XRt12 XM inards

[madmax]

I opened up the XRt12 last night to see what was inside. Hmmm, lots of through hole capacitors. I wonder... Could there be any gains by replacing as I did in the toshiba dvd? Seems a shame to have so many parts without replacing any of them. :D
madmax

[nadams]

I opened mine up before I plugged it in because it was rattling. Someone had left a zip tie laying inside :). I have some pics of it... I'll post 'em up in a bit.

[nadams]

Here's some pics for those who are too timid to open up their XRt12. BTW- that case is a bitch to get on and off, isn't it?

http://www.king-nerd.com/dood/images/minigal/PolkFest%202005/thumbs/tn_med_100_0887.jpg

http://www.king-nerd.com/dood/images/minigal/PolkFest%202005/thumbs/tn_med_100_0888.jpg

http://www.king-nerd.com/dood/images/minigal/PolkFest%202005/thumbs/tn_med_100_0889.jpg

[madmax]

Cool Pics! I notice all the wiring is routed exactly the same as mine. Lots of circuitry on the main board. All the space around the boards is probably keeping a lot of noise from being transfered from the power supply to the main board. Probably not much to do here other than possibly beefing up the power supply caps and maybe some good caps in the signal path. Maybe an IEC connector and power cord. A battery supply might be cool. I'll have to check out the output op-amps if that is what they are using. Maybe some dual single channel ones. As long as we are dreaming, maybe a tube output stage, dampening of the chassis for no apparent reason and some nice vibrapods??? :)
madmax


Edit: Sure would be nice to have a schematic of this beast!

[amulford]

You worry me, son...

[ND13]

Tubed output stage....hmmm.....Max you just might be onto something, if it's feasible.
Is it feasible? I mean, since it was free, maybe it could be done for less than the cost of one them.

[madmax]

Sure, anything can be done given enough work. The question is that if you eliminate the original output stage and use a tube stage instead, will it sound better. Probably would, assuming nothing got screwed up in the process and it still works. Ha ha.
madmax

[brettw22]

With a solid top case, it's not practical to try and tube that out unless you're going to drill the hell out of the case to vent it.......then it doesn't have the clean look it currently has......

[audiobliss]

So? It'd be tubed!

:D

[bknauss]

BTW- that case is a bitch to get on and off, isn't it?



Here's the trick... take the sides and sort of pull the bottom part outward while pushing up on the backside of the chassis. I generally have my thumbs on the side part toward the back and use my fingers to pry the little hinge part off of the bottom. Work it like its hinged on the front of the unit and pull out at about a 45 degree angle.

And yes, it sure is a b*tch! I've probably done it a couple hundred times, so I definitely know all about it.

As for upgrades, probably the only things you might want to think about are simple power supply stuff and opamps. The DAC is pretty gosh darn good (Burr Brown), so I wouldn't worry about that. And I wouldn't hold my breath for schematics :)

[RuSsMaN]

Microdots, as soon as mine arrives.

Is it just me, or is the power supply in a weird spot? I'm thinking preamp and FM tuner, but wouldn't you want it as far away from the boards as possible?

[goingganzo]

boy you have enough room in there to put a toaster and a cd player and still have room left over.

[madmax]

And I wouldn't hold my breath for schematics :)


Reverse engineering is always the fun part anyway. :D

madmax

[cfrizz]

You guys are sick puppies!!! :eek: Can't you be happy just plugging the damn thing in & listening to the tunes???? :confused: :p :D

[TroyD]

You guys are sick puppies!!! :eek: Can't you be happy just plugging the damn thing in & listening to the tunes???? :confused: :p :D

Now what fun would THAT be??

BDT

[steveinaz]

Microdots, as soon as mine arrives.

Is it just me, or is the power supply in a weird spot? I'm thinking preamp and FM tuner, but wouldn't you want it as far away from the boards as possible?

I was looking at the transformer leads ty-wrapped to the signal leads, but that's a quick fix. Then again it may not matter, looks like just information for the display function... :confused:

[nadams]

You guys are sick puppies!!! :eek: Can't you be happy just plugging the damn thing in & listening to the tunes???? :confused: :p :D

No... I can't afford to activate it yet!

