Marantz CD63 & CD67 mods list

Hi everybody,

First of all, I've been reading this thread for a while and really enjoy the enthausiasm you share for this player. :)

Over the past few weeks I've been modding my Marantz CD-63 SE step by step and while I did notice difference in sound (especially increased highs). Especially listening to Miles Davis was not always as enjoyable as I was used to (much more fatiguing). However following the modlist ray posted, I've been installing some MKT capacitors in the past few days and the sound has finally changed in a way I really like it. I now concur with you: after some mods, the sound has really opened up.

Thanks!

Regards,
Jacco
 
Dr.Gone said:
Hi everybody,

First of all, I've been reading this thread for a while and really enjoy the enthausiasm you share for this player. :)

Thanks!

Regards,
Jacco

Luke said:
guys I like what your doing and the tone of this thread.

seeya arthur

Thanks guys! It's good to hear we're not the only ones :D
Some nice modding going on here and there!

Regards,

Ray.
 
awpagan said:
I think this is the coax supplied with the LClock
http://www.hubersuhner.com/mozilla/...sc&col=1&prm=57D2542B21CE7AA535DD0929F2B78631

will measure cable tonight

but it was thin and easy to route

allan

Just for fun I looked at Farnell's website, and found this 50R coax: it's 1.17mm!! :bigeyes:

It's not the only thin one. This changes my opinion about the coax mod: it doesn't have to look like a player full of garden hoses! I think i'm going to add some to my next order. What would be the preferred impedance, 50R? And then the coax should be terminated with that on both sides? Doesn't that load the signal too much? Questions, question....but i'm not much of a HF engineer :D.

Ray.
 
6h5c said:


Just for fun I looked at Farnell's website, and found this 50R coax: it's 1.17mm!! :bigeyes:

It's not the only thin one. This changes my opinion about the coax mod: it doesn't have to look like a player full of garden hoses! I think i'm going to add some to my next order. What would be the preferred impedance, 50R? And then the coax should be terminated with that on both sides? Doesn't that load the signal too much? Questions, question....but i'm not much of a HF engineer :D.

Ray.

i read in a post i think by elso(not shure) that the input impedance is 25ohms for clock?

anything in the schematic for resistor to earth on the clock line/s?
i am looking aswell

found these links for some info
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=27923&highlight=#post27923

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24908&perpage=10&highlight=&pagenumber=3


but is disguising longer wire lenghts
these ones are a few inchs long

i was thinking one end earthed for noise?

allan
 
Hi all,

I went over my modding-bookmarks, and found Bobwire's CD63 mods post again, on the Audioasylum forum. Interesting read, he also describes the adding of coax. I've put it in a PDF.

There's also a piece on coax on the TNT-Audio website, in Thorsten's article, at the end of the digital section.

Regards,

Ray.
 

Attachments

  • cd63 bobwire mods.pdf
    63.5 KB · Views: 373
6h5c said:
Hi all,

I went over my modding-bookmarks, and found Bobwire's CD63 mods post again, on the Audioasylum forum. Interesting read, he also describes the adding of coax. I've put it in a PDF.

There's also a piece on coax on the TNT-Audio website, in Thorsten's article, at the end of the digital section.

Regards,

Ray.

Hi.

Reading between the lines in this article and others, The main problem with cd players would seem to be the amount of RF hash put out. Put a small radio next to yours to see/hear this

Most mods would seem to be addressing this in one way or another - PSU, coax, adhesive copper foil etc.

Two questions then :-

1. Where does the hash come from?? Kill it at source!
2. Is bitstream worse than multibit?

At the moment, I do not have access to a 'scope so cannot try anything! Perhaps someone who has can check it.
Use a small coil attached to the 'scope to sniff out the culprit.

Andy
 
poynton said:
Hi.

Two questions then :-

1. Where does the hash come from?? Kill it at source!
2. Is bitstream worse than multibit?

Andy

Dunno Q2. A bit crude answer to Q1:
everything with a crystal, including things attached to that. IOW: almost everything in the player? We're on the right track with dedicated supplies, the rest I think comes down to shielding, shielding and shielding, maybe GND lay-out, and the latest thing: the coax mods. The CD67 fortunately is blessed with one less crystal because the TDA1301 is gone :D.

