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Official Jolida JD9 thread

Brett a said:
I wondered about the dullness of my solder. It seemed to take forever to heat the component enough to get the solder to melt at all. I did heat it from the other side of the work, but still...

What temp would you suggest I set my station at next time? And how long would you expect it to take before it melted Cardas solder (it states 338°F)?
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The temp will depend on the solder - I use silver solder for things like this - YMMV. I don't have a nice enough iron to set temps - mine is cheap and has a 15/30W switch. I would set mine on 15W, get the contact securely together (so that minor movements don't separate it - use a vice if necessar0 to secure the main board) then heat the two components (wire from cap and contact on the board) with the iron while simultaneously pushing the solder in between the joint, but not actually touching it to the iron. Make sure not to melt the board, but the contacts should eventually (quite quickly actually) start to suck in the solder - feed a bit still it makes a nice nipple, then pull away the heat.
 
Hope this helps - (I never did well with art, but I did take some electronics classes back in the day...Oh, forgot to label the ring, that's the copper on the board...*EDIT*The idea is to heat both the copper on the board and the wire simultaneously and getting the solder fed into the joint, heating only what needs to be heated as much as possible, and letting the copper/wire suck of the solder, thus bonding them. *EDIT*

Just be cognizant of the board - you don't want to melt anything.
 

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PickyEars81 said:
The temp will depend on the solder - I use silver solder for things like this - YMMV. I don't have a nice enough iron to set temps - mine is cheap and has a 15/30W switch. I would set mine on 15W, get the contact securely together (so that minor movements don't separate it - use a vice if necessar0 to secure the main board) then heat the two components (wire from cap and contact on the board) with the iron while simultaneously pushing the solder in between the joint, but not actually touching it to the iron. Make sure not to melt the board, but the contacts should eventually (quite quickly actually) start to suck in the solder - feed a bit still it makes a nice nipple, then pull away the heat.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I was heating the joint from the opposite side as you describe. And man, it took forever to get it up to temp even at a fairly high setting--like 3-5 minutes. I would think at 15 watts I'd be waiting quite a long time. I may try a do-over with more patience next time.
 
Brett a said:
Thanks. I was heating the joint from the opposite side as you describe. And man, it took forever to get it up to temp even at a fairly high setting--like 3-5 minutes. I would think at 15 watts I'd be waiting quite a long time. I may try a do-over with more patience next time.
Click to expand...

No, not the other side of the board, simply the other side of the wire, all on the bottom of the board. It should not take more than a few seconds, even at 15w. The solder should be fed a few mm away, just on the other side of the wire - the solder will "flow" towards the source of the heat, so I like to pull it through the wire, but not through the whole board! If it takes more than 5-10 seconds, you have a problem - either the solder tip is filthy/no good, or the solder is the wrong type would be my guess.

It takes my POS iron about 15 minutes of warm up before I use it. (Really 5 is probably enough, but I usually start heating during disassembly, so I don't have to worry.)

*EDIT* Try cleaning the tip when hot with steel wool. Also touch a bit of solder on the tip when it's hot and make sure it smokes/melts instantly to ensure min temp is met, and that the tip is still good. *EDIT*
 
Just so you know: the metal is usually only on on side of the board - it isn't solid. Its like wafer, copper, insulation. So, if you were trying to heat from the opposites side of the board from where you were attempting to solder, it would be almost impossible to get a good solder, since you are almost certainly not directly heating the copper and the lead from the cap...

I think this is your problem, if I am reading correctly.
 
PickyEars81 said:
No, not the other side of the board, simply the other side of the wire, all on the bottom of the board.
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Yes, the other side of the wire is what I'm saying. Seems i did it correctly each time. But still may have gotten a cold solder.

PickyEars81 said:
*EDIT* Try cleaning the tip when hot with steel wool. Also touch a bit of solder on the tip when it's hot and make sure it smokes/melts instantly to ensure min temp is met, and that the tip is still good. *EDIT*
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I think this is what's getting in my way--oxidation on the tip.

At this point, I don't want to side-track this thread any further. I'll go watch more instructional videos or start another thread (or revive an old one)

Thanks for the help.

:thmbsp:
 
Brett a said:
I wondered about the dullness of my solder. It seemed to take forever to heat the component enough to get the solder to melt at all. I did heat it from the other side of the work, but still...

What temp would you suggest I set my station at next time? And how long would you expect it to take before it melted Cardas solder (it states 338°F)?
Click to expand...

I would check out your soldering iron/station the cheap ones lose there heat after a while. I have a cheap RadioSchack iron in the drawer that takes forever to melt a joint.

My Hakko 936ESD I leave set on 700f and it seems ideal. It should take only a few seconds at most for the solder to melt using the correct method of heating the pad and leg at the same time while applying the solder to the other side of the leg and pad.

The idea is to heat quickly, solder it and as soon as it melts remove the heat leaving a nice shiny joint.
 
HypnoToad said:
I would check out your soldering iron/station the cheap ones lose there heat after a while. I have a cheap RadioSchack iron in the drawer that takes forever to melt a joint.

My Hakko 936ESD I leave set on 700f and it seems ideal. It should take only a few seconds at most for the solder to melt using the correct method of heating the pad and leg at the same time while applying the solder to the other side of the leg and pad.

