imperfectcircle said:
Fit your opamps and test for a while. Fit the caps later and see what differance they make. I personally found no difference but that maybe because my opamps had black gate caps right nest to them.
Brent
I have found 33uF Panasonic FCs to be beneficial.
Os-cons are said to be bad for sound in analogue circuits but that's just hearsay.
Like Rowe says it will depend on what decoupling caps you have nearby.
I don't think film caps are appropriate here, apart from between + and -. I don't think this cap will make much if any audible difference, so only do it if you like soldering. Might have to place it under the pcb.
Simon
Os-cons are said to be bad for sound in analogue circuits but that's just hearsay.
Like Rowe says it will depend on what decoupling caps you have nearby.
I don't think film caps are appropriate here, apart from between + and -. I don't think this cap will make much if any audible difference, so only do it if you like soldering. Might have to place it under the pcb.
Simon
Brent
Did you put a bypass cap across the Black Gates that are cap next to the opamps?
Thanks
Dave
Did you put a bypass cap across the Black Gates that are cap next to the opamps?
Thanks
Dave
Gooch said:
It seems to be generally accepted wisdom that you do not bypass Black Gate caps. They are effective at decoupling over a wide frequency range. (Hope that's technically accurate).
Simon
Hey anyone know were I can get the 470uh/2.5r and 1mh/14r inductors that Brent lists in his mods in the US?? I see Farnell sells them but to have them shipped from the UK will cost me $30! I checked Digikey but I cant seem to find a suitable replacemenet, the ones Digikey sells either have a much lower DCR under 1ohm or dont even list a DCR specification???? Please help i have my list all ready to order and this is the one thing I cant find!
Simon about the Oscons, i think they dont sound good in the signal path but I think they are good for decoupling even in analogue circuits. I was going to use some 220uf Silmics I have laying around for the 4 main opamp caps, realy worth the extra money for the BG?? Which series BG would you use, the Fk are best but very pricey, the BG standards are pretty resonable.
thnks
Frank
Simon about the Oscons, i think they dont sound good in the signal path but I think they are good for decoupling even in analogue circuits. I was going to use some 220uf Silmics I have laying around for the 4 main opamp caps, realy worth the extra money for the BG?? Which series BG would you use, the Fk are best but very pricey, the BG standards are pretty resonable.
thnks
Frank
imperfectcircle said:
Hi Frank!
Just use the ones with lower DCR, as long as they fit on the pcb ok! I'm sure they'll be fine. Mine sounded fine with low DCR inductors. Now though I'm gradually moving to all separate regs (slowly, lol).
I don't really know what the score is with the os-cons, I guess they're just fine for the job! If you have them to hand and are suitable sizes and specs just use them. BG Standard is fine. I don't know how worthwhile it would be using the top ones until you've gone very far with psu mods overall.
Someone else will have more experience to share than I.
I would add though that Os-cons are supposed to be the best caps available for digital decoupling, so maybe you'll want to use them for such places, and Elnas or Pana FC, Ruby ZA/ZL or BG for analogue.
What do you think of that to dampen the mecanism ?
http://www.uhu.de/_fr/indexx.html?main=/_fr/produkte/praktische_helfer/tac_gelb.html
http://www.uhu.de/_fr/indexx.html?main=/_fr/produkte/praktische_helfer/tac_gelb.html
Thanks SImon! I was thinking about usin Oscons for all the digital decoupling, but they seem to be a bit hard to find in the sizes i need here in the US. I did find some caps made by Illinois Capacitor that seem like they are very similar to the Sanyo oscons, and they offer free samples and available here in the US/
oraganic semiconductor capacitors
aluminum polymer capacitor
Anyone treid any of these "oscon" cap besides the Sanyo brand ones??
oraganic semiconductor capacitors
aluminum polymer capacitor
Anyone treid any of these "oscon" cap besides the Sanyo brand ones??
Any precise pictures to tell where it should be dampened? And is the 2 spike in front and 1 in rear the best one? The rear one will carry much more than the front ones, as the poor guy has the tranny for example...
Malefoda said:
It's standard advice to put a cone near the underside of the transformer, in amps. I think maybe this applies for CD players too. I just opted for best cosmetics and put 2 at the front and 1 at the back.
As for damping, well anywhere on the mech that won't foul it and stop it working would be good. And you need to deal with the main cdp lid - the u-shaped piece. This rings like a bell. Bitumen most easily cures this.
With those things you bought you could sandwich some inbetween the bracing bar and the lid, enough to make it tight.
Simon
My CD53 does not have the brace, as I think you think of the upper brace in the KI...
