"Drop-in" opamp decoupling?

[Icegoldnixon]

Hello,
I've recently acquired a Soundcraft Delta 8 and am cleaning it up. I'm not hell-bent on modifying it as it sounds fine as-is, but there's such a rich history of mods on these consoles I'm considering my options.
One of the things I hear about is upgrading the opamps and adding decoupling, which is a well-trod discussion here I think. But what I often see are (IMO) big ugly caps strapped to the back of the PCB looking all wonky.  It's probably dumb to worry about aesthetics inside my console, but I'm going to anyway.

What I'm wondering is, could you make "pre-decoupled" opamps that would need no modification to the stock PCB? In researching, I found these links that look like what I imagine:

https://sjostromaudio.com/pages/index.php/hifi-projects/107-adp05-high-end-smd-to-dil-adapters
https://www.elektormagazine.com/labs/so8-to-dip8-adapter-for-opamps-and-more-1

Would something like this be effective? I'd imagine the types of decoupling available would be limited, but maybe they'd be the kind I need. Thanks!

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Hello,
I've recently acquired a Soundcraft Delta 8 and am cleaning it up. I'm not hell-bent on modifying it as it sounds fine as-is, but there's such a rich history of mods on these consoles I'm considering my options.
One of the things I hear about is upgrading the opamps and adding decoupling, which is a well-trod discussion here I think. But what I often see are (IMO) big ugly caps strapped to the back of the PCB looking all wonky.  It's probably dumb to worry about aesthetics inside my console, but I'm going to anyway.

What I'm wondering is, could you make "pre-decoupled" opamps that would need no modification to the stock PCB? In researching, I found these links that look like what I imagine:

https://sjostromaudio.com/pages/index.php/hifi-projects/107-adp05-high-end-smd-to-dil-adapters
https://www.elektormagazine.com/labs/so8-to-dip8-adapter-for-opamps-and-more-1

Would something like this be effective? I'd imagine the types of decoupling available would be limited, but maybe they'd be the kind I need. Thanks!

Decoupling in Soundcraft mixers is pretty good from the start, meaning there is no need to add decoupling caps, as each IC has its count of decoupling caps.
Any improvement would imply modifying the ground distribution. That is a global concept that encompasses thickening ground traces on the channels and increasing the section of ground conductors on the frame.
Putting additional local decoupling would bring nothing at all.

 

[Icegoldnixon]

Thanks for the reply!
Wouldn't I need more decoupling if I swapped for more modern opamps though? I definitely wouldn't feel the need to just add more decoupling and leave it at that.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Thanks for the reply!
Wouldn't I need more decoupling if I swapped for more modern opamps though? I definitely wouldn't feel the need to just add more decoupling and leave it at that.

What is your logic for thinking that? 

The WWW is full of both good and bad advice... I consider Abbey's advice good.

JR

 

[Newmarket]

Thanks for the reply!
Wouldn't I need more decoupling if I swapped for more modern opamps though? I definitely wouldn't feel the need to just add more decoupling and leave it at that.

By more modern do you mean 'faster' a dubious term implying greater bandwidth ? I'd go with Abbey's advice. Real improvement probably required bus bar ground ( as I've seen on DDA desks) or 4 layer pcb. To facilitate ground and port planes.

 

[Icegoldnixon]

Thanks for the weigh-in everyone, looks like I'll be leaving well enough alone except for some recapping.
Does anyone have comments on the links I posted? Would that type of setup be useful in any way?