smt is no problem, I built my phono stage and discrete output stages with surface mount components.
Although, the idea is to do away with opamps in the cd output altogether. A fully discrete class-a stage is the only way for me, it sounds so much better than any opamp i've ever heard.
Just out of interest, what are the main differenced between the 640 & 840? Is it mainly the output stage, better components (a la Marantz) or a different design.
Cheers, Lee.
Although, the idea is to do away with opamps in the cd output altogether. A fully discrete class-a stage is the only way for me, it sounds so much better than any opamp i've ever heard.
Just out of interest, what are the main differenced between the 640 & 840? Is it mainly the output stage, better components (a la Marantz) or a different design.
Cheers, Lee.
840C is a very different beast. Upsampling to 24 bit/384kHz.
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=112&Title=Azur+840C+Black+Fin+DSP+upsampling+CD+player
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=112&Title=Azur+840C+Black+Fin+DSP+upsampling+CD+player
Newbie here. Advice neede please.
I also own a CA 640CV2 and ive been searcing for info on modding it. Im a newbie to this hobby so I have no experience really. http://www.bursonaudio.com/Burson_HDAM_Module.htm
I found a company called Burson Audio who make a Discrete op-amp and low noise Voltage regulator. They also do a clock upgrade.
Does anyone know about these products and if they would bring an improvement to the CA?
Any other ideas to upgrade this player? Caps clocks etc? Im looking for drop in replacenets that are easy to install....
I also own a CA 640CV2 and ive been searcing for info on modding it. Im a newbie to this hobby so I have no experience really. http://www.bursonaudio.com/Burson_HDAM_Module.htm
I found a company called Burson Audio who make a Discrete op-amp and low noise Voltage regulator. They also do a clock upgrade.
Does anyone know about these products and if they would bring an improvement to the CA?
Any other ideas to upgrade this player? Caps clocks etc? Im looking for drop in replacenets that are easy to install....
mikesnowdon said:
Hi Mike, I haven't personally tried the Burson parts, but I have read that they are good. They are expensive however.
This company make similar products which I have tried, and they are very, very good and also very well priced.
With cd player modding I have found the most important areas are:
a new clock
the best quality regulators you can get
and then a discrete output stage replacing the opamps
obviously with good quality capacitors alongside these mods
In my opinion, the best drop-in replacement regs you will find in my opinion are these:http://www.diyhi-fi.co.uk/spower.html
Hope this helps,
regards, Lee.
Great! Thanks for the input.
So I presume the output stages connect in wehre the op-amp would normally be? Is this easy to do and do the new units come with instuctions?
And where would I need to put better regs?
I see there is a clock unit too, and all components look like simple drop in replacements.
You mention caps but im not sure how to locate the ones to upgrade, and what are the best caps to use?
I also have some IEC's with built in filter, is this a good idea for a CD player?
Thanks in advance!
So I presume the output stages connect in wehre the op-amp would normally be? Is this easy to do and do the new units come with instuctions?
And where would I need to put better regs?
I see there is a clock unit too, and all components look like simple drop in replacements.
You mention caps but im not sure how to locate the ones to upgrade, and what are the best caps to use?
I also have some IEC's with built in filter, is this a good idea for a CD player?
Thanks in advance!
mikesnowdon said:
I'm not sure if the discrete output stage for these players is quite ready yet, but it will be very soon. It replaces the whole section after the dac, the opamps and the filter components that surround them. It just needs adapting to this dac, and there's plenty to do in the mean time.
The dac analog supply has always made the biggest difference for me. Also the clock buffer I would think. The more you add though, the more gains you will get. I use three SPower and one Audiocom Invisus in my Marantz cd67, and will be adding more when I can. Brent may also post some advice here too, he's a bit of a cd mod guru.
Pretty much, yes. And, they're small, so they fit into tight spaces which is a real bonus.
Black Gates are the best you can get, no doubt. It depends on your budget, but if you add a clock and Spower regs, it would be criminal not to fit the best caps too. I'm unsure of the layout of the V2 player, mine is V1, but again Brent has one and he's usually very helpful indeed.
If the filter contains a coil, then it's best left out of the cd player.
regards, Lee.
I think its passive but im not sure.
I fitted one to my sky box with a DIY mains cable made from Lapp CY and silver plated plugs. It improved the picture and when I listen to Planet Rock on Sky it does sound cleaner with less distortion.
Regarding the mods advised for the CDP.
As a good starting point should I do the following:
1, Fit the better clock, and a better reg to its supply.
2, Fit a reg on the DAC supply, with Blackgates
3, Get better op-amp's (advice needed on which opa to use) like BB's, and fit a reg on their supply.
Then when funds allow go for the Discrete output stage.
Ideally im looking to upgrade in stages but I dont know where to start, can anyone advise a 'step at a time' program for
upgrading for this player?
I fitted one to my sky box with a DIY mains cable made from Lapp CY and silver plated plugs. It improved the picture and when I listen to Planet Rock on Sky it does sound cleaner with less distortion.
Regarding the mods advised for the CDP.
As a good starting point should I do the following:
1, Fit the better clock, and a better reg to its supply.
2, Fit a reg on the DAC supply, with Blackgates
3, Get better op-amp's (advice needed on which opa to use) like BB's, and fit a reg on their supply.
Then when funds allow go for the Discrete output stage.
Ideally im looking to upgrade in stages but I dont know where to start, can anyone advise a 'step at a time' program for
upgrading for this player?