But I'll screw there a or two iron pipes to tight it well. Maybe more 😉
But I'll screw there a or two iron pipes to tight it well. Maybe more 😉
This should interest a few people here. I recently modded a 67 with fairly simple yet important mods and sold it on ebay.
I contacted the person who bought it and this is what he first said.
"Hi Brent
The CD player arrived on Monday ( safe and sound ) as you said. I have listened to it on my second system and it sounded very good . It was a no contest case against the Marants 63 SE KI it replaced. I have not contacted you yet, as I mean to compare it to my other ( top ) Cd setup on my main system to reach my final verdict. I should do this by this weekend. I will let you know the result.
In the meantime I am very happy with it,and thanks a lot.
Regards
Joe"
so i enquired as to his main system
"Hi
Five years ago I stopped using Cd as I converted back to Vinyl. The CD player was a Sony 555 ESD which cost me £1000 in 1990. After listening to Vinyl I could not digest the sonics of the Sony, until a year ago, I experimented and connected the player to the DAC ( 24 Bit ) in my Lexicon DC1 Sound Processor. That produced acceptable sound, and revived my CD library, again.
So that is the system I will be comparing the Marantz 67, with.
Regards
Joe"
I have waited for his replay which I received today
"Hi
The vrdict. The 67 won. Close contest but I prefer the 67 as it sounded, more foolsome, and no glare . It sounded closer to Vinyl and I like it. It was playing through valve amplification and Lowther horn speakers and active subwoofer.
Hope you dont mind me asking some questions.
Did you use it yourself?
Have you been involved with the modifications yourself as I am very interested to find out about the origins of the upgrades and why apply them to a 67 when there are more solidly built players around.
( I am technically minded with electronics background. )
Hope I am not taking too much of your time.
Regards
Joe "
So im happy and he is happy LOL
Just shows what can be gained from these players
Brent
I contacted the person who bought it and this is what he first said.
"Hi Brent
The CD player arrived on Monday ( safe and sound ) as you said. I have listened to it on my second system and it sounded very good . It was a no contest case against the Marants 63 SE KI it replaced. I have not contacted you yet, as I mean to compare it to my other ( top ) Cd setup on my main system to reach my final verdict. I should do this by this weekend. I will let you know the result.
In the meantime I am very happy with it,and thanks a lot.
Regards
Joe"
so i enquired as to his main system
"Hi
Five years ago I stopped using Cd as I converted back to Vinyl. The CD player was a Sony 555 ESD which cost me £1000 in 1990. After listening to Vinyl I could not digest the sonics of the Sony, until a year ago, I experimented and connected the player to the DAC ( 24 Bit ) in my Lexicon DC1 Sound Processor. That produced acceptable sound, and revived my CD library, again.
So that is the system I will be comparing the Marantz 67, with.
Regards
Joe"
I have waited for his replay which I received today
"Hi
The vrdict. The 67 won. Close contest but I prefer the 67 as it sounded, more foolsome, and no glare . It sounded closer to Vinyl and I like it. It was playing through valve amplification and Lowther horn speakers and active subwoofer.
Hope you dont mind me asking some questions.
Did you use it yourself?
Have you been involved with the modifications yourself as I am very interested to find out about the origins of the upgrades and why apply them to a 67 when there are more solidly built players around.
( I am technically minded with electronics background. )
Hope I am not taking too much of your time.
Regards
Joe "
So im happy and he is happy LOL
Just shows what can be gained from these players
Brent
Nice one brent.
You mod them, and i kill them 😀
Not many 63's going on ebay atm so it looks as though i wont have another player for a while 🙁
You mod them, and i kill them 😀
Not many 63's going on ebay atm so it looks as though i wont have another player for a while 🙁
rowemeister said:
excellent review(s).. and i'm not suprised.. The player can really really kick eh.. butt...
Tonight i heard the a cd i own on the radio at my parent's home.. .(cyrus 6 series on dynaudio/scanspeek 930000) it's nothing like the cd... but maybe that's because that's because my speakers are not really comparable.. (dynaudio esotar tweeters). The Cyrus should out perform my Audio analogue Puccini remote amplifier...
Just to add my 2 cents to the why not mod a new dvd player?
I think modding is a thing you can do on a lot of players and not just the marantz cd-xx series... But i think modding a default CD-player gives you some benefits because you are changing a specialized system... so no extremely high bitrates/compression/high frequency range (SA-CD) troubles... you can optimize for just CD.... and no added electronics are in the system (or can fairly safely removed like the muting circuitry). I think this is one of the major advantages of modding the CD 53/63/67....
Anyway, I've been listening to a turntable tonight though (technics SL-3)... and i must say that im charmed by the recording i've heard of dave brubeck's take five... it is more direct then cd... It really suited the music.. but maybe my cd-version of take five is not so good...
