Modifying Cyrus DAD3 (not Q) version

[InfiniteGain]

Hi,

I am looking for an old, but good CD player to modify at a fairly noob level.

I have noticed that the Cyrus DAD3 used a Philips CDM12 transport mechanism which is supposedly compatible with the high end CD-Pro2LF except for some separation of analogue and digital grounds compared to the original.

I have no idea if the CD-PRO2LF transport will fit the Cyrus and allow the front drawer to slide in over the transport and then the clamp to come down appropriately. Has anybody got a clue?

I was wondering if anybody else had tried modifying this player and what they have done with it?

Since the Q Dac upgrade allowed the AD1861/PCM1704 dacs to be used to upgrade the player, I have been wondering if the DAD3 can be upgraded to use AD1955/PCM1794 dacs to better effect?

If there is insufficient room for such a feat, maybe the CD-PRO2LF can still be used as a transport with some other mods to power regulation (possibly off-board) to make a good transport for 2 or 3 box CD replay solution.

Does anybody have any thoughts, or am I barking up the wrong tree with this concept?

Kind regards to all,

InfiniteGain

[InfiniteGain]

*dustbowl rolls by..........*


*bump*



*bump*



*fingers crossed somebody breaks the stony silence*

[rfbrw]

Originally posted by InfiniteGain
*dustbowl rolls by..........*

I think you'll find the dustbowl is, by and large, static and it is the brush that rolls by. And don't forget the shop sign swinging by its one remaining attachment.

[rfbrw]

Originally posted by InfiniteGain

Since the Q Dac upgrade allowed the AD1861/PCM1704 dacs to be used to upgrade the player, I have been wondering if the DAD3 can be upgraded to use AD1955/PCM1794 dacs to better effect?

It would be useful to know what chipset is used.

[Sonusthree]

Hi,

Wouldn't the surface mount mount parts make tweaking difficult on the DAD3?

Martin.

[InfiniteGain]

Well, things like that is why I am asking.

There is the dealer installable Q DAC module, so I would have thought this was designed to be a simply de-soldering, or even unplugging of the old DAC board and the soldering-in or plugging in of the new board. But I have not seen the internals of a DAD3, or found its schematics.

I just recognise it as a good basic player (I heard one years ago and preferred it over the Marantz CD63 KI Signature), coupled together with the ability of the Q DAC module to bring it up to a very good "entry to the high-end" level of CD replay via the DAC module. The Q DAC at the time was using the PCM1704 from what I remember (I could be wrong).

Many contemporary high end players (The Musical Fidelity KM25 Transport and DAC or one-box SACD player come to mind) use the PCM1794, which I believe is an evolution of the PCM1704. My mind is wondering if anybody could figure out how to effectively create a new DAC design based around the PCM1794 that evolved the implementation of Q DACs design to use the PCM1794 instead of the PCM1704, or better still, used whatever Cyrus did to make their board compatible and evolved it so that a RAKK DAC from K&K Audio could go into the Cyrus DAD3 instead.

In addition, the best transport available is the CD-PRO2LF and this is a compatible replacement for the CDM12 in the Cyrus DAD3, although I am unsure if the tray could be retained, or if the DAD3 would need to be modded to be a top-loader. The CDPRO2 is a drop in replacement apart from some electrical grounding tweaks for digital and analogue grounds that were otherwise combined in the CDM12.

Either way, I believe the modding of a DAD3 to use a RAKK DAC and a transport swap to the CD-PRO2LF, coupled with a few power regulation modes (which naturally could be done off-board and go through the PSX-R interface), would end up being one cutting edge sounding player that looked and worked like an ordinary Cyrus.

The reason I like the idea, is that in DIY modding, it is the casework and fascia button fabrication that always seems to be time consuming and fraught with potential costs I would rather spend on the electronics. In my envisioned solution, I keep the quality Cyrus control circuitry, casework, remote control and do not need to create a case, fascia and buttons, or salvage bits from other kit off ebay and scratch my head figuring out how I will make something new out of it that looked and functioned like a commercial grade product.

Obviously, the RAKK DAC uses a 12V supply which I suspect the Cyrus onboard DAC and Q module would not use. That is not so much an issue as it is easy to change a power supply, especially if supplying power through the PSX-R interface. The real issue is: how did Cyrus make a PCM1704 compatible with the main board using a TDA1305 and what can be learned from this to use a more capable DAC chip like the PCM1794 in the RAKK DAC?

Maybe I should fire the questions at K&K audio.