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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2008 21:43:16 GMT
Any one out there have one of these with a level three Audiocom upgrade, If so your opinion would be appreciated.:-
The level-3 modification offers major sonic improvements over the stock CD63 KI player and includes:-
* Superclock 4-S ultra-low jitter master clock * Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT) for CD player. * Super-regulator version 3 for analogue stage PSU’s. * Specially selected low noise regulator for digital/analogue supply. * Panasonic FC digital & analogue power supply reservoir capacitors. * Panasonic FC & Rubycon ZA regulator bypass capacitors. * HexFRED 6A diodes for digital power supply * HexFRED 6A diodes for analogue power supply. * Sanyo OS-CON SP capacitors digital de-coupling. * Rubycon ZA capacitors for analogue de-coupling. * LME49720 op-amps for active filter stage. * Audio Consulting & Mundorf clock signal/power wires. * Sontech SFRT-AL resonance control.
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Post by sometrolls2 on Jun 29, 2008 17:18:32 GMT
I have a far less modded one and it sounds so much better than stock, and would expect the audicom one to be very good. However I wouldn't spend the kind of money that they ask on those mods due to two alternatives: get a Cambridge 640V2 modded or do the Marantz mod yourself.
I see the following issues with their mod at that price: * a lot of the parts are actually pretty cheap, eg Rapid for OSCON for about 11p each on sale, the FC and ZAs aren't that expensive either, similar for opamps. * they don't reclock the servo or appear to power the clock separately * their regulators come in at £40 each and are beaten in quality by Sercal and on price by Tent Labs and Burson. All would be beaten by a JLH per rail. * extra PSUs help, also regs for digital dac, analogue dac, digital decoder, analogue decoder, the 5V supply to the drive which I forget the name of, even 7805 regs are known to help and they cost pennies. * they still use opamps, there are at least two commercially available output stages: Sercal and Burson
The big problem with the players is how to get a clean stable supply to the subsections, and the best answer is probably extra transformers - basic PSU - JLH to reg which is placed at the where needed. Space would dictate the extra PSUs and JLHs be in an extra box, but that depends on how many were used.
Alt budget: Net Audio rock clock £90+ del diy a clock PSU £20 with option to add pricey regulator later servo clock £60 which is fed from main clock psu discrete opamp replacement and diy psu £110 but if diyed in total then £30 Assorted decoupling caps £30, which can obviously be increased JLH on 5V main rail £20 max Matting for case £5 Half the price of audiocom and
Optional extras: additional high price regs at £40 a throw and DIY PSUs for £20, get a X10V3 and mod it
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2008 20:53:43 GMT
Hi sometrolls2, thank you for your reply which i find very informative. Being a complete electronic novice i really have no experience of what the costs of these parts are or indeed wether or not there are cheaper worth while alternatives. I was given a quote of £325 by Audiocom to upgrade my Marantz CD85 ( which ive had for 20yrs, and hooked up to an Audio Alchemy dac-in-the-box, am very happy with) because im sure after so long improvements can be made. Then i noticed that they have for sale the modded CD63 in question at a price of £590, which i thought might be a better option. The Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT) for CD player alone costs £300 so i thought it seemed a reasonably priced upgrade and worth the £590 all in price, so perhaps not, Thank you once again.
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pagan
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Post by pagan on Jun 29, 2008 21:17:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2008 22:03:20 GMT
Thanks Allan will have a look. Cheers Mick.
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Post by ticktockman on Jul 2, 2008 20:20:34 GMT
Before you spend that sort of money with Audiocom might I suggest you give Colin Yallop a ring I haven't got his web site link to hand but if you google "Chevin audio" you will find him. I have used his moding services extensively. I have nothing but praise for his service and the man himself is a true gentleman in a sea of sharks... Pm me if you want to know what sort of things I have had done. I know he doesn't rate the Hdams loved by Marantz. If do do call him tell him Russell recommended him..you never know he may give you a discount..but I wouldn't bet on it. He has been reviewed on TNT audio(twice) but the review is a little lacking in focus but very complimentary all the same.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2008 9:36:12 GMT
Hi ticktockman, thanks for the info, but reached me a little late. I have sent my player off to Audio Upgrades(SelCom electronics). The guy there was very informative, and indeed his pricing for much the same level of upgrades came in at far less money than Audiocom, so decided to give him the opportunity to impress me. I will post my conclusions on the upgrade when its returned and had time to listen and make comparisons. Thank you very much for your reply, much appreciated regards Mick.
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Post by ticktockman on Jul 6, 2008 22:40:43 GMT
Not a problem, I have looked over the products that that selcom supply with some interest. The only product that I see as unique in any way is the clock supply for the servos as an independent unit. I will await your thoughts on the upgrades with some interest.
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Post by pagan on Jul 10, 2008 12:58:24 GMT
ticktockman What upgrades are you getting done? Or What upgrades are they doing to it?
