BLA Tweakhead vs. BLA base mod FW1814

fhinspectit · 13th October 2007, 11:31 PM

Decided to go with BLA mod for m-audio fw1814. The question is: Is there That big a difference in the tweakhead vs. the basic mod?

Base mod:

When approaching the FW1814, we wanted first of all to clean up the quality of the audio signal as it heads into and comes out of the conversion process. We achieved this by using an amplifier with roughly half the noise, twenty times the bandwidth, and forty times the speed of the existing circuit. By doing this, we not only reduce noise, we improve the ability of the circuit to provide a clean, detailed signal.
The second area we wanted to address is, of course, the internal clock. We knew from our experiments with clock circuitry and propagation that we would need some way to limit oscillator jitter and noise down to the theoretical minimum, so we've developed an internal clock for the 1814 that utilizes a proprietary method that limits jitter at the clock source to 3-4 picoseconds.

In addition to the base mod the tweakhead includes:

What's really cool is that we have developed methods to take the 1814 even further. By implementing the same approaches to converter decoupling that we offer in our 002 modification, we can reduce distortion within the conversion process itself. And by utilizing a higher power supply voltage for the analog stage, we can increase headroom by 15dB!

In laymens terms what is the benefit of the Tweakhead option and what benefits are there to the base mod.... Love to here from FW1814 users who got the mod also.

Akoppenheffer · 14th October 2007, 04:11 AM

Black Lion mod for M-Audio FW1814

fhinspectit · 14th October 2007, 04:33 AM

Guess I could have done that. Thanks......

aleatoric · 14th October 2007, 07:44 PM

i am curious about the Black Lion mod for my FW1814 too. Although I really could care less about the improvement on the pre's as I got a good external pre, would be more interested to hear how the converters are improved. It seems like for me money would be better off spent getting an RME AD-I and using that for conversion and clock. anyone have experience with this?

sexxy · 14th October 2007, 11:57 PM

i doubt it would sound better than my setup,
and im shure it will not have better Asio/Ds drivers than my Lynx Aes16 with SynchroLock(TM) + Ls-Adat + Emu 1820m AD/DA, + apogee wide-eye wordclock cable

Wordclock i think its about >30%
analog circuit design <30% and
chip brand/model >40% of the AD/DA sound
plugins are another story!

i would get a Lynx Aes16 + Ls-Adat + some decent AD/DA box and apogee WordClock cable
like
esi 032 , esi ex8000 , emu 1820m , aurora 8, rme adi-2/8qs, behringer src2496, uaudio 2192, mytek , lavry, weiss, etc...etc...etc...

i use the Lynx Aes16 as the master souncard an the emu 1820m soundcard just for AD/DA, but im considering to buy an aurora8, ssl alpha link or uaudio 2192

dont forget to make an
http://audio.rightmark.org
RMAA test Before/After of every channel
ive seen 1 mod in a 1010lt, that are was not 1OO% flawless
channeels 1&2 was worse and the others were OK

Akoppenheffer · 15th October 2007, 02:51 AM

Mine's going to BLA next week. Can't wait. Anyone know where the serial number is located on the 1814?

Coyoteous · 15th October 2007, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleatoric

i am curious about the Black Lion mod for my FW1814 too. Although I really could care less about the improvement on the pre's as I got a good external pre, would be more interested to hear how the converters are improved. It seems like for me money would be better off spent getting an RME AD-I and using that for conversion and clock. anyone have experience with this?

- me too. I'm using and ADI-2 with my 1814, which is a very nice combo, though I would like to have more "good" channels. And remember, an 1814 is never 18x14, because you can't use adat and s/pdif at the same time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akoppenheffer

Mine's going to BLA next week. Can't wait. Anyone know where the serial number is located on the 1814?

My 1814 has no S/N. I thought maybe the sticker had come off, but when I asked M-Audio they said it didn't have one! Mine is about 2 years old - maybe they have numbers now...

TurboJets · 15th October 2007, 02:38 PM

There's no SN on the 1814 so don't worry about it. I've been happy with my 1814 Tweakhead mod and have to say it's a vast improvement overall, if for no ther reason than the level of clarity I have now and the headroom I gained. Transients or more audible than I ever imagined and it's opened up a whole new door of (welcomed) performance challenges as a result.

If I didn't already have an 1814 I'd definitely just buy an RME interface, but since I already had an 1814 the BLA mod just made more sense over popping $800+ for new pre's or $800 for an upgraded interface.

By the way - Bass response is really worth mentioning with the Tweakhead mod. I never thought I'd ever hear such amazing lows as I do with the 1814 now.

