THIS MOD WILL NOT INCREASE THE POWER OF LOUDSPEAKERS.


If you want to go straight to the modding process, skip the following paragraph.

When I tried to use the 3DS for the first time, I am very disappointed on the earphone volume of the system. It's very weak compared to other Nintendo handhelds even with in-ear earphones with low impedance. To mitigate this problem, I built a DIY headphone amp because I don't have a spare budget for buying a commercial amp and I like to build my own amp. The problem is, every time that I travel with my 3DS, I need bring my amp to fully enjoy the sounds of the games that I play. One day when I disassembled my unit to clean its buttons, I used that time to analyze the connected components to the earphone socket and I discovered resistors connected to the left and right output channels in series. I measured the resistance of these resistors and the value of both resistors is 25 ohms. When I plugged in my 16 ohm earphones, I measured again the resistance of both channels and and the result is approximately 45 ohms per channel. There's some additional resistance from the coil connected to the aforementioned resistors and the wire of earphones.

After performing measurements, I suddenly thought if eliminating these resistors will increase the output because of reduced resistance of the earphones. So, I bridged the ends of resistors to bring down the resistance to 0 ohms. After soldering the resistors, I turned on my unit to test my hypothesis if it works. And the result? The output is way louder than before! I compared it to my neighbor's unit and the difference is night and day. The treble is more crisp and the bass is more deeper. With this mod, I'm not bringing my amp when I use my in-ear earphones anymore.

Well, let's begin with the modding procedure!

Steps:

1. Disassemble your unit. If you never disassembled a 3DS before, go to this site:
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Nintendo_Handheld_Console
You only need to access the side where the earphone socket is mounted.

2. Locate the resistors. Here are the photos of each model of 3DS. The resistors are marked with red boxes.

Old 3DS:



Old 3DS XL:



2DS:

No photo for now since I don't have one.

New 3DS:

Same with 2DS.

New 3DS XL:



3. Bridge the ends of each resistors as shown on the photo below.





Alternate method: remove the resistors and bridge the ends of solder pads. Sorry if I forgot to take a photo of bridged solder pads.



4. Clean the remaining flux on the board (if there's any) and test your unit.

5. If the sounds is louder than before modding, congratulations! You completed this mod!


To describe how loud it is, it's louder than any Nintendo handheld except to DMG-001. Best results with low impedance earphones.

To 2DS and New 3DS users who want to try this mod, the resistors are usually located near to the earphone socket. Let me know if you found these resistors and post some photos.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Foxi4]

Oh, I just mean that to be a temporary test mechanism and nothing more. After testing (successfully or not) it should be removed. It's just a simple quick way to test without needing a soldering iron.

The conductive pens use a thick enough material to work on a non-flat surface. I have doubts about a pencil, but somehow it used to work on those CPUs back in the day. Mind you they probably weren't too picky about resistance as long as it was non-infinity.

To be fair, graphite is an awesome conductor, the only reason why it's not used extensively is because it's brittle, really. I remember companies making flex cables out of thin pieces of plastic with graphite "leads" sandwiched between them, specifically for laser applications, but I think they've moved away from that due to failure rates of such ribbons. You can still see carbon leads here and there - there's some inside the Dualshock 4, actually, and they're a pain in the ass. You could make whole circuit boards with the stuff if it wasn't so easy to wipe off.

 

[GuitarJav]

Hola, I made a pseudo diagram, to show the measurements I was getting in the DSi xl, only the components and also with the impedance of the headphone:
*I was testing the resistance of all the componentes near the area of the jack , and the continuity of right and left channel too, only this two components near to that area mark continuity.

for me looks like this two pair could be ,but I have my doubts to see that it doesnt give me the same resistance that op.

The conductive pen looks like an incredible idea to try, tomorrow I will go where my friend, which I tell you before,he will help me checking the board, if all looks fine ,make those blessed bridges in the resistors.Then everything will be happiness.
thanks for all your time guys, I really apreciate all your answers.

 

[GuitarJav]

OK guys I did it; To the end were the resistors I was talking about (the ones that mark 98.7 - 102.7 ,the small ones), I'm very happy with the result, now it's heard quite loudly, that I even have to lower it a level so as not to hurt me. The small resistors was removed. I really like the sound characteristics of the DSi XL, That is why I wanted to complete the mod. Thank you for AALLL the help lend you guys, Now I can rest in peace.

In the video the first 15 seconds its an approximation of how it sounds factory.
After that I turn up the volume to the maximum.

 

[Foxi4]

Sweet! Job well done. I wasn't sure about those components, I'm used to SMT resistors being normally black, but to be fair, all SMT components look the same to me. You can't tell them apart without a good magnifying glass or a handheld microscope. I guess we have another machine mapped then - great! Just out of curiosity, have you noticed any markings at all on those things?

EDIT: Oh, you mean smaller in size? The 100-odd ohm ones? Yeah, that'd make sense, actually.

