Found this "Audio Enhancer" PCI/PCI express card on Aliexpress - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 22, 2020, 02:25:14 pm
content: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000360622267.htmlSo... any idea how this is supposed to work ?lolI bet none of those 100v caps are connected to anything... I bet only the LED's are connected.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2020, 07:22:38 pm
content: How many types of capacitors can we put on a single card?I mean - I think they win at that, at least.How a bunch of capacitors on the PCI lines is going to improve the audio when the audio signals do not travel on the PCI bus is beyond me. And especially since the better audio woo-woo motherboards make a big deal about how they fully isolate the audio portion from the rest of the MB (and indeed they do have isolated ground planes, and big gaps around the audio bits in many cases).

author: twospoons
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2020, 11:14:18 pm
content: Quote from: SantaClaw on March 22, 2020, 02:25:14 pmYes.buy a bunch or surplus/fake capsstick to a pcbsell to stupid puntersprofit!

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2020, 03:17:19 pm
content: Quote from: rrinker on March 23, 2020, 07:22:38 pmI suppose, if they are real caps connected to anything, that they are just all connected between power lines and ground. PCI connectors expose 3.3V, 5V and +/-12V supplies.Whether it has any sizable effect on the power lines throughout the motherboard is another matter, and whether if it does, it has any effect on audio (I suppose this is mainly meant for integrated audio) is yet another one. Any decent audio section on motherboards will have the required power filtering. If it's originally crap, just putting a bunch of caps relatively far away from the audio section is probably not going to do much.Anyway whereas I doubt it has any useful effect, unless it's just 100% fake (which well could be), it's clearly to add a bunch of caps in parallel on the motherboard power lines IMO. It has nothing to do with how the audio signals travel, but I guess is just meant to lower voltage ripple on all power lines. Likely useless in practice though.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2020, 05:55:32 pm
content: Yeah, that's what it seems to be. Only the two DIP8 chips are a bit of a mystery.Are they opamps? Can we roll them?

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2020, 05:58:04 pm
content: Quote from: magic on March 25, 2020, 05:55:32 pmLED drivers?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2020, 06:11:59 pm
content: Common mode filters if the TDK parts are genuine:https://www.jp.tdk.com/tefe02/e971_zjys.pdfWondering what they could be used for as they are useful only connected in "series", and on this PCI board, I can't figure out how they could possibly insert anything across power rails.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2020, 06:26:43 pm
content: I regret not saving the picture of some audio gear I have seen modified with an array of capacitors ranging from big fat elcos down to ceramic disks at fraction of a pF. All of them of course THT parts with long leads and stuffed in one cornerQuote from: SiliconWizard on March 25, 2020, 06:11:59 pmI suppose either the capacitors or the LEDs must be connected through them. Not that it makes sense either way, but whatever

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2020, 02:45:51 pm
content: Quote from: magic on March 25, 2020, 06:26:43 pmThey could be used not as common mode filters, but as part of LC snubbers. Not again that it would make a lot of sense here. Just trying to honestly "reverse-engineer" this, however useless the product is per se.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2020, 01:30:10 am
content: It reminds me of this, 11 years ago:http://www.hisdigital.com/ca/product2-388.shtml(If you search for "his iclear" you'll find plenty of other articles about its ineffectiveness.)The theory is that it's more decoupling for the power rails, which may theoretically reduce noise in audio. It might actually make a difference with a marginal power supply (with bad caps) and a badly designed motherboard/sound card...

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2020, 02:28:26 am
content: Works on the following wayYou give money for a totally useless board, that does nothing with a lot of capacitors in a very noise environment, all placed in the worst possible point, The seller takes you money that's It