Who has a Toshiba 3950 or 3960?

A quick update on Scottvamps unit. Received the Op-Amp today, the digikey stuff is due Friday or Monday and the Blackgate caps should show up around Wednesday. The Mechanical mods are pretty much done. Those little opamps are getting hard to find! I had to order directly from the manufacturer as Digikey and everyone else is out of them. Turns out I got them quicker than if I ordered from digikey. I found a replacement for the opamp used in Vinnies mods as well if anyone else is looking for one. I got one just to try out. From the specs it looks like it may be even better but I have to try it out to be sure. I'll post some more pics if I do anything exciting.
madmax

I find this a really good place to install the IEC connector.

After doing several and playing with afterwards I've found this is the best place to put the vents. With the disc spinning it changes the air flow from how I originally thought it would be.

That is a good thread! I've been following it as well. What I've been doing is reading everything I can find, pick and choose between all the things people are doing and adding some of my own stuff I've learned over the years. The threads are endless if you look around. I've been trying to soak in as much as I can.

So far I have one folder full of about 200 sheets of mods and another one full of data sheets, templates, electrical conventions and such. It sounds a little silly but even the simple things require a lot of work and thought. Take for example the power connector. Sounds pretty easy, all you do is cut a hole and wire it in. Well, first of all you have to find out how wall sockets are wired. Which is hot and which is neutral. Then, on the power cords you have white, black and green on one style and blue, brown and green with a yellow stripe. After figuring out all that and playing with an ohm meter for a while you can write down all the conventions so you know what they are. Then you go to mount the plug and you have to look at other equipment to figure out the typical orientation (ground lug goes towards the top). After all that you got this green ground wire and you have to think through a lot of stuff to figure out where to attach it to. For example, one place could give you a hum if you have a ground loop going through the audio connectors while another place could be an inlet for noise if the AC signal is too noisy. Other positions could be downright dangerous although it is unlikely someone could get hurt so long as you have the hot and neutral in the right place. Oh yea, and what if someone plugs it into a wall plug which was wired improperly. The ground could cause some real problems if you did something silly like hooking it to the neutral or something. Luckily the AC power is one of the more simple things...

Man, I'm having a blast with this stuff! The payoff is hooking it up to my system and actually hearing something very special that wasn't there before I did my thing. It would be even better if I had come up with everything myself but I didn't. Reading the Vinnie Rossi mods is what got me started and of course I am thankful that he took the time to write it up and post it. Others seem to be willing to provide everything they learn along the way as well. Hopefully my posting all this stuff will help someone else in the same way, at least that is my goal. Another benifit is doing more than one of them. Each one I've done I've tried (and learned) new things and each time I have gotten better at soldering, working with the metal and plastic, have become more in tune with the circuitry and in general have become much better at modifying stuff. The first few were downright scary as I looked at the possibility of messing them up and having to replace them and add another 8 hours of work. That would really suck.

madmax

BTW,
Those holes in the lid look like crap in the pic. They don't look like that in person...

The digikey part number for the replacement is OPA2134UA-ND. They are in stock now. I would try for the one Vinney used if they have it in stock when you are ready to order. I couldn't find them anywhere except directly from TI last week when I was looking.
madmax

and more...

See the yellow glob? That is Handi-Tak around the crystal. I've read that putting a little mass on it helps jitter. A little would have been fine. I guess I went a little overboard before I realized how much I put on it.
madmax

It took a few weeks to get the BlackGate Capacitors but here is the finished product!

I don't know why but I've really enjoyed the ones I've done so far. I guess because they get better and better because I keep going a few steps further each time. Funny thing is "I" don't have one yet.

If you decide you want one let me know. Burn in is the real hassle. I mean, how many freakin hours can you listen to music. Each one I've done has at least 100 hours on it before sending it out. Add that to the burn in of my new amplifier tubes, preamp tubes, new cables and new tweeters and you have two solid months of non-stop music... Life has been tough lately.

madmax

Doro,
Are you saying you bought one?
madmax

My friend and I both ordered the parts for the browndog mod but I'm not going to do it until I get my ultimate unit done. (separate case, linear power supplies etc.)
madmax

The one for SV is done so I'm working on my own semi-stock 3960. It is a sleeper model in it's original case except for drilling holes in the top cover. I'm going nuts on this one to see if extreme damping and shielding does anything. Don't laugh, here is a pic of the drive.