Welp, since I have a soldering kit on the way thanks to deciding to fix a monitor that died on me (and preparing to fix the second one in case it also dies, and deciding to try to fix an amp for some speakers that died a while back) I thought I might as well start planning my mod/upgrade for my Focusrite 6i6. Heheh 
I came across this thread, where a user says he replaced the OPAMPS and plans to replace the headphone drivers as well.
A. I am not sure if the OPAMPS are the only thing that affects getting a strong and clean signal out of a microphone... but I am using microphones in my front inputs and would love to get a stronger and cleaner signal for this one mic that needs a lot of gain. So, is there a way to identify the OPAMPS for the two front XLR inputs? Might also be worth mentioning that out of the two XLR inputs the one on the far left ("01") is noticeably more noisy.
B. I am also very interested in upgrading the headphone driver/s like that user mentioned. And... I also should mention, that there seems to be an issue with the headphone output on the far right ("HP1") which is that when I lower the volume all the way, the left channel remains clearly audible. I really only need one headphone output though...
Which are the BEST components I could use out of the ones he mentions in his post?
Here are some photos. The first is too far from the unit but it covers the whole board, the second are two separate photos but much sharper.
I came across this thread, where a user says he replaced the OPAMPS and plans to replace the headphone drivers as well.
Please don't skimp on opamps. I took apart my 6i6 today and replaced all the NJM4565 (8 in total?) with OPA2228 and LM4562 (THD+N in the order of 0.00005%), retaining only the NJM2122 and TL072 on the mic pre. Boy! The sound is so much more pristine now! The NJM4565 doesn't do justice to the 2 CS4272 converters in there!!! I would gladly pay $50 more for better opamps!
I love this unit now!!
I love this unit now!!
As far as I can remember, you'd have to remove the nuts and screws on all the connectors at the rear. Remove the back panel and use a long flat head screwdriver from the rear to release the catch of the front panel before the board can slide out from the front.
On the board, you will see quite a number of NJM4565 (7 or 8 of them on the output stages if I recall correctly). I would recommend to replace them all with the LM4562 in the SOIC-8 package. They are pin to pin replacements, so it's a matter of just soldering and desoldering.
There are also several (2?) TL072 in the input stage which might benefit from the LM4562 also.
I might also consider to replace the headphone drivers (I can't remember if they were NJM4556?) with LMH6643 or AD8397. When I do get to that, I will remember to take some pictures.
On the board, you will see quite a number of NJM4565 (7 or 8 of them on the output stages if I recall correctly). I would recommend to replace them all with the LM4562 in the SOIC-8 package. They are pin to pin replacements, so it's a matter of just soldering and desoldering.
There are also several (2?) TL072 in the input stage which might benefit from the LM4562 also.
I might also consider to replace the headphone drivers (I can't remember if they were NJM4556?) with LMH6643 or AD8397. When I do get to that, I will remember to take some pictures.
B. I am also very interested in upgrading the headphone driver/s like that user mentioned. And... I also should mention, that there seems to be an issue with the headphone output on the far right ("HP1") which is that when I lower the volume all the way, the left channel remains clearly audible. I really only need one headphone output though...
Which are the BEST components I could use out of the ones he mentions in his post?
Here are some photos. The first is too far from the unit but it covers the whole board, the second are two separate photos but much sharper.
Attached Files
Comment