 

[GuitarJav]

Sweet! Job well done. I wasn't sure about those components, I'm used to SMT resistors being normally black, but to be fair, all SMT components look the same to me. You can't tell them apart without a good magnifying glass or a handheld microscope. I guess we have another machine mapped then - great! Just out of curiosity, have you noticed any markings at all on those things?

EDIT: Oh, you mean smaller in size? The 100-odd ohm ones? Yeah, that'd make sense, actually.

I remove the ones that mark me 98.7(right side) - 102.7(left side) ,the small ones.

 

[Foxi4]

I remove the ones that mark me 98.7(right side) - 102.7(left side) ,the small ones.

Yeah, I figured it out after another look at the photo, I just wanted to be sure.

 

[Nazosan]

My suspicion is the gray ones are capacitors for filtering. It looks like the results probably came out more or less just as they should and I'm glad it worked out. I sort of wish my headphones were sensitive enough to require turning down from the max like you say though. I still have to use an amp for any serious listening even with my more sensitive ones. At least it's more than good enough for all but stuff like music games though. On that note, the 3DS turns out to actually have a really good audio quality, but do NOT use the built in audio player software. I don't know what it does -- probably the filters it passes the sound through before the output to be able to do the effects (even if all are disabled) -- but the end result is awful. For a long time I thought the 3DS had a horrible sound system until Etrian Odyssey came out and proved how false this really was.

 

[Foxi4]

My suspicion is the gray ones are capacitors for filtering. It looks like the results probably came out more or less just as they should and I'm glad it worked out. I sort of wish my headphones were sensitive enough to require turning down from the max like you say though. I still have to use an amp for any serious listening even with my more sensitive ones. At least it's more than good enough for all but stuff like music games though. On that note, the 3DS turns out to actually have a really good audio quality, but do NOT use the built in audio player software. I don't know what it does -- probably the filters it passes the sound through before the output to be able to do the effects (even if all are disabled) -- but the end result is awful. For a long time I thought the 3DS had a horrible sound system until Etrian Odyssey came out and proved how false this really was.

Capacitors would make sense given the extremely low measured resistance. I have no idea what they're doing on an audio output, but hey.

 

[Nazosan]

So I'd like to bump this up and ask: has anyone looked at the New 2DS XL? I presume it must have the same sort of thing, but I haven't pulled mine apart. I'm really adverse to the idea of trying this again, but it just feels like a necessity since it has rather low output even with these resistors bypassed as it is (nevermind how low it is without the bypass...) I'm actually trying out the New 2DS XL now since the 3DS XL was just too heavy and uncomfortable for me (it actually made my hands hurt) but this is a lot lighter. While the N3DS is great (I have a real one, not a N3DS XL -- complete with the nice SFC controller-like coloring on the buttons and all, so it's really nice) sometimes I guess a larger screen is nice (though I'm not a fan of how much more visible aliasing, dithering, and etc are since the resolution of course does not change.) If it actually works out, I plan to mod the speaker outputs (they currently go down out the bottom right about where your hands must be at least a little bit in the way if you actually hold it like a human) by drilling small holes going upward (not a lot better, but better than as it is right now) and if I do that I should kill two birds with one stone. I have to make sure it works out and doesn't end up hurting like the 3DS XL did though... Until then no screwdriver is touching it, let alone a soldering iron. I do think it will work out though, so I'd like to inquire about this ahead of time.


BTW, I didn't want to bump this just to say it, but my guess as to why there would be capacitors would be to act as a final stage of filtering. I hear that supposedly noise picked up on the output of an OPAMP can still affect its operation somewhat, perhaps allowing a bit to get into the input. How true that is I couldn't say. Perhaps it's just to smooth out the power or something then for all that I really know. Perhaps it even could be that it's designed a bit poorly and lets a bit of DC through the line otherwise or something. (I'll admit I have never really fully understood the usage of capacitors -- exactly how they work in circuits together with other components and such. I only understand the most basics of how they actually function, but not really their actual usage other than as a simple high-pass filter or smoothing power inputs a bit.)

 

[piratesephiroth]

Maybe the capacitors are there to prevent DC flow in case someone inserted some sort of power supply plug inside the headphone connector?
Or maybe to prevent that kind of accident if it is connected to an external active device, like an amplifier.

 

[Nazosan]

So I made my first (mostly failed) attempt at the speaker mod today now that I finally have my N2DS XL hacked. While I was at it I tried to get a picture of the area near the headphone jack. It should have come out clearer, but I can't use my phone right now (the lens is warped on the new back -- NEVER buy a phone with a glass back!) Anyway, here's a picture of the board in that area:

I didn't want to deal with it right now, so I haven't tested anything yet. (And for some reason I didn't think to get a picture of the part of the board underneath the battery compartment/stylus holder.) I'm guessing though that it's those two very tiny black components right below the long row of four gray (capacitors?) and two huge black (diodes?) that are right next to each other?