Now something different:
I've been fiddling around with MicroCap a bit, and I've changed Thorstens filter a bit. I want it to match the lay-out of the player better, which starts with and RC combination after the DAC. There is no room in the lay-out to put the 4.7mH and 1k in series, and I want to keep it nice on the board.
So I made a 3rd order Butterworth shunt filter. I also made some versions with attenuation, to compensate for the high amplification of the differential tube stage. I don't know if that's a good idea, but I still have to build and listen :D. I tried to use most of the parts already present, and rounded them down to E12 values.

Regards,

Ray.
 

Attachments

  • dac_filters.pdf
    53 KB · Views: 231
I have fitted my servo , RF and HF 5V reg pcb + tx's.

I have not wired them to pcb due to lack of time. I am away this weekend so it will be tested for sound quality after then

here are the pics

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
6h5c said:


Dunno Q2. A bit crude answer to Q1:
everything with a crystal, including things attached to that. IOW: almost everything in the player? We're on the right track with dedicated supplies, the rest I think comes down to shielding, shielding and shielding, maybe GND lay-out, and the latest thing: the coax mods. The CD67 fortunately is blessed with one less crystal because the TDA1301 is gone :D.

Now something different:
I've been fiddling around with MicroCap a bit, and I've changed Thorstens filter a bit. I want it to match the lay-out of the player better, which starts with and RC combination after the DAC. There is no room in the lay-out to put the 4.7mH and 1k in series, and I want to keep it nice on the board.
So I made a 3rd order Butterworth shunt filter. I also made some versions with attenuation, to compensate for the high amplification of the differential tube stage. I don't know if that's a good idea, but I still have to build and listen :D. I tried to use most of the parts already present, and rounded them down to E12 values.

Regards,

Ray.

Hi.

It would be good to use the existing board holes as far as possible rather than another board. Certainly this should be possible with minature tubes.

The filters look interesting - keep us posted on the listening results.

E12 values are a good idea - but 10mH chokes I can only find from 1 source so far ( and I don't have an account ) 4.7mH are ok!
I have to get most of my stuff from Maplin but they are going the same way as Tandy/Radio Shack - away from components towards readybuilt stuff - no demand they say! :bawling:

Andy
 
rowemeister said:
I have fitted my servo , RF and HF 5V reg pcb + tx's.

I have not wired them to pcb due to lack of time. I am away this weekend so it will be tested for sound quality after then

here are the pics

Wow dude! You leave no area untouched! How many tx's are there in the thing now?? What's with the big 25W resistor thing on the back of your transport. Is that for setting the laser current :D.

Ray.
 
6h5c said:


Wow dude! You leave no area untouched! How many tx's are there in the thing now?? What's with the big 25W resistor thing on the back of your transport. Is that for setting the laser current :D.

Ray.

There are 3 of the blue nuvotnem toroidals (a total of 6 outputs) and of course the original nuvotnem tx.

The large 100 ohm resistor is for the two diodes :eek:

I used a 7W resistor @ 100 ohm and it got a little on the hot side.
When I used a 3W resistor it started to smell, when I touched it I got a blister.
The diodes are supposed to draw 30 mA !!!!

It is luke warm with this resistor :D
 
awpagan said:
rowemeister

I see a lot of copper shieding (very nice work)
but it's not earthed?
you have an iec plug
How about earthing chassis to iec earth?

any tray rf would then have an earth.
allan

The copper is the chassis of the KI.

The chassis is gnd but not earth. Would I really benefit from all my gnd going to earth?

I have thought of this but was not too sure of the outcome.
 
rowemeister said:


The copper is the chassis of the KI.

The chassis is gnd but not earth. Would I really benefit from all my gnd going to earth?

I have thought of this but was not too sure of the outcome.


I have to start mods on my cd67 yet.

the first thing is fit iec socket and earth the chassis.
then use this earth as star earth.

since this is the first mod from standard will be interesting to hear any different:D

wonted to do this to the cd850 for long time!

neutral earthed in substation
earth earthed local in your building

will test tonight when i get back from work.

allan
 
terminating resistor value

from Thorsten's article

I replaced all Digital Signal-lines from Decoder to DAC with 50 Ohm Miniature Coax.

This comes series-terminated via 1206 SMD 47 Ohm carbon composite resistors. I took the appropriate pin's of the decoder-chip of the PCB (extreme care or you break them off) and soldered the resistors directly on. On the DAC-Side Marantz was kind enough to provide convenient Solder-pad's. I went through about 15 resistors and ten length of mini-Coax until I had it sorted (too large soldering iron). I feel that the work was worth it though. Digitalites is gone!

allan
(at work)