Sound (OPAMP) upgrade ?

[kwongwt]

Hi guys, I am using my Athena mostly for GPS and music playback. While the Athena has better sound than most other PDAs that I've tried, I think there is still room for improvement. Does anyone know what sound chip (OPAMP) is used? And best can anyone show me a photo of the opamp? I think changing the opamp will improve the sound greatly, as I have tried that on various sound cards on my PC.

Thanks in advance!

[ranj9119]

well i think its a good idea!

[mikealder]

The good old 741 is a decent little OPAMP, if you think you can improve the sound quality by swapping out surface mounted chips you will only ruin the hardware - forget the idea, where do you expect to get any software drivers for the more exotic chip sets? - Mike

[kwongwt]

The good old 741 is a decent little OPAMP, if you think you can improve the sound quality by swapping out surface mounted chips you will only ruin the hardware - forget the idea, where do you expect to get any software drivers for the more exotic chip sets? - Mike

Thanks Mike for the info. So you mean it uses a SOIC 741 op-amp? 741 is usually single channel, if I remember correctly. I have no problem replacing surface mount op-amps, as I have done for this sound card :

http://www.pbase.com/image/103799330/original.jpg

The original OPA2134UA were replaced by the 3 AD8620. I am hoping that the Athena uses the same SOIC op-amp then it will be easy to swap. I think the op-amp is in the analogue section and should not require any drivers.

I hope someone can show me a clear photo of the circuit board near the headphone output area. Then I will have a good idea whether the op-amp can be replaced.