First thing that hits me putting the S Power on DAC analogue is the sound stage opening up in all directions and the music becoming more laid back. The tone is more pleasing and there is more detail but it's delivered in a more subtle way, rather than being coarse and forced ("etched") as standard 7805s tend towards. Barb Jungr is easier on the ear and Jean Michel Jarre more organic and rich. The bass is more extended and the top end more refined. Good stuff.
I think I've now answered my own question: can you build a top notch player with cheapo regs? The answer is no, not really, it needs at least one or two in key areas.
Simon
I think I've now answered my own question: can you build a top notch player with cheapo regs? The answer is no, not really, it needs at least one or two in key areas.
Simon
Yes, it is worthwhile, especially if most other areas are nicely sorted. When a CD63KI was my main player I had a divider, then two separate clocks and the latter was a nice upgrade from what I remember.
Making this player shine is like getting diamond from coal... rather difficult but lots of fun and very rewarding.
Making this player shine is like getting diamond from coal... rather difficult but lots of fun and very rewarding.
It's easier to downgrade players to create low cost ones therfore being able to sell expensive ones 
I did a post wich got lost seems,
Simon, did you try the eBay HK wood spikes under all your players? Always give a improvement?
more Qs,
did some try to play w/wo the brace on granted models?
where may I find an over +15V in the player? Only at the opamp PS?
Matthieu
edit: as for refined sound I think, as for my ears, my tastes, tiny integrated and old speakers, it's OK with a dual reclock (even with divider in my case), the DOS, and best of all only LM317 but everywhere, with not too low ESR and before each a RC filter, leds when possible. Made the best player I ever had, not impressive at first glance but just so cleaner and natural flowing sound yet very detailled and very large scene. I've tried the "best LM317" set-up according to Acoustica.org and TNT audio tech articles, Panasonic FM does wonder after LM317. Thanks to guys behind these websites. A Jung/Didden +5 is ready for the CD-40, if the CD-43 wins it may go the DAC Analog in the CD-43 and do wonder.
I did a post wich got lost seems,
Simon, did you try the eBay HK wood spikes under all your players? Always give a improvement?
more Qs,
did some try to play w/wo the brace on granted models?
where may I find an over +15V in the player? Only at the opamp PS?
Matthieu
edit: as for refined sound I think, as for my ears, my tastes, tiny integrated and old speakers, it's OK with a dual reclock (even with divider in my case), the DOS, and best of all only LM317 but everywhere, with not too low ESR and before each a RC filter, leds when possible. Made the best player I ever had, not impressive at first glance but just so cleaner and natural flowing sound yet very detailled and very large scene. I've tried the "best LM317" set-up according to Acoustica.org and TNT audio tech articles, Panasonic FM does wonder after LM317. Thanks to guys behind these websites. A Jung/Didden +5 is ready for the CD-40, if the CD-43 wins it may go the DAC Analog in the CD-43 and do wonder.
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Hello all. It's been ages (somewhere around page 200 I think!) I figured you could manage without me...seems like you have been doing just fine! 1383 pages has got to be some kind of record. I'm not a very good DIY'er and after one botched job that fried an op-amp (faut le faire n'est ce pas?) I gave up with good grace and sent my 67' to Brent. It just came back after it's third magical mystery visit to his sorcerer's den. And what a treat this latest mod is. I'm somewhere around level three. Two more to go! I can't imagine what the next mods will do. I've blown away a few people who looked sneeringly upon my old player. Little do they know...I think it was Simon who made an interesting comment about this player having great timing but struggling with tone. I have to concurr but I'm pretty sure Brent has the solution for this. MAybe his new caps?
Unless he steers me in another direction, the next stage will involve the Burston op-amps and his caps. This is fun! So far I have a stellar cdp for a very fair price and an interesting voyage. Happy new year all and keep up the good work.
Unless he steers me in another direction, the next stage will involve the Burston op-amps and his caps. This is fun! So far I have a stellar cdp for a very fair price and an interesting voyage. Happy new year all and keep up the good work.
