Marantz CD63 & CD67 mods list

Tom,

Yes, cables can sound quite different, especially at line-level. That mains filter will have a series coil, which is a bad thing to use on a class A/B amp. If you find you're no longer enjoying listening as much as you used to, remove the filter.

IIRC your amp is a really simple chip amp so there's not a lot to mod. The feedback resistor and psu caps will offer good improvements if upgraded to the right items.

Simon
 
Hi Tom,

I agree, cables and wiring have a big influence. Try replacing a decent interlink by the standard :2c: red/white piece of wire that comes with many equipment. The soundstage will be completely flattened by it.

I was listening with my SA8400 once, with someone who had some mains cables there to compare. I was a bit skeptic at first, it's a mains cable, right? But then we swapped the standard IEC cable for something decent, I think it was a Supra Low-Rad cable. The difference was very clear. So i'm a believer now, not only signal, but 230V also.

Ray
 
Darned right, a nice thick braided (Kimber, Yarbo etc.) speaker cable used as a mains lead with good quality plugs all polished up can make a very audible improvement. Lower distortion, deeper bass and a wider soundstage are typically heard - IF the cable is a good one. A mistake some people make is changing something cheap and rubbish for something else cheap and rubbish. It is from this type of experiment some people base their claims of inaudibility of component/cable changes.
 
That's true, I saw an interlink once that was made out of standard RG58 coax, the only thing they did was make the outer jacket yellow and they printed some fancy text on it.

Instead of a series filter, try a parallel construction, like the filter that's in my Balanced Mains Filter. It won't add any series impedance to the mains line. It's all the stuff at the secondary side of the tranny. It's a copy of a well-known commercial type :D.

Ray
 
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I was accused of buying a new CDP by my ex wife once after changing from std rubbish interconnects to some Van Den Hulls! I also agree about mains cables. I've built my own based on RA's.

IMG_5964.jpg


Should have just got a new CDP btw! then I'd have had less £ left to give her when we got divorced!!!!!
 
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When Bitstream came out, I thought, “my God, what are we going to do...?” Ken Ishiwata

He told me that after Bitstream appeared, Marantz was having trouble selling their CD53 63 etc so he decided to mod them and sell with a KI badge. He sold them with a good profit.
 
Read it and then ask yourself why people NOS (remove the 7220 filter) as an upgrade???? Seriously treat the filter chip to a decent clock and power supply and it will sing!! Sorry off topic!!

Ray - make sure you don't NOS your green dac!!!!

I'm not planning to! I'm not a big NOS fan, I think it's a step back in history. It's not the first time I hear that the 7220 can sound great, so i'm going to leave it in place.

I think the sound of this chip has a lot to do with the old-school power consuming logic that was used those days. This thing eats 180mA! It's like all the logic gates are in class-A :D

Ray