Arcam Black Box 1 upgrades - does anyone do digital upgrades ?

[loonytunes]

I have an Arcam Black Box 1 which I think has great potential - and plenty of space to work under the hood - except I can't do this work personally.

I have a reference where a BB1 was upgraded in the following manner as seen below - does anyone know anyone that could competently do these upgrades (or similar) for me?


Converted to Non Over Sampling mode - removal of the noisy SAA7220P / B digital filter.

With the following High-End upgrades:


Condensers Elna Red Cerafine, Panasonic Os-Con, Panasonic FC, WIMA, Kemet Tantalum;

ultra fast Vishay diodes (25nS);

Dale RN60D resistances (low noise and the best in terms of loudness);

All voltage regulators replaced for low noise shunt type (NewClassD MKII UWB-2 and Belleson SPX);

Circuit interconnection wiring replaced by Neotech, Ultra Pure Copper 7N Onho Continuous Cast (UP-OCC) with TEFLON insulation;

[loonytunes]

Sorry this post is in the wrong section - can a moderator move it for me please?

[struth]

moved

[Bencat]

I had one of the first of these units when they were launched and had one fitted with dip sockets for the DAC chips and managed to blag a couple of Philips Crown chips to replace the standard ones . Sounded very good at the time . One upgrade that i would recommend for you is to change the clock inside the dac to a high precision femto or other make which will make this really sing . There is plenty of room and years ago there were boards made up that you could fit not sue if these are still going but will have search and post later if i find anything .

Found something like I know were available .

http://tentlabs.com/Components/cdupgrade/xo2xo3/index.html

But also found one that was around in the early days and still seems to be going strong

https://www.trichordresearch.co.uk/trichord-clocks/

[loonytunes]

I had one of the first of these units when they were launched and had one fitted with dip sockets for the DAC chips and managed to blag a couple of Philips Crown chips to replace the standard ones . Sounded very good at the time . One upgrade that i would recommend for you is to change the clock inside the dac to a high precision femto or other make which will make this really sing . There is plenty of room and years ago there were boards made up that you could fit not sue if these are still going but will have search and post later if i find anything .

Found something like I know were available .

http://tentlabs.com/Components/cdupgrade/xo2xo3/index.html

But also found one that was around in the early days and still seems to be going strong

https://www.trichordresearch.co.uk/trichord-clocks/

Thanks - I'm not really a DIY type when it comes to electronics - but that is interesting.

It's just that this DAC already sounds excellent so I want to push the boundaries and see what else is under the hood (NOS conversion etc as mentioned above).

[Bencat]

I realised that you were not the DIY type and that you are looking for someone to do this for you. I only suggested it because while you are getting that done the above could also be done and would in my view give the NOS element its best chance of sounding as good as it can because it would now have a much better and more stable clock . The original clocks used when the Arcam was designed were not the best and often introduced jitter in to the system as they were very cheap components from other areas and not the accurate and stable units around today .

[loonytunes]

I realised that you were not the DIY type and that you are looking for someone to do this for you. I only suggested it because while you are getting that done the above could also be done and would in my view give the NOS element its best chance of sounding as good as it can because it would now have a much better and more stable clock . The original clocks used when the Arcam was designed were not the best and often introduced jitter in to the system as they were very cheap components from other areas and not the accurate and stable units around today .

OK I will add that to the list... good idea thanks.

[Dawg]

PM sent

[Mr.Ian]

One thing i have learned over the years is that different engineers have different views and they all think their approach is the best. One engineers upgrade might be a totally no go for a different engineer. Upgrades seldom come with any warranty or money back guarantee.

Understanding what is being proposed and sharing common values helps, but if the upgrade isnt to your liking selling modified gear can be difficult especially if you hope to recoup the upgrade costs

Having dont with the doom and gloom, Colin at chevron audio fitted an upgraded clock to a merdian 200 for me, many years back now and the improvement was clear.

http://www.chevronaudio.co.uk/DAC/dac.html

[loonytunes]

PM sent

Hi sorry I was late getting back to you - but I finally read your post last night.

I was inspired by an advert on OCX here: https://www.olx.pt/anuncio/arcam-delta-black-box-dac-tda1541a-nos-IDD8Dj6.html

After translation this is the work that was done:

Description
ARCAM Delta Black Box DAC equipped with the famous PHILIPS TDA1541A.

With S/PDIF RCA input and two analog outputs (HIGH and LOW).
Converted to Non Over Sampling mode - removal of the noisy SAA7220P / B digital filter.
I/V conversion stage and amplification stage work in class A.

It has the following High-End upgrades:

Elna Red Cerafine condensers, Panasonic Os-Con, Panasonic FC, WIMA, Kemet Tantalum, Nichicon KG
Ultra fast Vishay diodes (25nS);
Dale RN60D resistances (low noise and the best in terms of loudness);
All voltage regulators replaced for low noise shunt type (NewClassD MKII UWB-2 and Belleson SPX);
Circuit interconnection wiring replaced by Neotech, Ultra Pure Copper 7N Onho Continuous Cast (UP-OCC) with TEFLON insulation (red color);
The digital / analog conversion chip works with DEM clock - modification suggested by the guru EcDesign.
Op-amps in the buffer have been replaced by very low noise (4nV / HZ), Synergetic Electronics NE5534AN.
The SPDIF input card has also been revised and updated with PRP resistors and Wima and Elna capacitors.

[Nigel]

I would be worried about the risk myself. Also, even after upgrades, might you be better with one of the newer DAC's?

[loonytunes]

I would be worried about the risk myself. Also, even after upgrades, might you be better with one of the newer DAC's?

The later (affordable!) DACs don't seem to reach the Arcam's musicality "as it stands unmodified" - so I am keen to see just what else this old DAC is capable of (I have two of them).

The caveat being that the Arcam sits on sorbothane feet and has a high quality transport upstream - so it's super fussy in that regard (otherwise the sound is flat and lifeless).

Curiosity is getting the better of me - and there is plenty of room in the case for someone competent to tweak it - or at least convert it to NOS.

[Nigel]

Fair enough. I still use an Avondale Arcam 5 CD player on occasion, Tda1541 NOS and it sounds enjoyable to my ears but wouldn't know how a modern £500 ish DAC would compare.