I must say that i'm very eager to hear what the vinyl version of my reference album sounds like (Daniel Laureida/ Ray brown's - Moonlight Serenade).
What are your experiences with other 'media'?
Regards Jacco
ps. So far i am extremely happy with my CD-63 SE cd-player
Ok I finally got a good list of parts i need to order for my cd53 mods. I have a pretty good plan of what I am going to do. Im basically doing a combo of Brents mods, Thorsten loechs mods and the Acoustica.ord mods. Im going to do it in small stages. ANd there is no place better to start than the power supply.
Power supply(Stage 1)
1. Install an IEC so I can use a high quality sheilded power cord.
2. install X/Y series caps and a choke before the transformer
3. Diodes for +-12v and 5v rails upgraded to 11dq10 schottkys
4. Filter caps before regs replaced with high quality Nichicon UPW + .1uf Wima poly cap, maybe blackgates for analogue supply
5. regulator output caps replace with more Nichicon UPW + .1uf Wima and possibly BG for analogue.
6. replacing some resitors in the power supply rails with chokes for some LC de-coupling.
7. upgrade local decoupling caps with Blackgates(analogue) and Oscon(digital)
8. replace stock +-12v and 5v regulators with low noise regs(LT1085) or maybe even "super regs"
SO thats the plan for the power supply for the next week or so. Stage 2 I will focus on the analogue stage, .1% resitors, 1%styrene caps , opa627 and some nice Cardas jacks. Stage 3 will be a clock upgrade. And if there is a stage 4 it will be more serious mods such as an external power supply with seperate digital and analogue trannies and multiple regulators. Possibly a tube output stage and maybe even put the player into a nice heavy wood case or something! So what do you guys think?? You guys are great you have really gotten me iexcited about modding my player and gave me that little push to get working on it!
Thanks
Frank
Power supply(Stage 1)
1. Install an IEC so I can use a high quality sheilded power cord.
2. install X/Y series caps and a choke before the transformer
3. Diodes for +-12v and 5v rails upgraded to 11dq10 schottkys
4. Filter caps before regs replaced with high quality Nichicon UPW + .1uf Wima poly cap, maybe blackgates for analogue supply
5. regulator output caps replace with more Nichicon UPW + .1uf Wima and possibly BG for analogue.
6. replacing some resitors in the power supply rails with chokes for some LC de-coupling.
7. upgrade local decoupling caps with Blackgates(analogue) and Oscon(digital)
8. replace stock +-12v and 5v regulators with low noise regs(LT1085) or maybe even "super regs"
SO thats the plan for the power supply for the next week or so. Stage 2 I will focus on the analogue stage, .1% resitors, 1%styrene caps , opa627 and some nice Cardas jacks. Stage 3 will be a clock upgrade. And if there is a stage 4 it will be more serious mods such as an external power supply with seperate digital and analogue trannies and multiple regulators. Possibly a tube output stage and maybe even put the player into a nice heavy wood case or something! So what do you guys think?? You guys are great you have really gotten me iexcited about modding my player and gave me that little push to get working on it!
Thanks
Frank
Sorry for getting slightly OT again.
I have just "finished" my preamp based on Project 88 from ESP - in this brew with AD8620. Well, it still needs the finishing touch but it's running.
And guess what - the 63 got even better. It's kind of scaring !!
And for you guys who hates pictures - heres one 😉
Now back on track again.
I have just "finished" my preamp based on Project 88 from ESP - in this brew with AD8620. Well, it still needs the finishing touch but it's running.
And guess what - the 63 got even better. It's kind of scaring !!
And for you guys who hates pictures - heres one 😉
Now back on track again.
Attachments
imperfectcircle said:
Looks like a very good plan. Only thing I'll say is you're gonna hear the clock upgrade loud and clear after those other mods IMO! It will sound good.
A wooden case? Oh yes, very nice 🙂
avr300 said:Sorry for getting slightly OT again.
I have just "finished" my preamp based on Project 88 from ESP - in this brew with AD8620. Well, it still needs the finishing touch but it's running.
And guess what - the 63 got even better. It's kind of scaring !!
And for you guys who hates pictures - heres one 😉
Well well, another project 88, altho by the looks you just copied this simple circuit and didn't use his pcbs.
Maybe I should be looking at AD8620 for mine. The LM6172 seems to "grate" a bit at high listening levels, causing fatigue. I also intend to try OPA627 in it. The recommended OPA2134 was a bit bland. Did you try any other op-amps?
Sorry it's OT.
ps. lovely work! great pic!
Simon