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Yes I know it is written about here but things change often.I have finally unpacked my SACD's and didn't realize how many I have. A big ole stack of all kinds of music. Many Dylan on SACD, all of the Rolling Stones and on and on. I have a SACD player but no longer one of the top players. I had the Philips 1000 years ago but sold it. Too bad they wouldn't service it any longer.
But anyway, is there a compact quality player around?
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
Edits: 11/26/14Follow Ups:
Go to accessories4less.com and find a nice Marantz at a good price. They even have Marantz bluray players that play SACDs.
Jim Tavegia
Which Marantz do you own Jim?
If I needed another SACD player it would be the 8005, but I already have 4: 3 Sony's and a Yamaha S-1800. Accessories4less had them for $899 before Christmas, but they will get more. Stereophile has had a number of reviews of the Marantz players in their archives.
I also know that both of the Oppo players have gotten high marks. The 103 is probably a steal at $500.
Jim Tavegia
Nice collection -Jim.
Oppo is not bad, not great either. It's fame & fortune relies on being a "catch-all" player and killer DAC section for computer audio applications.
My 3rd Sony DVP-NS 755 arrived yesterday from a buy off EBay and for all of $12.50 I really like this old player. Amazing what people nearly give away.
All 3 of mine are in mint condition and play any SACD I put in them along with all of my home made 2496 DVD-rs. I am using Cirlinca for burning now as I had run into some issues with Sony DVD-Architect that could not be solved with their tech support. Sony was great to work with, but I liked it when it did work, but I think some Win 7 update gummed up the works.
I still use Sony's Sound Forge for editing (it now handles up to 24/192 files) and their CD Architect for cd burning, both great programs
Jim Tavegia
Agreed Jim-
eBay is great for picking up Sony/Sony ES players on the cheap.
A Krell 505 used would be a tremendous player and competitive with the best in current production. The McIntosh isn't bad either...just don't buy a bloody Oppo!!!
dave_b
The Krell CD/SACD player is on my short-list to demo as well.
The low dollar solution. Find a Sony NS9000ES. Find someone who still does TV repair or some such. Have them replace the output opamps with sockets. Sony bypassed their caps I believe, so you should be able to have then pull the output bypass caps and replace them with either Mundorf S/G with or without oil, your preference, or with Teflon caps. Get a pair of Brown Dog adapters, single DIP to dual surface mount, as well as some AD825's, you'll need 4, 2 for each channel. Sony runs clean power supplies, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. I think they sell replacement lasers for them on eBay, and if you intend to use it long term, it may be a good idea to get one while they are still out there. You should be able to come in under $800 easy and you'll be pretty close to the best SS SACD player out there. Nearly forgot, have them put in 2 6.8K resistors on each adaptor from Pin 4, to pins 1 amd 7, that will push it pretty much into class A operation. You could go the FET route but I doubt you'd be able to hear the difference.
Best Regards,
Lou
Edits: 12/02/14 12/02/14 12/02/14
it was popular a number of years ago. Interesting. The work I can easily do myself. Will look into it.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
Can anyone speak about the mods for the player?
I think you'll be pleasently surprised.
Best Regards,
Lou
Lou-
do you know specifics about the mods for the player?
As in? It's pretty straight forward. I didn't mention the I/V opamp because I know of no best opamp in that position. I also failed to mention basically any cap in the audio path after the I/V opamp should be bypassed with a high quality cap. I used to replace all the electrolytic caps whether bias or in the signal path with Black Gates, but that is no longer an option.
Best Regards,
Lou
Edits: 12/06/14 12/06/14
you don't have any BG's but I have a big load of them, which is nice. I actually like BG's bypassed by BG's.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
Cool. I have a few myself, and I used to love to use the little .1uF bipolar to bypass other BG caps. I wonder when the rights to use graphite in the electrolite runs out. I am sure Elna or Nichicon would be happy to make caps that sound as good as Black Gates. I'm half surprised that the Chinese have not done it. They could sell them as NOS. After all any oligarchy with it's salt hoards Black Gates!
Best Regards,
Lou
Edits: 12/10/14
Audio Note UK is working on it and should have something near them this summer but they state that the BG is still the best, though not manufactured since 2006. Audio Note bought huge quantities of the, huge. Where is Trump. He can say HUGE better than me. lol
I am glad I have a pretty good stock of them but I still use them carefully and pull them from things I no longer use.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
Yeah, my best supply is in old gear I'm not using. I have some old Sony ES boards from old CD players loaded with BG's. My parts cabinets have a few, but I pretty much quit doing mods a few years back so when BG went under I really didn't stock up. I really wish I had stocked up on the little .1uF NPs if nothing else, those were/are magical little caps. On an Amazon thread I responded to an "electrical engineer" who claims expensive caps are a rip off. I don't blame him, that's what I used to think... Anyway, Audio Note gives nothing away. I might think about rolling my own before paying AN prices. You could try buying rubycon caps, disassemble them, add some graphite, reassemble them, and see what I get... I don't believe that's even illegal as long ASD it's for personal use.
