Here are pics (not the best quality) of the guys mod/rebuilding of the drive-custom power supply and chassis (double shell)--pretty elaborate:
Here's some more text I translated with google translate from:
http://api.guide.free.fr/blog/archive026.htmHe's noting actual sound quality differences between different optical drives:
"(*) The CDAD listening report read on the CD-SACD Phi Audiophile living room turntable will be read on the update
(**) When listening to the same ripped audio file, the Benq drive is less analytical than the Samsung. Samsung is more neutral, more detailed, cleaner. The Benq would seem more messy, its extreme bass is less varied, a little inflated. The Benq accentuates the lower midrange and the upper bass a little ... But it is its flaws that make it so charming, a charm made up of life, flesh, spontaneity, energy ... this is the illustration even the art of lying-truth ... and which earned him the note 9.5 in my ear. We can tell it's a bit colorful, but it's such a treat that we don't care about neutrality. The Benq has the advantage over the Samsung that it can be easily implemented even for less DIY enthusiasts.
(***) To benefit both from its precision, from its analytical power and at the same time from the same vitality as the Benq, the Samsung drive requires a lot of reconstruction work. But it's really worth it since in its final version it subjectively reaches a higher score, at 9.8.
(****) The comments on the final version (click) will be read on the update "91-power-ripp.htm file"
The two drives after transformation come together to give a very close sound reproduction, while very far at the start. As soon as we approach a certain perfection the differences fade in favor of an increased proximity with the damn original audio, the master tape. The final difference will be a personal musical choice, a more analytical sound rendering or a warmer sound rendering (the feeling will of course be much more subtle and nuanced than these coarse qualifiers). It can also be a practical choice if you find a used Benq drive. The DIY part will then be reduced."
He has a table where he documents his observations per each level of modification, where each series of mods, he notes improvements, rated on a scale of 1-10 (put the link into google translate to see the actual table).
"Match of old and new: DAE compared to external USB2 or internal UC CD-DVD drives / burners
Power supply 12v, 5v, original
With external power supply + Silmic2 filtering
With external power supply + Silmic2 filtering + cocooning + Pharos
With external power supply + Silmic2 filtering + cocooning + drive mounted in the audiophile Phi box, without then with Pharos, finally in its final version in a double shell case."