As for the purpose of the capacitors on the output, I've heard that supposedly some noise can be picked up from the output and affect the amp's operation. Perhaps they're just filters to prevent that? No doubt the effect is subtle, but capacitors like these are pretty literally a dime a dozen, so if it makes any difference -- even a subtle one -- why not? Just a guess though. I honestly am not an expert on capacitor usage.


EDIT: Ultimately the N2DS just does not suit me. The screen size is nice, but everything else about it is horrible. Maybe I'm spoiled by my real N3DS (non-XL) but every single thing about the N2DS except that screen size is worse. It feels cheaply made in almost every single way, has awful sound, etc etc. In the end I find myself preferring the much more premium quality of my N3DS.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

I was referred here by @Jayro from another thread and noticed the OP @KipMudz does not have pictures for the New 3DS. I went looking for some on the internet.

[IFIXIT] Nintendo 3DS 2015 Motherboard Replacement (by Tyler Starr)

[Aliexpress] E house Original Used Mother board Motherboard PCB Board Replacement for New 3DS Game Console Mainboard

The pictures from Aliexpress aren't that great due to low resolution and angled shots. I did some photo editing in PhotoShop to try get as close with bird-eye view, but this is as good as it gets until someone takes a better picture and shares it here.

Here's the same port without rotation, skew, and perspective done to it. Image blown up to 300% and 100% strength sharpen applied once.

 

[CCF_100]

Nintendo doesn't want people blowing their eardrums.

 

[Nazosan]

Nintendo doesn't want people blowing their eardrums.

No, it's not that simple at all. Nintendo probably wouldn't care. This is more a matter of conforming a law in one specific region and just not bothering to make the hardware different for other regions. Since there is no dealing with TVs with different standards or anything like that, nothing about the system itself physically needs to be different. It's just easier and cheaper for them to use one line of hardware for all regions and simply make the software different. All they have to do is provide a different charger (which they've been leaving out of many system packages even, thus forcing people to buy them separately which likely reduces their costs even further.)

The problem is, the law is wrong. Oh, don't mistake me here -- exposure to sufficient volume for sufficient time does cause hearing damage. This is fact. And there are certain things regarding this that need to be law (for example, workplaces have been known to screw over their employees by not providing sufficient protection from working conditions and this is one of many things that can be such a problem.) The assumption that people have no ability to control themselves seems a bit... much to me though. But there is a further problem with this law: it assumes all devices are exactly the same. This is, quite frankly, moronic. Of course they aren't. I have headphones that have as much as 300 ohms impedance even and of course the 3DS can't really even handle them at maximum. On the other hand my 50 ohm headphones do quite a lot better, but the volume is still just a BIT short of what feels right for many games (it doesn't help that games have varying levels with some being a fair bit quieter than others.) Neither of these are the cheap $10 ones you can buy at a local retailer (obviously of a much higher quality.) Those cheap ones may indeed get too loud at maximum volume. Certainly really low impedance IEMs can potentially get loud enough to be damaging.

That said, the effect of maximum volume with cheap and stock equipment is hardly "blow out your eardrums" level. It's "long term exposure is harmful" level. Generally speaking, before you can produce a volume level that could actually immediately cause severe damage to your hearing the driver will actually break with cheaper quality equipment. Honestly, it's just plain silly and does more harm than good. But really I guess ultimately it's about protecting children who may not always use sense when it comes to such a thing. An adult, of course, has the right to choose (meaning this mod is not actually somehow illegal even in that area.)

Anyway, to put it simply: Nintendo isn't concerned. Nintendo is cheap.

 

[monst3r]

ok so i did it i took it to an expert i bridged/removed the resistors and now i can only hear from one earphone wt now?

 

[monst3r]

ok now i can only hear from one headset wt the hell man is this fake u said it works for headphones i took it to an expert even to make sure nothing goes wrong!!!!!

 

[solitonmedic]

Eagerly waiting for a N2DS guide soon

 

[Nazosan]

If it helps any I posted a picture I took a while back above. I also have a better overall board view but it's pretty fuzzy if you zoom in to that area. My guess would be two of those little black components just above and slightly to the right of the jack. Probably the two that are together I would guess? I'm not taking that N2DS apart ever again (every time I do something messes up a bit more -- the N2DS is freaking fragile!) but I would say you could measure them easily enough.

EDIT: This post goes into good details on a great way to measure: https://gbatemp.net/threads/hardwar...some-models-so-far.400221/page-6#post-7295375

Specifically if you test with and without headphones and get appropriately higher numbers with the headphones, chances are it's the correct thing.

 

[YummyMummy]

Worked great thank you very much

 

[GorGylka]

first of all - thank you SO much!
when i solder resistors, i expect overamp noizy-like sound, but no! its actually louder music but still with nice nintendo amplify