Marantz CD63 Basic upgrade overview / guide
 

I have added this simple guide for upgrading the Marantz CD63. Hope it helps.

It can also be viewed HERE


Servo psu

The biggest issue with the CD63 family of cd players is the poor servo driver ic power supply. This supply sags during playback and drastically effects the performance of the player, especiallly the bass regions and timing.

Basic ugrade

• Remove C814 on the negative rail and replace with something like the Panasonic FC 25V 4700uF.
• Remove C813 on the positive rail and replace with something like the Fidelity Audio SI cap 25V 22000uF. Large uF is important here. Note - you can either drill the pcb and fit to the pcb or locate nearby and hardwire down to the pcb.
• Short out the fuses as these add resistance and cause part of the volt sag problem.

Further improvements

Adding onto what has already been done it is best to add 7809 & 7909 regulators between the 'raw' voltage and the driver ics. This gives a very stable 'regulated' voltage to the ics. It is advisable to fit better capacitors after these regulators.

Doing it properly

To fully improve the servo issues you really need to rip out the std transformer and fit a 50VA 2x 12Vac type. You can then raise the driver regulators to 12V. When fitting the 50VA tx you then need to fit a 2x15V 30VA for the output section and a small 2x12V 1.6VA tx for the display voltage.

This can be viewed on this page - The worlds greatest CD63 !


Output section

Basic psu

• Remove C803 & C804 and replace with something like the Panasonic FC 25V 4700uF
• To further improve C803 & C804 find a way of fitting something like the Fidelity Audio SI 25V 22000uF this adds more depth, bass & smoothness.
• Remove Q801 & Q802 and replace with low noise regulators. These offer a more analogue and detailed sound.
• Remove C805 & C806 and replace with something like a Rubycon ZA / ZLG 16V 470uF

Doing it properly

The best way to get the most out of the output stage in the 63 you are better off building a large external psu (like Naim and Cyrus do).

This can be viewed on this page - The worlds greatest CD63 !

Output

• Lets assume we are removing the HDAM section that ultimately holds back the performance of the cd player.
• Remove C611, C612, C613 & C614 and replace with something like a Rubycon ZA / ZLG 16V 470uF
• Remove Q605 & Q606 and replace with a LME49720HA or Burson dual
• Short out R613, R614, R61 & R616
• Remove R651, R652, R653 & R654
• Remove the muting transistors
• Remove R617 & R618 and wire from this point direct to the output socket
• Change the signal capacitors around the opamp with something like a polystyrene cap

DAC

• Fitting regs to each of the voltage feeds to the dac isolates each of the rails from each other and the rest of the noisy circuit. This allows the dac chip to perform better.
• Remove CD15 & CD16 and replace with something like a Rubycon ZA / ZLG 16V 470uF
• Remove CD04 & CD07 and replace with something like a Oscon SEPC 6.3V 470uF
• Remove UD200 and replace with low noise regulator - this feeds the Dac analogue
• Remove RD01 & RD04 and replace with low noise regulators - dac digital
• Remove XD01 oscillator + RD02, CD02 & CD03 and replace with a quality low jitter clock 16.934Mhz. - Connect to XT1 of the dac.

Clock psu

Adding a dedicated psu for the clock helps the clock perform better + isolates the clock from the rest of the circuit lowering noise.


Decoder

• Remove C510 & C511 and replace with something like a Oscon SEPC 6.3V 470uF
• Remove R508 & R510 and replace with low noise regulators - Decoder digital
• Lift C521 at the dac side and attach a 16.934Mhz clock feed from the dac clock using a buffered output - this clocks the decoder direct

There is a small alteration to the circuit that need sorting as Marantz made a mistake - This can be viewed on this page under decoder ic mod - The worlds greatest CD63 !

Servo

• Remove C120 & C122 and replace with something like a Oscon SEPC 6.3V 470uF
• Remove R122 & R123 and replace with low noise regulators - Servo digital
• Remove X101 oscillator & R126 and replace with a quality low jitter clock 8.46Mhz. - Connect to XTL1 of the decoder.

RF

• Remove C504 and replace with something like a Oscon SEPC 6.3V 470uF
• Remove R505 and replace with low noise regulators

HF

• Remove R107 and replace with low noise regulators
• Fit a capacitor like a Oscon SEPC 6.3V 470uF on the output of the regulator

Note

There are many more upgrades to do to these great players but these upgrades lift the player hugely.

Of course you can see whats achievable here -The worlds greatest CD63 !


Brent

Upgrade Question
 

Hi,

my setup is:
amp - Camebridge Audio 650A
Speakers: Mordaunt Short Mezzo6
VDH cables & Foruteck & XLO power cables and power distributer.

My Question, i have been told that according to my setup(which is probably not stated Hi-End) i will not see any big diffrence if i will modd my CD63 mk2 KI cd player - is this true?
i love the sound of my setup, this is why i choose it from the beginning....

Best regards

Nir

Hi Nir

Of course you will hear an improvement, if the sound arriving at your amp is better then you will hear it.

Brent

Thank you, now i need to decide what to do...

Good idea for a thread this as the monster cd63 mods list one has lots of info in there, but you can never find it.

Those mods listed in the first post will make a huge improvement and bring a much more balanced and rounded sound to the cd63 and improve detail at the same time.

Lee.

That was my thinking behind it. Being the first post it will always be easy to find!

Brent

Just for my understanding, all the guys here that did the Moding for the CD63/se/KI etc.... do they know electronics, because i know many things but electronics is not one of them :) , should i start now my experiance with electronics, is the modding considered basic stuff or for the well experienced elect. guy?
Should i let technician do it for me...

Best
Nir

Can these be apply on the cd 67?

The analogue psu and output stage can yes. The servo and decoder + driver ics are different in the 67.

Having said that you can do the same things to the decoder/servo chip in the 67 by removing the resistors and adding low noise regs + adding a sepc cap. The same principle applies to all cd players.

The RF/HF side of things can be done by supplying the small pcb under the mech with an isolated 5v there too.

Brent

This is great but unfortunately I don't know how to do half of these. Most importantly, how do you add regulators? Most of the time you have to replace a resistor with a regulator, but the regulator has three pins. What happens to the third pin?

There are also three jitter clocks to be placed. Where can you get kits for building a jitter clock (without any SMD parts)?

I'm hoping someone will help me out because I'd love to do these mods.