My (very) mini review of the Singxer SU-1 DDC

[T-Bone]

I just took delivery of my SU-1 and I'm going a basic function check before moving on to critical listening.

The first thing I noticed was an audible "click" or "pop" when starting/stopping DSD playback.

 

Anyone else notice this behavior?

[T-Bone]

Just now, pkane2001 said:

What's the consensus on the most effective mod for an SU-1? Is it an external LPS, a better oscillator, or perhaps a cleaner USB power or signal?

I just got an Uptone LPS-1 power supply and the change was *NOT* subtle!  
I highly recommend it, if you don't mind the $400 price tag.

[T-Bone]

5 minutes ago, tboooe said:

More mods to come courtesy of a member way smarter than me!

cheatin' b*stard!  

[T-Bone]

On 5/7/2017 at 4:48 AM, Energy said:

SU-1 Main Board:

- (3) Nichicon FPCAP (R7) 220μF 6.3V 7mΩ

- (2) Panasonic FR EEU-FR1E331 330μF 25V - 56mΩ (to replace capacitors nearby LD1086 regulator)

- (1) Sparkos Labs SS1117XX Discrete Voltage Regulator 3.3V (to replace LD1086 regulator)

 The next upgrade after that would be changing out the LD1086 (100µV) voltage regulator to the discrete SS1117XX (3µV).

 

I guess I'm feeling adventuresome -  just ordered the Sparkos regulator for my SU-1.

I'm preparing an order from Digikey for another project right now, so I'll throw those caps into my shopping cart too.

 

If I "brick" my SU-1 I'm going to ship the carcass to @Energy for making it look so easy that a knucklehead like me could perform this mod too.  lol!    

[T-Bone]

Just now, pkane2001 said:

Let's see who gets to brick their SU-1 first

 

You first!!!  That way I can learn what *NOT* to do!  

[T-Bone]

On 5/7/2017 at 4:48 AM, Energy said:

SU-1 Main Board:

- (3) Nichicon FPCAP (R7) 220μF 6.3V 7mΩ

- (2) Panasonic FR EEU-FR1E331 330μF 25V - 56mΩ 

 

@Energy- can you double-check my Digi-Key part numbers?  

• Nichcon Part #RR70J221MDN1, Digi-Key 493-3705-ND 
• Panasonic Part #EEU-FR1E331B, Digi-Key P15357CT-ND

 

[T-Bone]

1 hour ago, Energy said:

There are two versions, 5.0mm and 3.5mm lead spacing. You should be getting the 3.5mm version. The link you provided is 5.0mm.

Thanks for the catch!

For anyone else looking to make this change, the Panasonic 330µF 25V cap with 3.5mm lead spacing is Digi-Key P14415-ND

[T-Bone]

12 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

Later in the day, I found my Sparkos Labs SS1117xx regulator in the mail. I went ahead and unsoldered LD1086 without problems. I cheated and got a rework workstation with a hot air gun -- makes unsoldering SMD components really easy! My excuse was that I needed a new soldering iron anyway, and this workstation was only $59 

 

I then carefully bent the SS1117xx regulator legs, making sure that the pins were aligned correctly and used the soldering iron to fix it in place. This actually was a bit trickier to do, as there is little room to work in between Sparkos and the PCB and I didn't take the PCB out of the SU-1 case.

 

That's great news!  My Sparkos Labs regulator arrived in the mail last night too, but I haven't had a chance to put it in yet.  (and the next few days aren't looking good either)  I've got a solder rework station with a hot air gun too.  Glad to hear that it makes the job a little easier.  I've never tackled SMD components before - so this will be a learning experience for me.  

Thanks for sharing the pix @pkane2001

[T-Bone]

12 hours ago, Energy said:

Singxer SU-1 STEPS:

 

I want to take a moment to thank @Energy for taking the time to write up those detailed steps complete with photos!  I know that was a lot of work - well done!

[T-Bone]

1 hour ago, tboooe said:

Man, I need to get one too!  May I ask which one you got?  

I bought this X-Tronic about 3 years ago.

[T-Bone]

When you're on a conference call, no one knows your disassembling an SU-1!  

 

Here's a few pix of my S1117 installation.  I'll apologize in advance for 2 things:  

(1) Crappy iPhone picture quality

(2) The fuzzy lint in some of the pix is from a cotton patch that I soaked with rubbing alcohol to remove rosin flux.  

 

Here's picture of the OEM voltage regulator.  Note the amount of "space" under the leads.  These are what you snip.  I have a "rework" station in my garage which includes a hot air gun.  I was able to easily heat up the chip and pop it off.

 

With the OEM regulator out of the way, we can see how much space we have to work with.

 

This isn't a very good pix, but you can see that I used a tiny pair of pliers to bend the two outer leads "backwards" towards the circuit board.  I bent the center lead in the opposite direction. 

 

Not my best soldering work, but this was kinda tricky.

 

...and I didn't brick it!    

 

Special thanks to @Energy, @elan120 and @pkane2001 
Your pix and instructions helped make this mod pretty straight forward!  

[T-Bone]

2 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

Good job, @T-Bone! Would love to hear your impressions. 

 

2 hours ago, Energy said:

oh trust me, I didn't have to try at all. When I first booted up the SU-1 with the new SS1117 and played 2-3 songs, It was pretty obvious, but I get it. 

 

I think my first impressions pretty much dovetail what @Energy said.  The difference was noticeable.

 

Ever since I sold my Intona in anticipation of the ISO Regen, I've been missing "something" in the vocals.

