fas948 said:
Why would anyone even consider installing a Buffalo DAC in such a nice SONY player??
The Buffalo DAC may be 32 bit, but this is not a sign of quality itself. I believe that you will hear a great difference if you do install it in the SONY, but I do not believe that the difference will be an improvement.
Well, we are all in search for better sound performance and I’m one of those who enjoys DIY and the only way to get convinced whether anything will make an improvement is by trying it. I’ll see if this DAC improves the sound once I get around installing on my SCD-1.
You are right, the Sony SCD-1/SCD-777 are nice players which can be mod to make them sound better than a 10K player without spending all that cash.
You are right, the Sony SCD-1/SCD-777 are nice players which can be mod to make them sound better than a 10K player without spending all that cash.
fas948 said:
My experience is, that these SONY players do have some quite impressive DAC-chips and digital electronics in general.
Only problem is the analog stage, that is made as bad as any other commercial CD-player by cheap operational amplifiers.
If you bypass the SONY DAC, and use the Buffalo, you are really bypassing the best part of the player.
If you really are one of those always searching for an improvement (I consider myself to beint that same group), you should go for the weak part of the player.
Why spend time and money trying to improve something that is already very good, when other parts is very bad? Go for the analog stage.
My best advise is to go for something discrete and with NO FEEDBACK. Also.... don't waste time on single ended designs. The all sound just like that... single ended....
The expensive SONY CD's really are a good place to start modding in the analog stage, and you will be able to get extreme performance!
We have been Upgrading these big SONY's for 8 years now with great results, and we don't replace the DACs at all - we bypass them as they are simply not needed.
These SONYs are designed to optimise SACD playback, hence are 100% bitstream, and by nature a bitstream signal only needs a low pass filter to get the very best analog signal out.
We bypass ALL the opamps, the S-TACT chip (needed for CD but not SACD) and the current pulse DACs, and replace all this with a 3 transistor filter/buffer circuit! (That has a very hi-tech powersupply & regulator)
We have installers worldwide, or offer kits for DIY'ers to do this, more info at:
http://www.vacuumstate.com/fileupload/SACD_2005.pdf
and many reviews on our home page.
Don't mess up a beautiful machine with non optimum aftemarket products not intended for it, we have modules specifically intended for bitstream SONYs.
We also have a very special aftermarket clock for all player, not just SONYs.
Regards, Allen
www.vacuumstate.com
These SONYs are designed to optimise SACD playback, hence are 100% bitstream, and by nature a bitstream signal only needs a low pass filter to get the very best analog signal out.
We bypass ALL the opamps, the S-TACT chip (needed for CD but not SACD) and the current pulse DACs, and replace all this with a 3 transistor filter/buffer circuit! (That has a very hi-tech powersupply & regulator)
We have installers worldwide, or offer kits for DIY'ers to do this, more info at:
http://www.vacuumstate.com/fileupload/SACD_2005.pdf
and many reviews on our home page.
Don't mess up a beautiful machine with non optimum aftemarket products not intended for it, we have modules specifically intended for bitstream SONYs.
We also have a very special aftermarket clock for all player, not just SONYs.
Regards, Allen
www.vacuumstate.com
Hi Hurtiq/Allan,
Many thanks for sharing your experience. I have done many mods on my SCD-1 with great results in every area. The analog stage was one the first areas I worked on, I have tried it without op-amps and replacing the stock ones with better qualities like the opa627 (not just a pair but throughout the audio signal path) and I prefer the op-amps. I understand some people have different opinions about this but in my system (and other system I have tested on), the scd-1 with opa627 sound much better. I have also replaced better qualities caps, resistors, power regulators and other components that have greatly improve the sound.
My intention is to use the buffalo DAC for the pcm signal only. I fully agreed with you about the existing DAC (it is top quality). If I don’t like how the buffalo performs on my scd-1 I will take it out and resale it.
Regards,
Felix
Many thanks for sharing your experience. I have done many mods on my SCD-1 with great results in every area. The analog stage was one the first areas I worked on, I have tried it without op-amps and replacing the stock ones with better qualities like the opa627 (not just a pair but throughout the audio signal path) and I prefer the op-amps. I understand some people have different opinions about this but in my system (and other system I have tested on), the scd-1 with opa627 sound much better. I have also replaced better qualities caps, resistors, power regulators and other components that have greatly improve the sound.
My intention is to use the buffalo DAC for the pcm signal only. I fully agreed with you about the existing DAC (it is top quality). If I don’t like how the buffalo performs on my scd-1 I will take it out and resale it.
Regards,
Felix
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