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

[pkane2001]

On 5/8/2017 at 4:46 PM, T-Bone said:

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

 

Today was a good day. Got the new firmware v2.22 for SU-1 and was able run DSD512 natively to my DAC. Sounds really nice, an obvious, although not huge improvement.

 

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.

 

 

Tried this out in my system, and it really was as everyone said: the change is not subtle! I'm still using the iFi 5v supply, so perhaps the change would be less obvious with an LPS-1. But for me, it's a major step up in SQ. If the change from DSD256 to 512 was about 5% improvement in SQ, the relative change to Sparkos 3.3v regulator was closer to 20%. I'm not kidding! The bass became a lot punchier -- almost visceral, like I added a subwoofer. The air around instruments became more obvious, all the sounds seemed natural. On a good recording, there was nothing I could hear that didn't feel just right.

 

I'm sure I'll discover more things I need to improve later , but for now,  I'm a happy camper. Thanks to everyone who recommended and explained this mod in detail, it really was worth doing it!

[elan120]

I use 7-Zip and it's free...

 

http://www.7-zip.org/

[thyname]

OK, I think I did it. How do I check current version of SU-1 firmware? Just want to make sure it is done.

[pkane2001]

13 minutes ago, thyname said:

OK, I think I did it. How do I check current version of SU-1 firmware? Just want to make sure it is done.

 

Start the same program you used to flash the new firmware. Start it while SU-1 is connected to the PC, and it will display the current firmware version near the top.

[thyname]

Quick update on replacing the internal power supply of SU-1 with LPS via the KTE DC conversion kit.

 

It was easy, but (and a big "but"), I hit a major hiccup. The sU-1 would not power. Did a snapchat video with @Energy as I completely panicked. Thank God he figured it out! Apparantly, whoever soldered the little wires on the kit over at Kitsune, swapped the black with red wires, so once Timothy figured it out that might be the issue (after checking everything else), swapping the plug to the board the opposite / wrong way, everything was powered. It all works great now. Gotta sleep now (East Coast here), so can't really audition anything well until tomorrow.

 

Thank you @tboooe @elan120 @Altabay @bluesaint @pkane2001and @ted_b

but a huge, special thanks to @Energy for an amazing gesture to help via Snapchat video! Can't thank you enough.

[thyname]

1 hour ago, pkane2001 said:

 

Start the same program you used to flash the new firmware. Start it while SU-1 is connected to the PC, and it will display the current firmware version near the top.

Yep. Confirmed. Thanks!

[bluesaint]

Awesome @thyname glad everything is working for you.  And yeah @Energy is a great community asset!  

[elan120]

17 hours ago, tboooe said:

Correct.  First download and install the USB driver for the SU-1.

 

https://kitsunehifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Singxer-English-USB-Driver-Kitsune-v3.34.0.zip

 

Once you install it, go to your Program Files on your hard drive, and look for the XMOS folder.  In that folder go to the folder USBAudioStDriver_3086.  From that folder run the exe "xmosusbaudiost3086_dfuapp.exe".  Once you run that, the application will ask you for the location of the firmware upgrade file.  That is the file Tim sent you.  Save that somewhere on your PC and select that.

Hi @tboooe, I just finished upgrading my SU-1 to v2.20 but not sure what else I have to do to let it play DSD512 native, could use some help.

 

I am connecting directly from PC -> iUSB3.0 -> SU-1 -> Holo Spring.

 

TIA

[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

[tboooe]

31 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Hi @tboooe, I just finished upgrading my SU-1 to v2.20 but not sure what else I have to do to let it play DSD512 native, could use some help.

 

I am connecting directly from PC -> iUSB3.0 -> SU-1 -> Holo Spring.

 

TIA

What software are you using for playback on your pc?  What output are you using from the SU-1 to the Spring?

[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!

[tboooe]

16 minutes ago, T-Bone said:

I've got a solder rework station with a hot air gun too

Man, I need to get one too!  May I ask which one you got?  Cant keep avoiding the modding bug!

[pkane2001]

10 minutes ago, T-Bone said:

I've never tackled SMD components before - so this will be a learning experience for me.  

 

I practiced a bit on a throw-away PCB and removed 4-5 random SMD components before I felt comfortable subjecting SU-1 to the hot air and tweezers 

[elan120]

12 minutes ago, tboooe said:

What software are you using for playback on your pc?  What output are you using from the SU-1 to the Spring?

I'm using HQPlayer directly and HQPlayer+ROON, and using I2S connecting SU-1 to Spring.  Max DSD I got is DSD256, and the driver is signed Holo Spring driver.

[pkane2001]

9 minutes ago, tboooe said:

Man, I need to get one too!  May I ask which one you got?  Cant keep avoiding the modding bug!

