SOtM sMS-200 Neo Upgrade - DIY Capacitor Details

Thanks for this. I may give this a try.

PS. How do you change the SMS 200 to 12v rather than the 9V design.

4 hours ago, creativepart said:

PS. How do you change the SMS 200 to 12v rather than the 9V design.

The internal change is only required on Ultra models, as it pertains to the sCLK-10Ex clock board.  I'm attaching a picture that was provided previously by SOTM which shows the positions on the board you need to look for, along with pictures of my own boards (my SMS-200 ultra has rev 1.3 and my tx-USB ultra has rev 1.2). 

For rev 1.3 boards, you just need to remove one or two jumpers.  For version 1.2 it's necessary to remove a blob of solder that connects two solder tabs on the board labelled as R342.  I highlighted jumpers with red circles, and the solder points with blue.

Thanks so much for this info, electrafixion. I am on the verge of buying the old SMS-200 which I've found on sale, so this is very handy and I will surely upgrade myself. Do you still think the best bet is the Kemet, or have you found other candidates? I wonder what is the most important spec in this position in the power supply, low ESR maybe?

When you find the trick to upgrade to the Ultra let us know please 😊

Sorry for the late reply. 

If you're handy then I'd go with the Kemet, but the Nichicon is a much cleaner fit. 

That's a good question about which electrical qualities matter most.  The Kemet is rated to handle very high ripple, but unless you're powering your SMS-200 with a super crappy power supply, that isn't likely to be needed.  The original Elan Tonerex is an "audio grade" cap (a notion of which makes some electrical engineers cringe); generally audio caps have poorer overall specs than other series, and they usually physically larger.  The Kemet is the biggest, so maybe that's what matters most!

As for upgrading to a regular SMS-200 to Ultra, adding a tx-USBultra after your SMS-200 should get you the same results.  That said, I was surprised to discover that adding the tx-USBultra after my SMS-200ultra resulted in a significant improvement in my system.  

Good work, electrafixion!

Learning from your mod, I did also on mine. Since I have caps around, I was able to fit a Kaisei 4700uf. The size is 25mm diameter x 35mm length. Link to the cap here:

https://www.partsconnexion.com/ANKECAP-83880.html

There is still about 3mm extra room at the diameter and about 7mm at the length so the fit is just right. I thought the capacitance is too big which is twice that of the Elna Tonerex that it replaced. I was concerned it will blow up because of the longer current load but after a couple of "burn-in" on and off cycles, everything is fine.

I was ready to add a coupling cap just in case I lose my highs. Audio Note also does not advertise the ESR of Kaisei but, to my surprise, transparency is even enhanced. Highs are preserved and even provided more clarity and details. Mid is magical and sweet. Mid bass is now more pronounced. Bass is driven with ease and the unit is not even fully burned-in yet. Wonderful mod. Thanks, electrafixion!

TopQuark, nice job with the installation. The Audio Note Kaisei caps ranks among the best of electrolytics. Can you please report back if your unit is still stable with the cap with 2x the capacitance of the stock cap?

The unit is very stable. It is on 24/7 and with the Covid-19, it plays music at least 10 hrs/day. A worthwhile upgrade.

I asked a friend who builds amps for a rec on which cap to buy. He's had good luck with Nichicon and suggested this one:

https://www.partsconnexion.com/NICHICON-76223.html

All I had to do was bend the leads to fit it on the board, and sounds great. 

38 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

I asked a friend who builds amps for a rec on which cap to buy. He's had good results with Nichicon and suggested this one:

https://www.partsconnexion.com/NICHICON-76223.html

 

All I had to do was bend the leads to fit it on the board, and sounds great. 

1 hour ago, audiobomber said:

I asked a friend who builds amps for a rec on which cap to buy. He's had good luck with Nichicon and suggested this one:

https://www.partsconnexion.com/NICHICON-76223.html

 

All I had to do was bend the leads to fit it on the board, and sounds great. 

The Nichicon KA series cap you used is an excellent general use audio cap, but the Nichicon KG series cap that I listed in my original post is Nichicon's highest grade cap for this application.  The KG costs twice as much, but it's a direct fit on the board, and it's specifically made for high end audio power supplies.

Parts Connexion is great for boutique parts, but they only carry a small percentage of Nichicon's product catalog.   Digikey and Mouser offer significantly more choices, faster shipping, and better prices.  Anyone can order from Digikey and Mouser, and there's no minimum order.

I just found this thread, and I'm about to do this mod. Going from TopQuark's post, are we not limited 3300uF?

Mundorf Mylitic comes in 4700uF 25V.

@electrafixion Do you think it would be worthwhile to try that?

Also, I'm going to replace the wiring on the SMS200. Any idea of what gauge to use? Are these wires just carrying audio signal or also current?

The factory cap is 25mm tall, and that Mundorf appears to be 50mm tall and 35mm wide (https://www.mundorf.com/audio/en/shop/capacitors/power_caps/mlytic_ag/MLytic-AG/?card=2481), so I don't think it will fit even if you extend the leads and put it sideways. 

Right, I should've looked at the dimensions. But, first, I'm wondering if we have some room in the values and if high-end audiophile caps are worth looking into. 

I'd gladly pay the price of that AN Kasei if it improves on the Evox. 

Also, please let me know if you have any ideas about the wire. I have some 6N silver I repurposed from head phone cables, but I think it's only around 28AWG maybe. I wonder if that will do. 

I installed the AN Kasei and it was easily noticeable versus the stock Neo cap. better tighter and fuller bass and a bit more effortless in the overall sound FWIW. 

Hi. I'm ordering the AN Kaisei cap, but I noticed that it's a snap in, so you have to extend the leads. What gauge hookup wire did you guys use? 

Also, for something like this does it matter if I use silver or gold wire to extend the leads? 

Thanks!

I used Connex 20awg silver hook up wire and Cardas silver solder. The distance to the pads is so short I doubt it makes much if any difference.

Thanks. I'll probably just use silver instead of copper (typed "gold" by mistake). I'm sure you're right and it probably won't make a difference, but just in case. 

While I’m replacing the cap I’m going to put in some noise absorbing sheeting and replace the wiring. 
 

From eyeballing, what do you think the gauge is one the internal wires?

I believe the wiring was inter - board connections and probably 20 awg, maybe thinner. 

Any tip to modify to SE status SotM master clock and Txusb ultra ? 

Does thé SMS 200 ultra  mods above apply ? 

11 minutes ago, Ricardo007 said:

Any tip to modify to SE status SotM master clock and Txusb ultra ? 

Does thé SMS 200 ultra  mods above apply ? 

 

The filter cap in the power input board is only applicable on the SMS-200 and SMS-200 Ultra.  That cap is the only difference between the later Neo models and the originals.

Other sotm products like master clock or TX must also have à power input board with filtering cap before thé local regulator ? 

The USB-TXultra does not have a similar cap, the power goes straight from the power input board to the clock board.  Since SOTM doesn't make a "Neo" version of the USB-TXultra, so it's going to be hard to replicate one.

On 7/23/2020 at 1:02 AM, electrafixion said:

The USB-TXultra does not have a similar cap, the power goes straight from the power input board to the clock board.  Since SOTM doesn't make a "Neo" version of the USB-TXultra, so it's going to be hard to replicate one.

Hello

There is an SE version of TxUSB Ultra involving Evox caps change, since you have also this TxUSB Ultra any idea what kind of caps inside could be upgraded?