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Post by ticktockman on Jul 11, 2008 0:40:49 GMT
Over the last few years I have had lots of kit modified in one way or the other. I came into contact with Colin when my DPA pdm1(mkIII) started to play up, he specialised at the time in DPA repairs and upgrades. He sorted out the problem and I had him produce a dedicated deltran equipped transport to optimise its performance. Later on he became the agent for vacuum state modifications in the UK. These were custom discrete outputboards and clocks for early Sony stereo sacd players. I picked up an early and troubled sample and he brought it up to close to current spec without buying a new board ,result. What am I currently thinking about, well he has a nos dac that betters the redbook performance of the sony sacd player with output board I use quite easily but he hasn't fixed its specification yet. That's on my want list. It has one trick in that it seems to have solved the inherent jitter issues on its usb input that seems to plague every other usb compatible dac I have come across. I will admit I am a fan and he has never over charged me for work he has done and listens to the items after and during the modifications and doesn't just assume that a modification that should work will work in your particular piece of kit. Enough of the infomercial for Chevin already. If you want any more details PM me and I will give you the means to have a proper chat if you so wish. Or just ring up Colin. If you live /travel anywhere near Derby you can even get to meet him.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2008 16:43:42 GMT
Had a couple of weeks listening to my Selcom Electronics upgraded Marantz CD85, and i must say im blown away with it, well worth the money (£450). Hooked back up to my Audio Alchemy Dac-in-the-box IMO sounds every bit as good as any CD player ive heard in the £1000-2000 price bracket, even my wife thought it sounded great, and thats saying something.
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Post by ticktockman on Aug 19, 2008 23:31:35 GMT
So what did you have done in the end.
If you are only using the marantz as a transport I would suspect with clock mods and power supply upgrades it would outperform your Dac in the box quite easily. I think it uses a 1541/1541a so it could be made into a NOS if you fancy a different perspective on your music. The dac in the box also I believe has a lot of modification potential and has some similarities to the audio note dacs( they are of course NOS but I think they share the chip set). Try the cd85 direct and see what you think. I believe quite a few of the senior members use 1541 based dacs/players out of choice
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2008 20:26:33 GMT
Hi ticktockman, the following mods were carried out:-
1X C1 Master Clock (11.289). 1X PSU Kit (+5v&TX). 1X SPower+5v Voltage Regulator( kit4). 1X 7VA2x12V TX. 3X Blackgate 16v 220uf STD. 8X Blackgate 16v 47uf STD. 14X 220NF pps Capacitor. 6X LME49710 Single Opamp. 1X LME49860 Doubler Opamp. 9X IC Socket. 1X SPower-15v Voltage Regulator. 1X PSU Kit+12V Positive (No Diodes). 1X PSU Kit-12V Negative (No Diodes). 4X Blackgate 16V22uf STD. 2X Audio OpAmp Upgrade. 1X 7815 Positive 15v Regulator. 1X 7915 Negative 15v Regulator.
Tried the player direct for a while and was pleased with it, then hooked back up to the Dac-in-the-box, and that sounded even better, much better than before the mods, dont ask me why, it just does, more detailed and better sound stage, Bass is great very punchy with great extension. I dont understand what all the bits and pieces do, what i do know is that the sound coming out my Sonus Fabers sounds great to my (and the wifes) Ears, so im happy.
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Post by ticktockman on Aug 25, 2008 22:54:57 GMT
I am quite amazed that the dac in the box even when attached to the much cleaner clock from the modified cd player is superior to the performance of the cd player directly. If you were using the player as a transport quite a few of the mods you have specified are having no significant influence on the sound from your dac. There would be some major gains I suspect in getting a much better power supply for the DitB perhaps with one of those JLH devices mentioned in the DIY section of the forum and definately getting the outputstage modification you have already bought transfered over to the DitB where they would be doing some good. I may have to acquire a DitB just to have a listen, the opamp output stage must be capable of improvement even if just by opamp substitution and perhaps biasing into (sort of)class A.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2008 16:24:44 GMT
Would you like to try mine? if so PM your details to me and i will send it to you with power supply and interconnects so you can give me your opinion of the sound difference in your set up. At the end of the day most sound differences are subjective and in the ears of the beholder, unless something sounds absolutely awful, then thats usually agreed by all. Regards Mick.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2008 18:24:12 GMT
After a further 4 weeks of burn in on my Marantz CD85, it does indeed sound better without the d-i-t-box attached. The Bass is now superb, very well defined but not over powering, great mid range, and very detailed top end. Bye bye d-i-t-box, will be assigned to the loft for now.
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Post by ticktockman on Sept 11, 2008 22:34:58 GMT
I should have suggested that it might need a bit of burning in before showing off its best performance. The only other options that could work but frankly can be very system dependant would be to convert it to NOS. The DITB can also be NOS'ed perhaps with a passive output stage or even a valve one. Enjoy a serious player, old tech digital can seriously kick ass
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