 

Here's the one I got (I like it so far), but there are cheaper ones out there with similar features:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-888A-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B01NBUJTTS

 

[pkane2001]

Just now, elan120 said:

I'm using HQPlayer directly and HQPlayer+ROON, and using I2S connecting SU-1 to Spring.  Max DSD I got is DSD256, and the driver is signed Holo Spring driver.

Try to turn off DoP setting in HQP SDM Pack (set it to None).

[elan120]

2 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

Try to turn off DoP setting in HQP SDM Pack (set it to None).

Great!  Now I am getting DSD512.  Thank you for the help.

[tboooe]

19 minutes ago, elan120 said:

I'm using HQPlayer directly and HQPlayer+ROON, and using I2S connecting SU-1 to Spring.  Max DSD I got is DSD256, and the driver is signed Holo Spring driver.

EDIT...I see you got it sorted out.  Now let us know what you think?

[elan120]

25 minutes ago, tboooe said:

EDIT...I see you got it sorted out.  Now let us know what you think?

Thank you for the help...I did the upgrade correctly, but forgot to un-check DoP setting in HQP SDM Pack until @pkane2001 reminded me earlier, now I have to get to the office and won't be able to listen until later this afternoon.  Appreciate all the quick responses. 

[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.

[Bimmer100]

13 hours ago, thyname said:

Quick update on replacing the internal power supply of SU-1 with LPS via the KTE DC conversion kit.

 

It was easy, but (and a big "but"), I hit a major hiccup. The sU-1 would not power. Did a snapchat video with @Energy as I completely panicked. Thank God he figured it out! Apparantly, whoever soldered the little wires on the kit over at Kitsune, swapped the black with red wires, so once Timothy figured it out that might be the issue (after checking everything else), swapping the plug to the board the opposite / wrong way, everything was powered. It all works great now. Gotta sleep now (East Coast here), so can't really audition anything well until tomorrow.

 

Thank you @tboooe @elan120 @Altabay @bluesaint @pkane2001and @ted_b

but a huge, special thanks to @Energy for an amazing gesture to help via Snapchat video! Can't thank you enough.

I found that there was a very small amount of these that ended up going out. Every single one has been tested in inventory at this point it will not happen again. As I had a customer note they were reversed and found that the source i've purchased the DC plugs from have reversed the pin style albeit they look identically the same. Here forth i'm going to check each and every one of the units for polarity to be correct. Those who have this problem i'm refunding them their order and will ship a new kit that is correct. There really only should of been a few that went out from this particular batch. I've source dc plugs from three sources and one batch are simply backwards. Please contact me directly and we can get this sorted. 

We apologize for this and will make it right.

[thyname]

Just now, Bimmer100 said:

I found that there was a very small amount of these that ended up going out. Every single one has been tested in inventory at this point it will not happen again. As I had a customer note they were reversed and found that the source i've purchased the DC plugs from have reversed the pin style albeit they look identically the same. Here forth i'm going to check each and every one of the units for polarity to be correct. Those who have this problem i'm refunding them their order and will ship a new kit that is correct. There really only should of been a few that went out from this particular batch. I've source dc plugs from three sources and one batch are simply backwards. Please contact me directly and we can get this sorted. 

We apologize for this and will make it right.

 

Tim:

 

I personally don't mind this, and no need to refund me the money and/or send me a new kit. Issue was resolved, and it is working now. I don't mind the fact that I swapped the wire upside down. Unless of course it stops working.

 

Nice gesture though. Thanks

[Energy]

16 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

Tried this out in my system, and it really was as everyone said: the change is not subtle! I'm still using the iFi 5v supply, so perhaps the change would be less obvious with an LPS-1. But for me, it's a major step up in SQ. If the change from DSD256 to 512 was about 5% improvement in SQ, the relative change to Sparkos 3.3v regulator was closer to 20%. I'm not kidding! The bass became a lot punchier -- almost visceral, like I added a subwoofer. The air around instruments became more obvious, all the sounds seemed natural. On a good recording, there was nothing I could hear that didn't feel just right.

 

I'm sure I'll discover more things I need to improve later , but for now,  I'm a happy camper. Thanks to everyone who recommended and explained this mod in detail, it really was worth doing it!

 

Excellent! The improvements are more than subtle that's for sure!

Wait until you power the SU-1 with a LPS-1. You'll be in dream land. These modifications and upgrades surely proves how important clean power is as well as isolation of AC currents.

 

I didn't get 20% worth of an improvement like you, but roughly 12%.

