Ovening issues with TS950SDX

Force them Rigs to accept True Voodoo!
Post Reply
JJ2013
Voodoo Audiophile
Posts: 141
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:16 pm

Ovening issues with TS950SDX

Post by JJ2013 »

Hi you all Audio Heads!

I seem to have read somewhere on this forum about the TS950 SDX and that some of these rigs may not have been "reflowed" resulting in very bad
solder contact! Could you someone confirm this and tell me if you know what the good serial numbers are?

Sure would appreciate some info!

JJ

User avatar
Voodoo Guru
VooDoo Site Admin
Posts: 719
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:47 am
Location: Down there on the right...

Best TS-950sdx S/N to get

Post by Voodoo Guru »

Howdy JJ,

Yes there are several reasons to try and get a later S/N.

1 - The early S/N rigs had several problems with external computer control, and other internal anomalies. The fix for these problems was a new firmware revision on the ROM chip. There were actually about 6 revisions of this chip throughout the SDX's lifetime.

2 - The first 3 years (30 - 50 million S/N) had problems with the Wave Soldering machine temperature. This along with an alloy that was hard to solder on the leads of the CP1- CP4 gang resister chips, made for an intermittent connection over time. This caused a bunch of anomalies with frequency dependent circuits in the rig. This problem has also been seen on the later S/N rigs, although not near as frequent.

3 - There were several problems with the early units that prompted Service Bulletins with subsequent circuit changes. The 30 million is the worst, with the 40 mill running second, and requires allot of them to be accomplished. Also there are 2 circuit boards in the 30 million that are different then the later model SDX, but they can be made electrically equivalent.

Those are the Major differences.

So with all that said, here are the S/N to production years:

1991 = 30 million
1992 = 40 million
1993 = 50 million
1994 = 60 million
1995 = 70 million
1996 = 80 million
1997 = 90 million
1998 = 00 million
1999 = 10 million
2000 = 20 million

The best S/N to look for are from 70 to 20 million with the range toward 20 million being the best.

The 60 million are also good since the ROM chips can now be gotten.

If you want to do the S/B work and update them, then the 40 to 50 million are ok.

The 30 millions require allot of work, but can be made very dependable.

Hope that answered all your questions,
Take Care,
Voodoo Guru
From Deep in the IDD of the Sub-Harmonix Realm

JJ2013
Voodoo Audiophile
Posts: 141
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:16 pm

TS950SDX Ovening issue

Post by JJ2013 »

Hey VooDoo Guru!

I sure value the detailed response which provides a lot of information. This must've taken some time, but I am positive that not just I but others will find very useful.

Best of greetings and 73's!!

NI2M

PU2OYL
Audio Head
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 2:11 pm

Post by PU2OYL »

OK,

I have the 31 million unit, and it has been working flawlessly so far...

Where do I find all the necessary information to update the firmware and prevent the problems from happening?

Thank you!

Post Reply