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Hi,
There's no "solution" to the sound character the player has, that's just how it is and you can have that character in messy, mushy format (standard) or crystal clear format (very modified).
The Burson modules sound terrific and will give it a more open and punchy sound. If you ask him nicely, maybe Brent will regulate your servo drivers, it is very worthwhile, especially if you crave the best bass.
The extra S Power regulators in his Level 5 mod make a big difference, it will be smoother and cleaner again, and finally will have the fluid dreamy high end sound of the unaffordable players.... at least I think that's how those £5k+ players would sound
Simon
There's no "solution" to the sound character the player has, that's just how it is and you can have that character in messy, mushy format (standard) or crystal clear format (very modified).
The Burson modules sound terrific and will give it a more open and punchy sound. If you ask him nicely, maybe Brent will regulate your servo drivers, it is very worthwhile, especially if you crave the best bass.
The extra S Power regulators in his Level 5 mod make a big difference, it will be smoother and cleaner again, and finally will have the fluid dreamy high end sound of the unaffordable players.... at least I think that's how those £5k+ players would sound
Simon
Hi too, Yes I fully intend to go all the way! I space this out because of the £'s. The advantage is that as time goes on, he "learns" more and offers more (thanks in no small part to this on-going thread...let others do some of the work!) the "clock work" he did this time has had a major impact on timing; decay/impact. I don't know if I could take the whole package all at once! and this way I can really hear the difference as I progress to the dreamy hights. It would be really interesting to compared a fully kitted-out 63 or 67 to some of those "high end" players. Don't know if it ever has happend though. An interesting side-effect of all this is how much closer it gets to what (I remember) we call analogue sound, as apposed to digital.
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I've tried those exact cones on 2 cd players, both with considerable gains in musicality type changes. They are also beautiful and I've no hesitation recommending the seller, who ships them out in a gift box to "prove" they're not worthy of being taxed upon arrival.
4 Wooden Speaker Spike Isolation Cone Amplifier NWS04 on eBay (end time 17-Jan-10 10:41:08 GMT)
I have tried oak cone feet (Russ Andrews + an Ebay seller) under an integrated amp and a pre-amp. It made a big difference under the integrated!!
Simon
Indeed, but people like Brent also have to make choices about which mods are good value, not just good per se. A time-consuming tweak can add a lot of labour cost and might not be worthwhile overall.
If you look at Audiocom mods you'll see it's generally very easy to implement upgrades using costly parts for a very exotic price. I would sell my time to do mods cheaply because it's just a hobby for me... I think Brent's work is more of a happy medium ie. you get a lot for the money including some superb parts like the C2 clock. Brent once showed me a CD63 vanilla version with just a C2 and Burson op-amps and it was surprisingly good!!!
Hi Simon,
Have you tried these wooden feet with any old plastic case players? I'm looking for some new feet but I'm not sure if sorbothene will work better with plastic case.
Pete
Pete,
I put those wooden feet on my plastic CD650 and the change was wonderful, just as it is with metal CD players. I've not tried sorbothane but in principal I don't like the idea, and cones work so well!!
Ricardo,
I found regulating the HF amp with a 7805 makes hardly any difference to the sound. The decoder ones are certainly more important. I recall when I had the big external psu box on my KI I was getting huge dynamics and scale. PSUs are important for any CD player!
I put those wooden feet on my plastic CD650 and the change was wonderful, just as it is with metal CD players. I've not tried sorbothane but in principal I don't like the idea, and cones work so well!!
Ricardo,
I found regulating the HF amp with a 7805 makes hardly any difference to the sound. The decoder ones are certainly more important. I recall when I had the big external psu box on my KI I was getting huge dynamics and scale. PSUs are important for any CD player!
I do try to charge as low as possible for my time but there are overheads (like you paying board at your dads
), more often than not I under charge which is good everyone except me . On another note I do fit more than twice as many parts as Audiocom and approx 1/2 the cost too
. All my parts are nice ones too. I will do the small tweaks when doing upgrades also as they all add up to make the sound better.Whats wrong with Vanilla? It's the second most expensive spice you know!!
Brent