Bass wasn't more punchy, but it was surely less bloated. More sense of air around instruments, sounds does not tamper with one another thus produced a cleaner image without congestion. Details within the back range comes forth without distorting the center vocals. For me the treble was biggest improvement out of them all of them. The more I improve on digital transport and digital to analog conversion  (such as NOS, I2S, R2R Ladder), the more I notice treble being less sharp. Kind of comparable to how tubes make me feel in terms of a soft overlay of warmth over the overall sound but just without the emphasis on distortion which is louder levels of grain that I can hear every so often from even top to the line tubes like DNA Stratus.

 

I can't wait until my ISO REGEN comes in. 

 

My guess is that once everything is taken to the highest level that sound will be so buttery smooth I'll forget that I have headphones on. The more I'm improving my gear the more that seems to be the case. Once you get closer to end game there is less to do other than to enjoy your music. Finally...

 

15 hours ago, thyname said:

Quick update on replacing the internal power supply of SU-1 with LPS via the KTE DC conversion kit.

 

It was easy, but (and a big "but"), I hit a major hiccup. The sU-1 would not power. Did a snapchat video with @Energy as I completely panicked. Thank God he figured it out! Apparantly, whoever soldered the little wires on the kit over at Kitsune, swapped the black with red wires, so once Timothy figured it out that might be the issue (after checking everything else), swapping the plug to the board the opposite / wrong way, everything was powered. It all works great now. Gotta sleep now (East Coast here), so can't really audition anything well until tomorrow.

 

Thank you @tboooe @elan120 @Altabay @bluesaint @pkane2001and @ted_b

but a huge, special thanks to @Energy for an amazing gesture to help via Snapchat video! Can't thank you enough.

 

Hehe, always here when you need me buddy. I didn't push you to upgrade the SU-1 if I wasn't going to take liability for it if it didn't work. 

 

13 hours ago, bluesaint said:

Awesome @thyname glad everything is working for you.  And yeah @Energy is a great community asset!  

 

I know you are but what am I. 

 

4 hours ago, T-Bone said:

 

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!

 

Wanted to help you out because you said you were going to do it yourself haha.

Now you better not brick it! 

 

4 hours ago, tboooe said:

Man, I need to get one too!  May I ask which one you got?  Cant keep avoiding the modding bug!

 

Best heat-gun I have ever used. Get a front attachment to make the blow diameter smaller for SMD components, but I still believe hot tweezers work better but rather more expensive to get a good one.

I personally use a METCAL MX-500 and would never use anything less.

Have had Weller and Hakko brand ones in the past but they didn't get hot enough and their tips gave out way too quickly. I buy dozens of STTC Series (chisel) tips at a time in 500F, 600F, 700F, and 800F and use the right temperature series depending on application.

 

Cheers,

Timothy

[scan80269]

As far as I can tell, on the SU-1, the +5V coming in from internal LPS (or external supply via DC kit) runs directly to only two components on the board: the LD1086 regulator (generates +3.3V) and a small 5-pin chip located close to the WCLK input connector.  Many linear regulator ICs don't have reverse voltage protection so can burn out with the input voltage applied backwards.  It's pretty amazing to me that the SU-1 board can survive reversed DC voltage unscathed.  That little 5-pin chip (I don't know what it is) should probably be checked also.

 

[scan80269]

5 minutes ago, Energy said:

 

Excellent! The improvements are more than subtle that's for sure!

Wait until you power the SU-1 with a LPS-1. You'll be in dream land. These modifications and upgrades surely proves how important clean power is as well as isolation of AC currents.

 

I can't wait until my ISO REGEN comes in. 

 

 

Hehe, always here when you need me buddy. I didn't push you to upgrade the SU-1 if I wasn't going to take liability for it if it didn't work. 

 

 

I know you are but what am I. 

 

 

Wanted to help you out because you said you were going to do it yourself haha.

Now you better not brick it! 

 

 

Best heat-gun I have ever used. Get a front attachment to make the blow diameter smaller for SMD components, but I still believe hot tweezers work better but rather more expensive to get a good one.

I personally use a METCAL MX-500 and would never use anything less.

Have had Weller and Hakko brand ones in the past but they didn't get hot enough and their tips gave out way too quickly. I buy dozens of STTC Series (chisel) tips at a time in 500F, 600F, 700F, and 800F and use the right temperature series depending on application.

 

Cheers,

Timothy

+1 for Metcal MX-500P soldering station.  Those STTC tips are awesome.  Like you, I won't use anything else for soldering.

 

I also use Metcal Talon tweezers.  With TATC-602 tweezers, it look about 5 seconds to unsolder that LD1086 regulator off the SU-1 board.

 

For through-hole work, I use a Hakko 808 vacuum desoldering gun.  It's so much quicker and gentler than a solder sucker.