Topic: Oade modSBM-1 discussion

[Ray76]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced.  i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

marc

Yep!.That was pretty much verbatim what doug told me.

Teddy

[Brian Skalinder]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced. i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

Any idea on the timeline behind those ADC swaps?  So the line stage mod for almost every modSBM-1 out there is not the same "Oade" mod he performed on those units?

This is all pretty confusing.  I've never seen reference to Doug swapping out the ADC chips on his site - and it goes back to late '99.  So...maybe he only offered an ADC swap pre-99?  Hmmmm...curious to hear back from my email to him.  We'll get this sorted one way or another!  Curiouser and curiouser...

[Ray76]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced. i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

Any idea on the timeline behind those ADC swaps?  So the line stage mod for almost every modSBM-1 out there is not the same "Oade" mod he performed on those units?

This is all pretty confusing.  I've never seen reference to Doug swapping out the ADC chips on his site - and it goes back to late '99.  So...maybe he only offered an ADC swap pre-99?  Hmmmm...curious to hear back from my email to him.  We'll get this sorted one way or another!  Curiouser and curiouser...

i think the line stage mod included said ADC chip, but wasnt referenced on his site for whatever reason. so i guess it isnt a "complete oade" line stage mod without the adc replacement.Sounds to me like he did it all along, and only stopped when the chip was no longer available....im curious too.

[neutrino]

FWIW, here's a pic of the main board and a close up of the adc chip. The opamps are NOT located on this board.

http://www.ninetyninetyfour.com/sbm1mainboard.jpg


http://www.ninetyninetyfour.com/sbm1adcchip.jpg

[leegeddy]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced. i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

Any idea on the timeline behind those ADC swaps?  So the line stage mod for almost every modSBM-1 out there is not the same "Oade" mod he performed on those units?

This is all pretty confusing.  I've never seen reference to Doug swapping out the ADC chips on his site - and it goes back to late '99.  So...maybe he only offered an ADC swap pre-99?  Hmmmm...curious to hear back from my email to him.  We'll get this sorted one way or another!  Curiouser and curiouser...

i think the line stage mod included said ADC chip, but wasnt referenced on his site for whatever reason. so i guess it isnt a "complete oade" line stage mod without the adc replacement.Sounds to me like he did it all along, and only stopped when the chip was no longer available....im curious too.

that's what i think as well. the "line stage" mod included swpping out many items including opamps, adc, capacitors and resistors.



that's what i saw in all the Oade sbm i've opened up.


marc

[Tim]

color me confused

thanks for the info Marc...

[macdaddy]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced. i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

Any idea on the timeline behind those ADC swaps?  So the line stage mod for almost every modSBM-1 out there is not the same "Oade" mod he performed on those units?

This is all pretty confusing.  I've never seen reference to Doug swapping out the ADC chips on his site - and it goes back to late '99.  So...maybe he only offered an ADC swap pre-99?  Hmmmm...curious to hear back from my email to him.  We'll get this sorted one way or another!  Curiouser and curiouser...

i think the line stage mod included said ADC chip, but wasnt referenced on his site for whatever reason. so i guess it isnt a "complete oade" line stage mod without the adc replacement.Sounds to me like he did it all along, and only stopped when the chip was no longer available....im curious too.

that's what i think as well. the "line stage" mod included swpping out many items including opamps, adc, capacitors and resistors.



that's what i saw in all the Oade sbm i've opened up.


marc

so does mine have a different adc chip in it, too..? i never knew that...

[Tim]

this would probably explain some of the sonic differences between the Oade Mod-SBM1 and the Ramsden Mod-SBM-1

I always thought Todd's sounded a little cleaner, less coloration in the highend and less bloat on the bottom...

[leegeddy]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced. i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

Any idea on the timeline behind those ADC swaps?  So the line stage mod for almost every modSBM-1 out there is not the same "Oade" mod he performed on those units?

This is all pretty confusing.  I've never seen reference to Doug swapping out the ADC chips on his site - and it goes back to late '99.  So...maybe he only offered an ADC swap pre-99?  Hmmmm...curious to hear back from my email to him.  We'll get this sorted one way or another!  Curiouser and curiouser...

i think the line stage mod included said ADC chip, but wasnt referenced on his site for whatever reason. so i guess it isnt a "complete oade" line stage mod without the adc replacement.Sounds to me like he did it all along, and only stopped when the chip was no longer available....im curious too.

that's what i think as well. the "line stage" mod included swpping out many items including opamps, adc, capacitors and resistors.



that's what i saw in all the Oade sbm i've opened up.


marc

so does mine have a different adc chip in it, too..? i never knew that...

mac;
yes it does.

marc

[neutrino]

Now it's time to begin the SBM1-24/96 mod...

 leegeddy? JK Labs? ToddR?

[macdaddy]

Now it's time to begin the SBM1-24/96 mod...

 leegeddy? JK Labs? ToddR?

i have been dreaming about that!!!!

[L Ron Hoover]

Now it's time to begin the SBM1-24/96 mod...

 leegeddy? JK Labs? ToddR?

QFT


Now I'm curious to see what's going on inside my MSBM1. Are they easy to open?

[neutrino]

They're pretty easy to open but a little awkward to remove from the case. You would also need to desolder the metal plate which covers the main board where the ADC chip is located.
dB-

[marc0789]

fwiw, i've opened up few Oade sbm in the past and ALL of them had the adc chip replaced.  i spoke to doug while back and he said those Sony chips were no longer available thus simply changing out opamps and/or capacitors would not be the same "Oade" mod.

marc

believe that's what Doug told me years ago, when I had mine done...which I sold, then repurchased last fall. I also vaguely recall Doug saying a few years ago that he wouldn't be replacing the chip anymore with newer mods, due to the chip not being available. However, it is also my understanding that the design of the sbm-1 does not allow 24 bit output under any circumstances....?

[Todd R]

this would probably explain some of the sonic differences between the Oade Mod-SBM1 and the Ramsden Mod-SBM-1

I always thought Todd's sounded a little cleaner, less coloration in the highend and less bloat on the bottom...

Wow, interesting thread.  Doug always was pretty clear that his mod replaced the op amps, but I didn't realize he also replaced the ADC chip.  That would probably explain why he was characterizing his early versions of this as a 24-bit ADC mod SBM1, since I'm sure the ADC chip he used was 24 bits.

Tim -- glad you like the sound of mine.  I'd imagine the differences you hear are more of a function of the differenct characteristics of the op amps we choose.  (Or at least it's hard to believe that Doug would choose to replace an ADC chip to get less clarity in the top end and more bloat in the bottom. )  Doug now has expanded into offering several different sounding mods, but if the original (warm) mod-SBM1 and m148 are any indication, Doug seems to lean towards the warm sound, or perhaps the euphonic tube-like sound.  I guess in recording gear, I more tend towards transparency and detail over warmth, thus I guess my preference of the V3 over the Minime.  Of couse playback is a different matter -- I may need to get back to some tubes in my playback.... 

At any rate, it's always good to have choices so we can get what our own ears best prefer.  Too bad the Oade mod-SBM1 isn't offered any more, but at least this explains why.