TPA 3116 vs the tripaths
- Thread starter Poultrygeist
- Start date
drew_t
Well-Known Member
Here's one of my recent projects. It's a 2.1 board which had horrendous power on/power off pop, as described in this Youtube review:
A guy in Japan came up with a circuit to fix the pop, and did a bunch of other stuff: http://park8.wakwak.com/~hilo/audio/tpa3116d2_amp3ch/index.html .
I built the circuit (two diodes, two resistors, two capacitors, and a transistor) on a small scrap of vero board. Not exactly the most elegant implementation, but it works really well. The only other modification I carried out was the removal of the one capacitor which the guy indicated was preventing the subwoofer channel snyc from operating correctly.
bubba42
Active Member
Wow, I got the surface mount resistors to do the gain mod. They are TINY! Anyone have advice on that precise of soldering? I am not sure if I'll be able to do it.
bigx5murf
Super Member
Now you can see why I melted some nearby components LOL. Anyway, the key to removing the old ones, solder some extra solder to both sides so they retain heat a bit longer. Then heat up both sides, and flick them off with the tip.
Then add a bit more solder to both pads. I borrowed this from my wife so I can hold and manipulate the resistor as I soldered one side.
Then the other side is easy.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
You guys have better eyes and dexterity than me. I've been working on two of these TPA3118 mono boards on and off for a couple of months but still have soldering to do.
Ridiculously small but I guess it saves on shipping from China.
Ridiculously small but I guess it saves on shipping from China.
There are guys in the city (NY) that writes your name on a grain of rice. 
Maybe we can hire them out?
Maybe we can hire them out?
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bubba42
Active Member
I mod watches, so I have a cheap mangifying glasses/visor from harbor freight. I think that will help. I've taken of a surface mount resistor before, but never soldered one on. I'll give it a try someday when the coffee has worn off. I'm planning on doing my dual-chip, because right now it is pretty much too high gain for high efficiency speakers.
Now that we know that the resistors in the Breeze do not match up with the data sheets, I wonder what gain we're starting with. Also, I wonder if it would work (and if so what gain it would have) if both resistors were removed instead of one removed and one replaced.
Now that we know that the resistors in the Breeze do not match up with the data sheets, I wonder what gain we're starting with. Also, I wonder if it would work (and if so what gain it would have) if both resistors were removed instead of one removed and one replaced.
I don't think I've ever heard anybody say that before (to be fair I lead a sheltered life
)What does that mean?
Repair?
bubba42
Active Member
It isn't that different from this group that hacks together amps from all kinds of parts. Perhaps some of you might be interested!
One finds a decent base watch, then modifies it. One that is popular is an Invicta which comes with a good Seiko automatic movement, a solid stainless case, and has readily available replacement dials, hands, crystals, straps, etc.. If you glance through this article, you can see one modder's process. In the end you get a watch that is uniquely yours.
One finds a decent base watch, then modifies it. One that is popular is an Invicta which comes with a good Seiko automatic movement, a solid stainless case, and has readily available replacement dials, hands, crystals, straps, etc.. If you glance through this article, you can see one modder's process. In the end you get a watch that is uniquely yours.
bigx5murf
Super Member
It isn't that different from this group that hacks together amps from all kinds of parts. Perhaps some of you might be interested!
One finds a decent base watch, then modifies it. One that is popular is an Invicta which comes with a good Seiko automatic movement, a solid stainless case, and has readily available replacement dials, hands, crystals, straps, etc.. If you glance through this article, you can see one modder's process. In the end you get a watch that is uniquely yours.
I have a few seiko monsters with upgraded sapphire crystals myself. I pay a watch repair guy to swap my crystals and regulate my movements though.
trikster
Well-Known Member
More than likely used.
trikster
Well-Known Member
Pull the cover off and look at the caps. Might have one failing. Or could be dust build up.
jhoyt
Incomprehensible space llama
That's only $5/hour.
bubba42
Active Member
I finally did this mod to my dual chip. It was not easy, as the surface mount resistors are TINY!!! I did it though and it is working. Previously even with the volume off there was quite a bit of music coming out. Now I can hear it with my ear next to the speaker, but it is much much less. I also have more usable range on the volume knob.
I am not sure if it improved the sound or not, it is near impossible to do a direct comparison.
I am not sure if it improved the sound or not, it is near impossible to do a direct comparison.
I just did the mod, I did just what you described. I thought I screwed up since I melted some of the nearby components, very tight space to work with. But getting everything back together, it works great. Volume knob needs about an extra 30 degrees to reach same volume as before. All my issues I had with the knob and the channel imbalance are gone. With nothing playing I can turn it up to max and no hiss even with my ear right up to tweeter. It still gets plenty loud, but I'm using it near field so I don't turn it up past half.
So far it does sound better overall, can't quite explain why. I'm thinking of ordering another to compare side by side to rule out confirmation bias.