Heres a piccy of my Lapp mains cable. It has a silver plated IEC plug from 'Mark Grant Cables'. At the time I took the pic I had a standard plug fitted, Ive since changed it to a Silver plated one from 'The Missing Link' it came with a silver plated Bussman fuse, nice.
I also made up 2 more cables for my CDP and Amp, and I rewired a decent quality extension block with the CY. All plugs are silver plated. Whole lot cost me about £75, bargain!
I also made up 2 more cables for my CDP and Amp, and I rewired a decent quality extension block with the CY. All plugs are silver plated. Whole lot cost me about £75, bargain!
Attachments
Thanks Simon.
I'll give that a go then!
I read on the net that the output stage is a critical area so Im keen on the 'Discrete' units. But as funds arent massive I might compromise and go for some BurrBrown opamps (unless you know of better ones) and give them a decent supply?
If I do the above would I get sufficient gains to justify the cost?
My system definately has its merits but the shortfalls grab attention aswell which is annoying with poor recordings. I have a 340SE Amp and modified TDL RTL2's (Morel Tweeters, QED silver anniversary internal wire, and Bitumen lining) The sound is quite bright really and I'd like to warm it up a bit without sacrificing detail. The treble is nice but just a tad too high. Also the bass is quite frustating. Since fitting the DIY mains cables the detail improved and the sound got smother but the Bass went a bit wierd. Its definately tighter and more musical (less of a one note sound if you get me) and it goes impressively deep, but, there seems to be a dip in the frequency response in the upper bass lower mid reigon?
I'll give that a go then!
I read on the net that the output stage is a critical area so Im keen on the 'Discrete' units. But as funds arent massive I might compromise and go for some BurrBrown opamps (unless you know of better ones) and give them a decent supply?
If I do the above would I get sufficient gains to justify the cost?
My system definately has its merits but the shortfalls grab attention aswell which is annoying with poor recordings. I have a 340SE Amp and modified TDL RTL2's (Morel Tweeters, QED silver anniversary internal wire, and Bitumen lining) The sound is quite bright really and I'd like to warm it up a bit without sacrificing detail. The treble is nice but just a tad too high. Also the bass is quite frustating. Since fitting the DIY mains cables the detail improved and the sound got smother but the Bass went a bit wierd. Its definately tighter and more musical (less of a one note sound if you get me) and it goes impressively deep, but, there seems to be a dip in the frequency response in the upper bass lower mid reigon?
Mike, here's a tip:
if you want to tone down the treble of your speakers a little, find out the value of the power resistor feeding the tweeter (in series with it, not in parallel) and increase it around an ohm. You may then want to play around with the value to get the balance you want.
Dan
if you want to tone down the treble of your speakers a little, find out the value of the power resistor feeding the tweeter (in series with it, not in parallel) and increase it around an ohm. You may then want to play around with the value to get the balance you want.
Dan
Cheers Dan.
It seems that since changing the mains cables the inherrent brightness of the system has increased. The Morel tweeters arent forgiving of bright recordings either. Im hoping that the above mods to the CDP will bring a warmer more natural sound to the system. Thanks for the advice though, I'll give it a go.
Something very interesting happened last night:
I was listening to Planet Rock via Sky at about 11:45ish. Where I live they turn off the street lights at midnight. So there I was listening in the dark when the street lights went off. At that very moment the sound of the system changed completely. It was wierd, the treble level seemed to drop and the dynamics lessened. The sound went sort of soft on me? I will try to experiment while listening to CD and see what happens. So wierd, did my head in!
It seems that since changing the mains cables the inherrent brightness of the system has increased. The Morel tweeters arent forgiving of bright recordings either. Im hoping that the above mods to the CDP will bring a warmer more natural sound to the system. Thanks for the advice though, I'll give it a go.
Something very interesting happened last night:
I was listening to Planet Rock via Sky at about 11:45ish. Where I live they turn off the street lights at midnight. So there I was listening in the dark when the street lights went off. At that very moment the sound of the system changed completely. It was wierd, the treble level seemed to drop and the dynamics lessened. The sound went sort of soft on me? I will try to experiment while listening to CD and see what happens. So wierd, did my head in!
mikesnowdon said:
Mike,
Are those transmission lines? If so you could try putting a little more stuffing inside. Perhaps put a little (extra) lamb's wool behind the main driver too. I think an underdamped t-line will have excessive lower bass (personally I can't imagine it being anything but cool tho...)
I'd also lose the silver-plated wire. Silver Anniversary is not the best speaker cable. I'd try Kimber, which tends to a warmer, sweeter, more spacious sound. It might sound "boring" to some, but it sounds like you need it.
The dip you describe is just something that happens when you upgrade things. The bass tends to sound deeper and as a result the sound can seem to lack upper bass. It could be that you've revealed a slight issue with your speakers.
Another thing is you need to look at the capacitor in series with your tweeter. Unless it's fantastically good, try changing it for a ClarityCap SA... lovely! Change the series resistor for a 5W Kiwame, and when you buy it also buy the next value up to experiement.
Get some bitumen or something on the bass driver frame legs.
WRT the output stage.... I know Brent is adapting his commercial product (discrete class A stage) to fit and currently listening to the results. I might get to hear it soon, and will be sure to comment.
If you want to just try some better op-amps, the LM4562 are about the best you'll find. That said, some find them a bit too analytical, so it's possible you might prefer the (much) less revealing BB OPA2134 (or 2132).
Hope this helps!
Simon
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