The idea is to heat quickly, solder it and as soon as it melts remove the heat leaving a nice shiny joint.
Click to expand...
Now I'm really confused. :headscrat

As i understand this particular mod, the new cap gets soldered in point-to-point from the back of the tube socket to the back of the signal wire that runs to the RCAs. (see attached photo). This means piggybacking the leads from the new cap onto the leads of these components already sticking through the back of the PBC. So it's not like soldering a new component lead into a vacant hole. Or is it?

BTW, the soldering station I'm using is a relatively cheap one; a GORDAK-936
 

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Brett a said:
Now I'm really confused. :headscrat

As i understand this particular mod, the new cap gets soldered in point-to-point from the back of the tube socket to the back of the signal wire that runs to the RCAs. (see attached photo). This means piggybacking the leads from the new cap onto the leads of these components already sticking through the back of the PBC. So it's not like soldering a new component lead into a vacant hole. Or is it?

BTW, the soldering station I'm using is a relatively cheap one; a GORDAK-936
Click to expand...

It looks like a copy of the Hakko 936, so set it to 700f and if it were me I would use some solder wick to remove the old solder and make a new joint with the old component leads and the new capacitor leads in contact.
 
HypnoToad said:
It looks like a copy of the Hakko 936, so set it to 700f and if it were me I would use some solder wick to remove the old solder and make a new joint with the old component leads and the new capacitor leads in contact.
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Good to hear. That's what I'm doing. Thanks. Back at it...
 
I have one of these as well. I changed out the original tubes for Baldwin Greens and used damping material on the floor. I also got rid of those steel covers over the tubes and Just received my Clarity caps to install in this.
 
All is well this morning. Seems my problem was insufficient tip maintenance. The oxidation was getting in the way. Live and learn. Hopefully next time I won't be learning such basic lessons on equipment I can't afford to replace. :yes:

Now that that is passed, i can say for certain that these new Obbligatos sound much improved over the stock caps; more open soundstage and fuller imaging, a bit more bass energy which is clearer and better defined than before.

Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is my favorite reference. Not on;y do I know and love this album more than just about any other; it's a recording that I find responds to system changes as the piano and bass, as well as parts of the drum kit, can become more or less clear and defined.

After upgrading to these caps, I can now hear McCoy's piano clearly placed several feet behind and slightly to the right of Coltrane throughout the piece. I could place it here before, but now more clearly and stable.

Jimmy Garrison's bass is still a bit changeable in the soundstage. It's placement is stable behind and slightly to the left of Elvin's drum kit. But exactly what he's playing gets hard to make out when things get busy. However, it does come into focus at times more readily than before. And the passages where he is soloing sound more lifelike and airy now.

I'm also hearing a slight improvement in the resolution of peripheral sounds such as Elvin Jones setting down his drumsticks and Jimmy Garrison removing the bow from its holder on the bass (at least I think that's what that sound is).

Now I'm looking forward to upgrading the opamps. I've read that these can help improve timbre which the new caps didn't really affect.
 
JD 9 Modifications

I have been reading searching these threads for a little while now and think I have come up with a plan (re: Caps and Op amps), thanks for all the information people have posted.
Does anyone have some suggestions for where to buy these components from?
Is Ebay a viable source?

Regards,

PS. I have been running some OS GE 12AU7 tubes for some time now after reading about the improvement over stock. I haven't noted any adverse effects but maybe they are cumulative? Does anyone have any input on this?
 
Frank Sol said:
The next time I open-up my JD9 will be to install new opamps. I have not decided on which ones and how many.
Click to expand...


Installed 2 OPA627 from Digi-Key in the 'output' this afternoon (#s 1 & 2 from pic)

Got the JD9 warming up and will give her a listen tonight and all weekend. Then I will decide if I will buy/add more.

I'm still not sure which other Op-Amps I will get if I do buy more. Underwood HI-Fi suggested to go all OPA627 in an email. That is what they do on their level 3 mod

:music:
 
Maybe the stock output op-amps were bad or not up to 100% of their standards

The JD9 is as quiet as a church mouse... I knew this from the get-go. After an hour of warm-up time I switched the pre-amp to it with Vol -0- then turned the vol up just to check Hiss. In the past the JD9 would Hiss at 12 to 1 o'clock, now, it was dead quiet at 1 o'clock and only began to Hiss slightly at 4 o'clock.

Played 3 LPs and had that 'black background' we search for and the musical notes were just popping out with clarity which I havent heard from this JD9.

Back to the :music:
 
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Mine is still stock, and it doesn't hum at all. I have checked it with headphones and speakers. It is not dead silent, though - the noise floor is about the same as the stage in my onkyo, which is noticeable with my receiver which has a S/N ratio of 110 Db IIRC for the line level inputs. I don't notice it with any vinyl spinning; I think it is still probably better than the 80db vinyl offers...
 
PickyEars81 said:
Ah. Thanks for clarifying. I will be modding mine soon. I was going to start with the tubes, but maybe op amps make more sense, given your results. Keep me posted!
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The JD9 has so many mods to make it 'better' it is hard to keep-up with them... :yes:

As far as the op-amps, I'm told the 'output' upgrade has the most dramatic change for the good. The other 4 help but not as significantly.

I can attest that the output upgrade is worth the $$$
 
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