The LPS-1 made a big change in soundstage and especially in low-end response.  The new voltage regulator does more of the same.   

 

I don't have too much listening time in yet.  I'm really short on time, so I went straight to some of acoustic guitar favorites and female vocals.  I feel like I'm getting a little more air and increased separation.  The bottom end sounds nice and tight.  Things feel a little more lively for sure - but there's still a veil over the midrange and vocals.  I know exactly what I'm hearing, but find it hard to describe.  I need that my Intona replacing ISO Regen!

 

The new voltage regulator makes a difference but not anywhere near the "smack you in the face" change you get from the LPS upgrade.  For $47 and an hour of tinker time, I think it's a bargain!  I would recommend this change to anyone with the skills and cahones to tear into their SU-1.  

 

P.S. I have upgraded caps on the way too.  I hope I can discern a difference in the upgraded caps.  As cheap & as simple as caps are, why not?

[T-Bone]

11 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

Now you have me wondering if I would hear more improvement with an LPS-1... This really never ends, does it?

The LPS-1 will be a very big difference.  The new voltage regulator takes another step forward.  The LPS-1 is a tough act to follow!  

 

I'll give you an analogy from my days racing at club/track events.  When I started in motorsports, I was able to improve my lap times by 10+ seconds a lap easily.  As I moved into faster run groups, I didn't make such big improvements.  I knocked maybe 4 seconds off my lap times.  When I moved up to being an instructor I had to work very hard to make a 1 or 2 second improvement.  

 

The further up the chain you go, the smaller the improvements are.  It's not that they are less important.
Modifying audio gear is similar in that we are chasing smaller and smaller improvements.

 

When I first got the SU-1 I was very impressed with how much better it sounded than straight USB.  

I added the LPS and magic happened!  I swapped the voltage regulator and got a little more magic!  I've got a few caps on order and maybe I'll eek out just a little more magic.

[T-Bone]

6 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

Since I also have a somewhat improved DC source from iFi that claims 1uV noise, will replacing the iFi supply with LPS-1 make a big difference, considering I already have the Sparkos regulator? 

I'll bet you'll hear an improvement over the iFi power supply, but I won't give you a points spread.  
(Guess who lives in Las Vegas?)

Uptone gives you 30 days to fall in love with their gear.  Try it for yourself and tell us what you hear.

[T-Bone]

4 hours ago, Energy said:

Σ₪ergψ

Now we're getting fancy!  Cool sig 

[T-Bone]

22 hours ago, FIndingit said:

I think replacing the caps is a real chore 

I just got done replacing mine; and you are right.  It's a pain in the *ss.    ....at least it was for someone with my "neophyte" soldering skills.  I'm sure a more skilled tech would have blazed through the job.

 

...but at least I didn't "brick" my SU-1.  It's back in my system now and I'm giving it a listen.  

Since there's no way to listen to the changes back-to-back any listening impression would be based purely on memory.  So I can't say whether new caps make an audible difference or not.  

(unlike the regulator swap whose improvements were very apparent)  

It certainly doesn't sound any worse and I enjoyed the challenge.    

[T-Bone]

2 minutes ago, tboooe said:

Its been a week since I last listened to my system so we will see if my music memory allows me to notice any difference.  I am thinking the changes may be minor since I already had the LPS-1 powering the SU-1.  

I've got the LPS-1 powering my Singxer too and would wager a few bucks that you'll hear an improvement.

In my system the Sparko Labs regulator made a nice change, not as big as the LPS-1, but an improvement.  
I don't think you'll have to "listen hard" to notice the difference.   Enjoy!  

[T-Bone]

59 minutes ago, tboooe said:

The one drawback for me with both the dx or tx is the lack of i2s output.

 

 

48 minutes ago, limniscate said:

I'm ordering a dX, but I heard the tX in my own system.  I think they're pretty much the same other than one is USB to USB and one is USB to AES/SPDIF/Optical.

 

I'm with @tboooe on this one.  Lack of I2S is kind of a deal killer.  The advantage of I2S (assuming your DAC supports it) is that it's more or less a straight signal into the D2A converter of your DAC.  It completely bypasses the receiver chipset used to decode AES, SPDIF and optical.  

 

I've done my own testing on the Holo Spring DAC and found the I2S input was clearly the better way to connect the DAC and bridge.  

I am sure the SOtM is a great sounding digitial-to-digital converter, but it could make an I2S DAC sound even better if that connection were available.  

[T-Bone]

1 minute ago, bluesaint said:

Also a deal breaker as it doesn't do DSD.

That's a very good point @bluesaint.  I know it's not a big consideration for many users, but I have a pretty fair collection of DSD titles in my HiRes library.  
If SOtM ever does release a converter that supports I2S and D2D, I would give it a very serious look!  They have a reputation for making great products.

[T-Bone]

4 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

Others have said that the LPS-1 power supply might make a bigger difference. 

Powering my Singxer SU-1 with the UpTone LPS-1 made a HUGE difference. in my system.  I know it's more $$$, but I personally feel that the LPS-1 delivers aan improvement that makes it worth its price.  

 

If could only make one-mod to my Singxer, it would be the Uptone LPS-1.

[T-Bone]

7 minutes ago, Duy Le said:

 I would buy Hydra Z and do nothing. Both are good but out of my budget

You would be more than $600 short if you wanted your Hydra configured with their external power supply.  
An SU-1 / LPS-1 combo starts looking like a bargain in comparison.