Akoppenheffer · 16th October 2007, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboJets

There's no SN on the 1814 so don't worry about it. I've been happy with my 1814 Tweakhead mod and have to say it's a vast improvement overall, if for no ther reason than the level of clarity I have now and the headroom I gained. Transients or more audible than I ever imagined and it's opened up a whole new door of (welcomed) performance challenges as a result.

If I didn't already have an 1814 I'd definitely just buy an RME interface, but since I already had an 1814 the BLA mod just made more sense over popping $800+ for new pre's or $800 for an upgraded interface.

By the way - Bass response is really worth mentioning with the Tweakhead mod. I never thought I'd ever hear such amazing lows as I do with the 1814 now.

Hell yeah, now I'm even more pumped. Thanks!

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View Poll Results: BLA Mod Which one and why
BLA Base Mod for the M-Audio FW1814	1	20.00%
BLA Tweakhead mod for the M-Audio FW1814	4	80.00%
Voters: 5. You may not vote on this poll

13th October 2007, 11:31 PM	#1
fhinspectit Gear nut Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 88	BLA Tweakhead vs. BLA base mod FW1814 Decided to go with BLA mod for m-audio fw1814. The question is: Is there That big a difference in the tweakhead vs. the basic mod? Base mod: When approaching the FW1814, we wanted first of all to clean up the quality of the audio signal as it heads into and comes out of the conversion process. We achieved this by using an amplifier with roughly half the noise, twenty times the bandwidth, and forty times the speed of the existing circuit. By doing this, we not only reduce noise, we improve the ability of the circuit to provide a clean, detailed signal. The second area we wanted to address is, of course, the internal clock. We knew from our experiments with clock circuitry and propagation that we would need some way to limit oscillator jitter and noise down to the theoretical minimum, so we've developed an internal clock for the 1814 that utilizes a proprietary method that limits jitter at the clock source to 3-4 picoseconds. In addition to the base mod the tweakhead includes: What's really cool is that we have developed methods to take the 1814 even further. By implementing the same approaches to converter decoupling that we offer in our 002 modification, we can reduce distortion within the conversion process itself. And by utilizing a higher power supply voltage for the analog stage, we can increase headroom by 15dB! In laymens terms what is the benefit of the Tweakhead option and what benefits are there to the base mod.... Love to here from FW1814 users who got the mod also.

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14th October 2007, 04:11 AM	#2
Akoppenheffer Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 426	Black Lion mod for M-Audio FW1814

14th October 2007, 04:33 AM	#3
fhinspectit Gear nut Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 88	Guess I could have done that. Thanks......

14th October 2007, 07:44 PM	#4
aleatoric Gear nut Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 143	i am curious about the Black Lion mod for my FW1814 too. Although I really could care less about the improvement on the pre's as I got a good external pre, would be more interested to hear how the converters are improved. It seems like for me money would be better off spent getting an RME AD-I and using that for conversion and clock. anyone have experience with this?

14th October 2007, 11:57 PM	#5
sexxy Banned Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 309	i doubt it would sound better than my setup, and im shure it will not have better Asio/Ds drivers than my Lynx Aes16 with SynchroLock(TM) + Ls-Adat + Emu 1820m AD/DA, + apogee wide-eye wordclock cable Wordclock i think its about >30% analog circuit design <30% and chip brand/model >40% of the AD/DA sound plugins are another story! i would get a Lynx Aes16 + Ls-Adat + some decent AD/DA box and apogee WordClock cable like esi 032 , esi ex8000 , emu 1820m , aurora 8, rme adi-2/8qs, behringer src2496, uaudio 2192, mytek , lavry, weiss, etc...etc...etc... i use the Lynx Aes16 as the master souncard an the emu 1820m soundcard just for AD/DA, but im considering to buy an aurora8, ssl alpha link or uaudio 2192 dont forget to make an http://audio.rightmark.org RMAA test Before/After of every channel ive seen 1 mod in a 1010lt, that are was not 1OO% flawless channeels 1&2 was worse and the others were OK

15th October 2007, 02:51 AM	#6
Akoppenheffer Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 426	Mine's going to BLA next week. Can't wait. Anyone know where the serial number is located on the 1814?

15th October 2007, 02:38 PM	#8
TurboJets Gear maniac Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 226	There's no SN on the 1814 so don't worry about it. I've been happy with my 1814 Tweakhead mod and have to say it's a vast improvement overall, if for no ther reason than the level of clarity I have now and the headroom I gained. Transients or more audible than I ever imagined and it's opened up a whole new door of (welcomed) performance challenges as a result. If I didn't already have an 1814 I'd definitely just buy an RME interface, but since I already had an 1814 the BLA mod just made more sense over popping $800+ for new pre's or $800 for an upgraded interface. By the way - Bass response is really worth mentioning with the Tweakhead mod. I never thought I'd ever hear such amazing lows as I do with the 1814 now.