Upgrading to a Dolby 650

[Don Furr]

I used a CP500 for years and upgraded to a 650. It lasted a few months and DIED!! I re-installed the 500 and it's beginning to sound a bit old and sick so I'm going to roll the dice and upgrade back to a 650.
It's been and long time so I don' remember all the details and the hookup for EX. I'm using a SA10 with the 500 now for EX. Do I need any additional gear to get the 650 to pass EX? Any special wiring? I already have a CAT 790 from my old 650.
Thanks guys for any help.

[Marco Giustini]

The biggest cause of failure for a 650 is the power supply. See if you can get a spare - you can also adapt a similar one as long as it has the same rating and voltages.

The 650 can support EX internally - or you can still use your SA10 but the 650's is much better at doing that. Can I make sure you're going to use it for 35mm? There is no EX on Digital Cinema But the 650 supports 7.1 (with the same card which supports EX so it's a win-win).

The cat 790 is the one you're looking for. When you install it, the surrounds won't be output from the main output connector but from the OPTION connector instead. For 7.1 operations you'll need the latest FW which is 2.3.6.6 (if memory serves). It used NOT to be free but I doubt it's going to be a problem nowadays!

Try to avoid the 650 digital input as it's glitchy - latest 791's and latest beta firmware improve on the issue though.

[Sam Chavez]

BACP still has a trove of new power supplies and spare boards. Agree with Marco's advice The 791 is a digital crossover so he's maybe thinking of 792 or 794. We're pretty much closing out the 650 line so make your requests.

[Marco Giustini]

I keep mixing up the numbers of those boards! I meant 790 - I didn't even know the 794 was available with AES inputs! Was the 790 newer than the 794?

[Martin Brooks]

FYI: a bunch of Dolby processors on eBay. Even if they don't fully work, certainly good for parts I would think: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...essor&_sacat=0

[Steve Guttag]

The CAT 794 came first...it only had a single pair of AES but it had the transformers to work with either unbalanced S/PDIF (AES3-id) or balanced (AES3). It would also do Surround-EX. The CAT790 replaced it and has 4 pairs of AES3-id (unbalanced) inputs.

[Jim Cassedy]

I've worked with a lot of CP-650's over the years, they still seem to be the mainstay in most of the film
booths I work in, and I own two of them myself. The only problems I've seen people have with them is
either the power supply, or the power switch, both of which are relatively easily sourced & replaced. On
some of the really early models that are still in operation, the little bulbs that light up the format buttons
have burned out- - which is also an easy fix, although in later models Dolby stopped using incandescent
bulbs and began using LED's.

[Marco Giustini]

incandescent bulbs! I didn't know that! Amazing!

Steve, thanks.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

All the 650's we sold while I worked for CLACO in Salt Lake CIty 2005 to about 2012 died as the result of failing capacitors manufactured during the "capacitor plague". DYS suffered the exact same problem on literally thousands of players. It's actually not the power supply manufactures or Dolby's fault as the plague was unknown when the capacitors were installed on the board. Failures for me got to be so frequent that I rebuilt failed supplies right in the booth(s). Generally these capacitors leak brown or black stuff on the top as you see in the attached image. But don't replace JUST those. Replace all the caps on the board. The cost of the parts is under $20. If you are not up to replacing them your self, then get a new one from Sam. The newer supplies don't have those capacitors. And after I rebuilt, or replaced the supply, they did not fail again. Oh, and if you order caps to do it your self... get 105 deg C. rated caps.

[Don Furr]

What is the price of a new PS?

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

What is the price of a new PS?

Reach out to Sam Chavez at BACP.

[Marco Giustini]

None of the faulty 650 PSU's I've replaced had issues with capacitors, it was a different component. Is the PSU used in the US different from ROW? That picture doesn't look like a 650 PSU, at least not the ones I have in mind.

[Sam Chavez]

There were three different power supply vendors. Lambda, integrated Power, and the last and current vendor whose name escapes me for the moment. AFAIK, power supplies were the same for all markets as they were all 110/220.

[Marco Giustini]

Gotcha, thanks. I've only encountered the Integrated Power Design ones.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

None of the faulty 650 PSU's I've replaced had issues with capacitors, it was a different component. Is the PSU used in the US different from ROW? That picture doesn't look like a 650 PSU, at least not the ones I have in mind.

The picture is just the switching end of the board. Not the conversion / rectification end. However one will typically find the same leaky capacitors on the entire PS board...

Also note that the Caps on the XD-10 motherboards leaked the exact same way. If you sent your XD-10 to DTS for repair it cost give or take, about $1200. They installed a different motherboard which also required different metal parts. Recapping the original A-Open MB's only took about 90 minutes. So, about $15 in caps and what ever 90 minutes of your time would be.