutes of use, then chances are it's oscillating and you can pretty much disregard it as an option.

I don't know much about the Behringer, but chances are it's surface-mount, which would mean a much trickier mod which should probably be peformed by a more skilled tech. If, by some strange chance, they happen to be socketed, then the chip you'd want to look for is the SSM-2017, I believe. You'd want to swap that out with something along the lines of a Burr-brown INA217 or an Analog Devices SSM-2019 ... or one of the newer THAT chips.

As for the transormers, I can't think of any tutorials or anything. You can pretty much just look at it and tell where everything goes, though. Not really complex stuff ... but if you have a buddy who gets in to electronics it might be a good time to give him a call, just in case.
.

 

[brendandwyer]

You're not going to damage anything by trying out different chips. Just make sure to touch them, periodically, to see if they overheat. If they get really warm after a few minutes of use, then chances are it's oscillating and you can pretty much disregard it as an option.

I don't know much about the Behringer, but chances are it's surface-mount, which would mean a much trickier mod which should probably be peformed by a more skilled tech. If, by some strange chance, they happen to be socketed, then the chip you'd want to look for is the SSM-2017, I believe. You'd want to swap that out with something along the lines of a Burr-brown INA217 or an Analog Devices SSM-2019 ... or one of the newer THAT chips.

As for the transormers, I can't think of any tutorials or anything. You can pretty much just look at it and tell where everything goes, though. Not really complex stuff ... but if you have a buddy who gets in to electronics it might be a good time to give him a call, just in case.
.

awesome. thanks a lot for the help