And to think, I just cancelled my XM subscription when I resold my old tuner. *sigh*

[madmax]

You guys are sick puppies!!! :eek: Can't you be happy just plugging the damn thing in & listening to the tunes???? :confused: :p :D


Hmmm... The thought never crossed my mind.

Actually I did listen and it sounds pretty good. I added the below network from AR and with this unit it really added some excitement to the sound. Some things it does wonders for, others it doesn't.

[steveinaz]

What is that module?

[madmax]

As best as I can tell it is an impedance matching network of some sort. It is made by AR. It can make some sources come alive by being more dynamic while doing absolutely nothing for other sources. I found a handfull of them at a flea shop and decided they looked interesting so I bought them.
madmax

[ND13]

Microdots


Are those the purple kind? :eek: :p :D

[danger boy]

You guys are sick puppies!!! :eek: Can't you be happy just plugging the damn thing in & listening to the tunes???? :confused: :p :D

boys will be boys..... ;)


I don't plan on opening mine up. I'm sure it voids any kind of warranty.

[nadams]

danger boy- there's no way for them to tell... no warranty stickers or any of that. But anyway, I've done the hard work for you, and posted pictures, so no need for you to open yours up.

[disneyjoe7]

boys will be boys..... ;)


I don't plan on opening mine up. I'm sure it voids any kind of warranty.



Matt will come personally by and slap your hand ;)

[danger boy]

Thanks Noah for doing the work for me. ha ha ha!

I was quite surpised how little guts the thing has. I bet it could be made into a pint sized unit and maybe bring down production costs... hint, hint.


Also with this post i've just hit post #4444 :)

[nadams]

I was quite surpised how little guts the thing has. I bet it could be made into a pint sized unit and maybe bring down production costs... hint, hint.

Look at most consumer CD Players out there. the reason they're the size they are is to make them match all the other components out there. But yes, Polk could fit their xm tuner into a smaller space... saaaaay, a tabletop radio/cd/hd/xm player? :)

But yeah, I've seen CDPs that have ALL of their circuitry mounted on the front faceplace, with the only thing in the chassis being the power converter and the cd tray itself. LOTS of empty space there!

[disneyjoe7]

You know being an Electronic Technician by trade also my Job title ET, I never had any desire to open the XM tuna up :confused:

[Willow]

Seems like tons of real-estate in there. Almost waste of space.

[nadams]

Grrr.... activated my radio on www.xmradio.com last night, and as of 7:30 this morning, I still couldn't get more than channel 1! Garh! Refreshed the activation, but I'm at work 'til 1:30, so we'll see this afternoon whether it worked or not.

[bknauss]

[QUOTE=nadams] But yes, Polk could fit their xm tuner into a smaller space... saaaaay, a tabletop radio/cd/hd/xm player? :)

QUOTE]

Different XM circuitry :) Look up some info on the XM plug and play antenna.

[nadams]

But yes, Polk could fit their xm tuner into a smaller space... saaaaay, a tabletop radio/cd/hd/xm player? :)



Different XM circuitry :) Look up some info on the XM plug and play antenna.

I seeee.... receiver built into antenna. Interesting. Why has noone made a tuner that can receive both XM and Sirius?

[hoosier21]

I was quite surpised how little guts the thing has. I bet it could be made into a pint sized unit and maybe bring down production costs... hint, hint.

Seems like tons of real-estate in there. Almost waste of space.

It is made for home use and to match the size of the rest of your equipment.

If you want small get one of the Delphi's.

[madmax]

I like the size. Plenty of room for extra junk in there.

On the activation I waited the hour they said to wait and when it didn't activate I called back and it came up about 20 minutes later. They said they were having "technical difficulties" at the time.

madmax

[bknauss]

I seeee.... receiver built into antenna. Interesting. Why has noone made a tuner that can receive both XM and Sirius?

XM and Sirius won't allow it.

[nadams]

Party Poopers...

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

XM and Sirius will never share a space with each other unless one over-takes the other...

I really dont care about electronics as far as inards go - if someone dosnt sound good or good enough, its gone here. I'm not going to mod it or w/e...

Speakers on the other hand... that reminds me... I wish I wasnt poor.

[bknauss]

You definitely have a much different reference point for "poor" than me. :)