Best Regards,
Lou
in the paper and it is a difficult process form what I have read. AN is very expensive. I stocked up on mine while still available and while some were actually on sale. I mostly have the non polar, as that is what I like best. Then often I do a dual non polar with the outer foil to the inner in parallel. You get almost no inductance and the esr is just about gone.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
I used to do that all the time myself. Some argued against it, but I thought it sounded slightly better so I used it all the time. Perhaps the process of impregnating the paper is what is protected. I suppose you could pull up the patent and go from there. You may want to ask a lawyer, but I suspect that no one would care as long ad you are not selling a product or a service. The trouble you would have to go through to make a few caps would make it far too laborious for anyone to economicly profit from it.
Best Regards,
Lou
it. If nothing more, you are increasing the capacitance and depending upon where you are doing this, that normally isn't a bad thing. I can measure the decrease in ESR with an expensive cap meter I have and inductance is reduced as well. Seems good to me. :^)
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
I know, but folks just want to argue I suppose. They want yo know it all, to be smarter than test equipment, etc. I forget the exact name assigned to the configuration, was it super e or some such? Anyway they would claim the theory had been disproven. Math and physics supported it, my listening supported it, so rather than arguing with them, I just ignored what they said and kept using it. One of the first things that was harped on in boot camp was that "Opinions are like anuses, everyone has one and they all stink." They may have use more pedestrian/colorful language to described the anus...
Best Regards,
Lou
Super E configuration. Yep, used it a lot. Less now since BG's are something I am frugal with.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables. Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/jamato8
One thing I never did a lot of was testing resistors. I figured out quickly that sand cast resistors are crap. I replaced them with Mills, but was wondering for high wattage applications which ones you prefer, assuming you have tweaked crossovers. I think many really like the gold Dales. Of course the list is nearly endless. Then there is an outfit in Texas I have heard of who talk about nude resistors for audio if my memory has it right. Have you tried many power resistors?
Best Regards,
Lou
John PA-
did you find an SACD player?
Very cool stuff guys.
You are the MAN! Lou.
Consider Denon & Yamaha SACD players as well.
I bought the Marantz sa8004 after listening to several SACD players at Axpona. Would have preferred the SA15 (SA14?) but the budget wouldn't stretch. I'm very happy with it. Nice that it doubles as a DAC; newer models do DSD too. As stated below, a bit warm, but not overly so.
I listened to the Hifiman HE-6 on a Hifiman amp and SA15 AT Axpona. Very nice combo. I ended up buying a pair of HE-5LE later.
Yeah, Axpona was expensive.
The Modwright Oppo is top notch, but way out of my range; stock Oppo just didn't do it for me. At all. The Sony 5400 sounds good, but really isn't competitive any more without DAC capabilities.
Thanks! for sharing bean-
Music Direct carries numerous Marantz SACD players from entry level thru their reference line. We can debate if they are "as good as" another manufacturer but they have a consistent warm sound throughout and a great warranty.
I think it is hard to go wrong with Marantz, very happy with my SA15-s2.
I have an Upgrade Company modified Marantz SA 8005 and it sounds better than the stock $2,500 SA-14 it replaced. The regular mods + 3 Bybee Purifiers was $1,800 total. A stock SA 8005 is $1,200.
Did you compare your SA8005 to the old SA-14, or the new SA-14S1? Just curious as I have an old SA-14 and a stock SA8005.
I compared the modified SA 8005 to my old SA-14 which I had bought in 2001.
Share your thoughts Duck...
The modified 8005 has a much fuller sound than the old SA-14. When playing SACDs, the display includes the title of each track just before the song starts. The regular Upgrade Company 8005 modifications are best described on their webpage; they add $300 to the cost of the stock unit. I had them add 3 Bybee Purifiers, 1 to the hot AC wire, 1 to the ground and 1 to the neutral. That's another $300. They also modify the more expensive Marantz units. I think the best way I can describe the sound is that it's much more analog sounding than the old SA-14.
Thank You.
Makes me wonder how good their Esoteric DV50 mod sounds.
Jim-
whom offers mod(s) for the DV-50?
They're still showing a testimonial on their site from 2009. I've emailed them to ask if they will do it.
I have no experience with The Upgrade Company, but David Schulte (the proprietor) is a controversial fellow and a lot of people have had negative experiences with him. See Google.
I'm extremely cautious with any upgrade, and with someone who refuses to divulge the details I'd be doubly cautious. On the other hand, one of the guys slagging him on the internet is blaming him for disc reading issues on his Esoteric. This seems far-fetched to me.
Very cool- keep me posted.
