Topic: todd mod ?

[Chris K]

i have been in contact with someone selling an sbm-1. he said it had an op amp mod.

i asked if it was the oade mod, and he told me that no, it was a Todd-mod sbm-1, and that Todd Ransdom had done the mod

anyone have any info on Todd Ransdom or the todd-mod

thanks

chris k

[nickgregory]

I may be way off base here, but check with Jamie Lykos...I believe he had one of these units that Todd modded for a while...his handle on this board is jlykos...shoot him a PM

[F.O.Bean]

i dunno about sbm mods, but i believe he does the dmic-20 mods too....and they look nice....

[Tim]

I know Todd Ramsden really well, in fact I am going to his house on sunday for a barbecue.

Todd has an undergraduate degree in engineering from cornell, a masters from Syracuse and another masters from U of Mich (he quit before he got his doctorate) super smart guy and talented electrical engineer. Doug told him what the mod was and Todd started doing it himself. They sound incredible, Darrin Sacks and Chris Evans run one with their Schoeps and oade m118(Darrin on the oade board)

Todd posts as Todd R on the oade board. Search by author over there.

He is not the guy who does the dmic20 mods.

I'll pm you his email address, he can be slow sometimes because of work etc. but I'm sure that he would be happy to answer your questions.

[jlykos]

Yes, I used to own that SBM.  It was Todd Ramsden's originally, then he sold it to me, and then I sold it to Chris Evans and his taping buddy last year (sorry, forgot his name).

It is a wonderful unit.  I made some outstanding tapes with it and would still have it, if not for a car accident that required immediate payment.  Here is Todd's original message to me about it:


I'm happy to sell you my modified SBM1, but it is that:  my modified, not
Oade modified:

I took a hint from Doug and decided to put my electrical engineering
background to work and modify my SBM1.  I left the digital section
alone--still 20 bit dithered via SBM to 16 bit.  But I re-did the analog
side, both the line-in section and the preamp section.  The main change was to change out the op amps.  The stock op amps are very low noise and distortion, but are very slow.  I changed the op amps for ones that were also very low noise and distortion (basically the same specs) but the new op amps are much faster.  Op amp speed is measured in slew rate:  the stock ones are rated at 5V/microsecond, the new ones are 750V/microsecond.  (To give you an idea, the V2 has a slew rate of 3000V/microsecond.)  The modification allows the internal gain stage to better keep up with the changing dynamics of the music.  The result is a much more detailed, transparent sound with a more defined, realistic soundstage.

Besides the internal modification, my SBM1 has also been modified to have a coax output.  The 7-pin socket output remains, but the pigtail 7-pin has been replaced with a female RCA coax socket.

[Chris K]

thanks everyone for you input, and help...i went ahead and bought the todd-mod sbm-1

when i get it i will compare it with my stock sbm-1

chances are i will be selling my stock sbm-1 soon so stay tuned

chris k

[DaryanLenz]

I wonder how hard it would be to actually do this yourself.  It doesn't sound too hard.

Daryan

[nickgregory]

I don't think the actual mod is all that difficult, once it has been defined what needs to be done by someone smarter than me....but from folks I have talked to that have opened these units, they are extremely tightly packed....makes working in them that much more difficult.

[Tim]

Okay, this came up again in another thread... here's the deal, Todd never really did this mod other than once for himself and twice for friends. Please do not email him asking him to do this for you. He has a job and a wife and life. Call the Oade's... it's what they do for a living.

[Chris K]

Tim....sorry if i had any part of this...this was not my intention..i simply wanted to be informed about a possible, and as it turns out, eventual purchase of a todd-mod sbm-1.

please forgive me....

now, i did receive and email from todd asking him about the mod. he seemed happy enough to answer my questions, including "do you still do the mod"...his reply in a nutshell... he doesn't have enough time for his own electrical (and otherwise) projects, let alone someone elses

additionally, todd did say that the mod he does is very similar to the oade mod, and that sonically the differences are negligible.

So, if you need the mod...go to the guys who mastered it:

http://www.oade.com

have a grateful day

chris k

ps...consider this thread closed!

[Tim]

no worries!!!! Just trying to make sure Todd doesn't get flooded with requests  

Would you mind posting that email that you pm'd me? There's some good info in there that Daryan and everyone else could probably use.

+T Chris!

[Chris K]

ya....here it is...with the respective parties removed for privacy sake:


From: Todd Ramsden
To: Chris K
Subject: RE: quick sbm-1 mod question
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:18:09 -0400

Hey Chris,

No problem contacting me.  I did do a mod to a few different SBM1s.  
Two are
being run by tapers out here in CO, one is in the hands of a guy in the
DC
area who runs mod AKG 460s, I forget his name.  If he is the guy you're
thinking of buying from, he does have one of my mod SBM1s.

I originally did it for a taper I know from Denver.  To get the
benefits,
you'd have to run this unit line in.  I rebuilt both the mic-in side
and
line-in side of the other two units, but this taper only used the
line-in,
so I did not bother modifying the mic-in on that unit.

Some validity of comparing this mod to a V2, but I'm not sure I'd take
that
too far as it doesn't have the sound of a V2.  Probably more on the
order of
the Oade modified SBM1.  I replaced the op amps with ones that are
quite a
bit faster, about as fast as the V2.  Op amp speed is measured in slew
rate,
and it corresponds to how quickly the op amps respond to a changing
input
signal.  Measured in V/ms, stock amps are 5 V/ms, the ones I use are
something like 2000 V/ms (maybe 3000 V/ms, I forget at this point).  
The
higher speed allows the mod SBM1 to better keep up with the changing
dynamics of the music, which in turn provides better detail and much
better
imaging and soundstaging.  This is because our ears use very minute
changes
in the timing of left and right signals to decode spatial information,
and
the slow stock op amps lead to changes in these left vs right timings
that
screw up the soundstage.

I'm not sure whether I'd still be willing to do this mod.  I had only
done
it so far for myself and a couple friends out here in CO.  As it is, I
already have several electonic projects for myself that I haven't found
the
time to get to.  Let me think about it, and I'll get back to you.  BTW,
how
much is the seller asking?

-Todd



-----Original Message-----
From: Chris K
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2003 2:32 PM
To: Todd R
Subject: quick sbm-1 mod question


Hi Todd

I was given your name by Tim from the Taperssection.com website/forum.
I
hope
you don't mind my contacting you. Tim gave me your email address.

Anyway, I have been in contact with someone who claims that you
performed a
mod
on an sbm-1. he is not the original owner, says he bought it from a
personal
friend of yours. He is selling the unit, and I am a prospective buyer.
He
called the mod the toddmod sbm-1 and claims the op amps are changed for
better
quality op amps, ala lunatec v2.

I was hoping you could confirm this, and if you could tell me if this
mod
would
be better for running line in, or better to use the mic inputs of the
toddmod
sbm-1.

Also, are you still doing this mod, and if so, instead of buying the
sbm-1
from
this person (i can provide a name if you need it), would you do the mod
on
my
stock sbm-1 and how much would you charge.

Thank you for your time...have a grateful day
chris k

ps...if i have the wrong person...then i am extremely sorry, and please
accept
my apologies