Hi Ben: After changing the opamps I remembered that the bass is almost the same however the HF has extended. I can hear more details with the Burson and with HDAM removed. When I changed the PSUs the bass became much more extended and tight - very noticeable. When I used a voltmeter to measure the servo voltage, with the stock TX the voltage would drop by a few volts when I started to run a CD. However with a bigger PSU for the servo the voltage was very stable and there was less than 0.5V transient voltage dip.
I also have tried LM4562HA and the SQ is not far off from Burson. Overall the SQ from Burson is more smooth but the LF and HF are similar to LM4562HA.
I haven't try 100n across 470uF caps for HF filtering so I have no experience but I have changed all 0.047uF and some 0.022uF caps by WIMAs.
Changing the 2 clocks will make the SQ more clear and transparent but I don't observe big changes in bass (but HF is more clear).
As I said before I started the mod by changing the caps before changing the clocks so that I can remove the caps more easily without causing damages to the external clocks.
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OK so Caps first, again on the forums there are so many different values and types mentioned. I have looked at the list on Rays audio page is this a good starting point to do the mods mentioned for the psu, also are mundorf caps worth the expense?
3rd modding project completed
I have completed my 3rd modding project which my good friend had requested me to carry out for him after listening to my modded CD63KI.
Actually a few of my friends have also asked me to do the same but I have refused all of them as I don't have the time to carry out the work at the moment 🙁
This will be the last modding project for the time being and I will carry out new project again may be after 3 months time.
I have completed my 3rd modding project which my good friend had requested me to carry out for him after listening to my modded CD63KI.
Actually a few of my friends have also asked me to do the same but I have refused all of them as I don't have the time to carry out the work at the moment 🙁
This will be the last modding project for the time being and I will carry out new project again may be after 3 months time.
Attachments
I have just set up a 50 V tx (in a separate case) feeding 2 daughter boards, each carrying diodes, a big cap, 12 v power regulator and a further big cap. I will use this to power the servo.
I have been collaborating with my electrical guru on this, and he has worked out where to wire the 4 connectors down to the main pcb by examining the circuit diagram for the CD 63SE. However, my player is the KIS. I have physically checked the circuit diagram to my player's pcb, and as far as I can see, the circuit boards for the SE and KIS are the same in and around the servo area. I thought I would check first on here that the 2 are the same before making the connections.
Could someone please let me know? Thank you in advance.
I have been collaborating with my electrical guru on this, and he has worked out where to wire the 4 connectors down to the main pcb by examining the circuit diagram for the CD 63SE. However, my player is the KIS. I have physically checked the circuit diagram to my player's pcb, and as far as I can see, the circuit boards for the SE and KIS are the same in and around the servo area. I thought I would check first on here that the 2 are the same before making the connections.
Could someone please let me know? Thank you in advance.
They are EXACTLY the same player without the gold badge, copper paint and toroidal transformer. Now you've upgraded that you may as well sell the KI for £180 and buy an SE for £60! I've sold every KI to upgrade to modded SE's 🙂
Hi there !
Just got a CD57 mkii.
It needs to be cleaned and greased on moving part since it skips a bit every now and then.
Then I'll start modding it, but it's my first time doing this so i'll go slowly.
1st thing I'll do : removing headphone out and muting part for a start.
then, get back to reading this incredible thread.
Thanks already to everyone who participated to this thread.
Just got a CD57 mkii.
It needs to be cleaned and greased on moving part since it skips a bit every now and then.
Then I'll start modding it, but it's my first time doing this so i'll go slowly.
1st thing I'll do : removing headphone out and muting part for a start.
then, get back to reading this incredible thread.
Thanks already to everyone who participated to this thread.
UV101, new laser was the first idea I had. Then I've read that page Laserology and thought I should try and clean it. I've even read a post from high fidelity http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/54009-marantz-cd63-cd67-mods-list-23.html#post815259 ('cause yes, i've really started to read that whole thread 😛 ).
If it's not enough, can I order a new laser from any chinese seller on the bay or ali ex press ?
If it's not enough, can I order a new laser from any chinese seller on the bay or ali ex press ?
I noticed that presently almost all of the laser for CD63 are made in China and are of the same brand irrespective where you buy them. The problem is that the product has unstable quality control and you have to rely on your luck to get a trouble free one 🙁
Genuine Phillips mech here.
VAM1202/12 Philips CD Mechanism, Complete Traverse Unit VAM1201 CDM12.1 | eBay
VAM1202/12 Philips CD Mechanism, Complete Traverse Unit VAM1201 CDM12.1 | eBay
I have doubt that they are genuine parts from Phillips as I cannot see any Phillips logo on the unit. Mine got Phillips logo on the label and on the brown ribbon. It looks something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW...057?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b6b058c1
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW...057?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b6b058c1
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They are no more genuine than I am the pope!!!! 😉
Ok so they could be genuine but they have come from the same factory as all the others on eBay. I brought genuine 3 genuine Philips mechs from America about 10 years ago and they were all perfect. I got another 3 a couple of years ago and they were all problematic. Don't think that any Philips sticker means they will be better than then other ones. I just expect to need to tweek everyone that I use 😉
I think the hope of anything genuine from Philips dies years and years ago!
Ok so they could be genuine but they have come from the same factory as all the others on eBay. I brought genuine 3 genuine Philips mechs from America about 10 years ago and they were all perfect. I got another 3 a couple of years ago and they were all problematic. Don't think that any Philips sticker means they will be better than then other ones. I just expect to need to tweek everyone that I use 😉
I think the hope of anything genuine from Philips dies years and years ago!
Yes, you are right. Nowadays all the CD63 lasers are manufactured from China. Not long ago I have to change 3 brand new lasers to get one working. You may note that the magnetic clamping cone of the latest laser does not fit into the holding cap due to different size. I need to pull out the original one from the damaged laser and fit it onto the new laser to ensure proper clamping of the CD.
The clamping cone should look something similar to this:
Original Philips CDM-12.4 CDM12.4CD VAM1204 Laser Lens 747706001800 | eBay (CDM 12.4 cannot be used in CD63 but you can pull the clamping cone out for use if you don't have the original one)
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I've changed out several of these (10s) over the last few years and never had a problem. Are you adhering to antistatic precautions?
Yes, antistatic precautions has been done 😉 May be I am the unlucky one 🙁
The new laser generally worked but sometimes had problems in playing tracks of certain CDs until I changed to the one that worked for all CDs.