That's how I would say the sound difference is between my stock SA8005 and my original SA-14. The one place I think my SA8005 falls a bit short is in the upper region where the SA-14 has more air, transparency, and detail. I was comparing them this weekend on SACD. I am now playing the 8005 to break it in more.
My XA5400ES is by far the most detailed player I have ever owned but I missed the fuller sound of the Marantz. My SA-14 seemed to be the perfect balance between the 2 but it has issues.
I wish I could keep both the SA8005 and the Sony but financially I can't so I am selling the 5400.
The correct link is here
I venture to say that the main 2 operations left are;
The Upgrade Company
ModWright
All excellent points guys.
I always wanted that Phillips 1000 player- never had an opportunity to score one.
I did own the Phillips 963 SA model. Very good player w/o all of the issues the 1000 inherently experienced.
my McIntosh SACD/CD player. After going thru that Phillips 1000 with the mods by that fellow whose name I forget and who left America under a cloud of weirdness. The Phillips sounded amazing, and as you say when service stopped it was like the end of then world.
However the McIntosh sounds 98% as good and is built like a tank and in a darkened room it is a very nice face to look at
It sounds flat out amazing with CDs.
Perhaps you can look up dealers and check for used ones, new they are pricey. They have 4 different models...see the linky
Would that be Alex Paychek (or sumpin' like that, IIRC)? He was all over these fora for a couple of years, haven't heard boo in quite a while...
-RW-
Alex Povchek?
The owner of APL Hifi, now located in the EU but I could be wrong
and he will respond to emails. As far as fixing things may be a bit complicated, he moved his operation to his native Bulgaria.
dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut
Thanks! D -for the update.
Right Ron!
APL was another digital modding operation that was well regarded as well.
his name escaped me...
calls or some actual units he had to their owners that had them in for upgrades.
I met him, he "did" some repairs, but he didn't really.
I don't think he enjoyed working on players for hours everyday, he got overbooked, and left.
I was at their home several times and maybe because I was so close he did work on mine quickly and perfectly. His mom was very sweet and always made sure I was fed.
There was some talk about his brother and Russian Mafia. I heard the State Dept tossed the whole family out.
He sure could make that SACD from Phillips sing..
Yes LWR-
he was regarded as a very good modder of the Phillips 1000.
As I recall though the 1000 was a disaster. Phillips came out with fixes that needed fixes... He derided the Sony's, as being problem prone, but mine is still working great.
Best Regards,
Lou
Edits: 12/02/14
It is hard to imagine Lou. Afterall, Phillips was the co-inventor of the CD/SACD. The company built a few excellent CD players back in the 1980's.
I have oftened wondered why the 1000 player was such a failure?
These guys were very capable of building a better spinner...
Took me a long time to get there, but this is the one I'd recommend if you have $3,600 to spend, plus whatever tube-rolling costs you fall prey to (it does sound fine in stock form). No doubt it can be -- or will be -- had for less if you can find a used one. ModWright provides outstanding after-sale service and picks up the Oppo warranty (or one like it).
I would have to add to the above the VSE modded Sony 5400es as well. I have had one for a couple of years now; it is much smoother and much more detailed than the stock version (this is for the "TFL" level mod). Player and mod cost me about $3,000USD. The warranty on the mod is 5 years as well as the es player, of course. They (the modded units) appear much simpler, and less of an addition of "real estate" than the ModWright mod version of the 105. No tubes. No heat. The VSE TFL level mod is mostly about the clock, it would seem to me. I have not compared the two side by side.
Happy Listening to all,
robss
Second note;
better, higher-end players can be had on the used/demo market as well.
Watch Audiogon & eBay.
John-
depending on the monies involved w/ your purchase, Sony ES, Oppo and Marantz are all strong spinners.
always have been. I wonder if there have been any real changes that 2 or 3 years or if is more of a preference than real advancements. The Oppo 105 gets press and so on. I always admired the Sony SCD-1 but that was so long ago.
I have the Hugo and wonder for most applications, and since I can do DoP, which many feel is doing DSD, just a work around, would still do it for me. Of course, I can't play my SACD's. So there you go and the reason I was wondering if there is a "compact" player of SACD's.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
I like Esoteric players for SACD only.
pretty expensive. I guess I need to read up on why is available.
iBasso DX100,DX50 DX90. Chord Hugo. HiFiman 901 balanced. RSA Intruder, The Lightning. Fostex TH900 balanced, Hifiman HE-6, 560, 500, JH13 Pro balanced. Lyr2, Audeze. All phones balanced mostly with Whiplash cables.
Photo gallery: www.pbase.com/j
I very much like my Marantz SA15 S2 Ltd. the last 2 years. I did not like an Oppo 105 or 103 in comparison. Did not want or need any video capabilities on screen programing etc.
The SA14S1 current is pretty much the same machine except for some USB inputs etc . Not much change except for price. Depends on your budget as always. Lots of nice used stuff.
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