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Op-Amp
Modification
Warning!
The
following “Destructions” are provided out of an overwhelming request
by fellow VS Planeteers. Everything you are about to do is at your own
risk. This will void any warrantee that you may have with Roland. This
“Destruction Modification” is by no means sanctioned by Roland. You
are fully responsible for your actions and safety. By no means will you
hold anyone legally or morally responsible for any alteration you or
anyone else performs on your property. Only those who possess advanced
skills should attempt this or any other modification to their property.
It is
strongly recommended that you do not attempt this modification.
©Gerry
Marshall 2003
On with the
show…
In the beginning, the question was
debated; What could be done to make the VS2480 sound better all on its
own? One solution is to replace the aging 5532 op amp with something
newer. Get your tools together, crack open a cold one and let’s get
started. Thanks to Mike for being an instigator.
1.Start by
removing the hard drive. (For the internal hard drive model, it will be
anchored in). Be careful from here on out. Remove 3 screws located just
below the gain knob section on the top surface. Remove all gain,
headphone and monitor knobs. Then flip the machine over with the back of
the unit facing you. Remove 38 screws from the bottom plate (but not the
screws holding the FX bay plate, not necessary). Then remove 17 screws
that hold the back face panel to the chassis. Remove the back face
panel, then the bottom panel carefully.
2. Once the back face panel and
bottom cover are removed, you will see 4 main sections. Remove the power
section. (The power section is located on the lower right). There are 6
wire plugs to be removed from the top. Follow the diagram and carefully
remove plugs 1 through 6.
3. Remove 3 screws from the power
section cage. There are 2 more plugs to remove. First remove the (1)
larger green and white wire plug from the first circuit board. Then
carefully tilt the power section back at a height of no more than 3”.
Reach under the cage and remove the (2) smaller green and white wire
plug from the third circuit board assembly. Slowly remove the power
section by lifting it straight up.
4. Moving to the circuit board
section, follow the diagram and remove 4 wire plugs from the first
circuit board. Then remove 6 screws from the top of the first circuit
board. (Any installed FX cards do not have to be removed). Remove the 12
screws (that hold the first circuit board) from the back plate. (There
will be 4 screws and 8 3/16” hex). Carefully lift the first circuit
board out.
5. Remove 4 screws from the metal
cage attached to the second circuit board. Lift the small plate out to
show the hidden wire plug. Remove wire plugs 1 through 5 as shown above.
Remove 8 screws from the back plate and carefully lift out the second
circuit board with its metal cage attached. Once the second circuit
board is removed, its metal cage can be removed. On the top of the
second circuit board, there will be 2 op amps for the headphones. Remove
these op amps and install sockets in their place. (Read removal warning
before doing this operation). New op amps can now be installed and
removed as newer technology becomes available.
6. On the opposite side of the
second circuit board is where the “Preamp
Fix” is performed.
7. Remove the Blue and White wire
plug from the third circuit board assembly. Remove 7 screws from the
metal cage that hold the third circuit board. (Leave the three circuit
board screws alone for now). Carefully lift out the metal cage. Turn the
third circuit board cage over and remove 17 nuts and washers with a ½”
socket. Next remove 16 screws from the XLR sockets. Turn the cage back
over (facing down) and remove the 3 screws holding the third circuit
board to the metal cage. Lift the circuit board straight up and out.
Everything was easy to this point. Now comes the real fun!
8. The original stock op amps are attached directly to
the circuit board and are an absolute pain in the ass to remove. The
best way to extract them is to carefully cut all 8 legs off each op amp
first. Then carefully remove the legs from the circuit board one at a
time.
WARNING!
If you do not thoroughly melt the solder that holds the legs, before you
extract them, you will pull out part of the circuit board material. That
would be a bad thing to do!
After all of the original op amps
are removed, sockets can be installed in their place on the circuit
board. Now the new op amps can be installed and changed as better
technology becomes available. I have personally chosen the OPA2604 op
amp for all 16 inputs and the OPA2134 for the headphone section. Feel
free to explore other options but always be mindful of pin
configuration. Time to put it all back together…
Good luck!
(Back
to Preamp Fix Page)
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