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Hi-Rez Highway: REVIEW: Sony SCD-XB940 AW-S Level 2 CD Player/Recorder by Joel_Waterman

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REVIEW: Sony SCD-XB940 AW-S Level 2 CD Player/Recorder

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Model: SCD-XB940 AW-S Level 2
Category: CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price: $
Description: Level 2 modifications on the VSE modified Sony XB940-QS
Manufacturer URL: Sony
Manufacturer URL: Sony

Review by Joel_Waterman ( A ) on May 03, 2003 at 03:11:02
IP Address: 81.53.118.251
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for the SCD-XB940 AW-S Level 2


"The Hash Is Gone"

This title captures the Vacuumstate Electronics Level 2 modification on my SACD player, a Sony SCD XB-940 already modified by Allen Wright once before. And depending on your state of mind these words will make you smile or weep :-) But seriously, the Level 2 mod improves further on what was already a very transparent player after Level 1.

My upgrade saga is well documented in the review section. For those of you unfamiliar with Allen's SACD player mods I invite you to take a look at my reviews (it will also explain the AW-S designation).

There was a week in between receiving the Level 2 kit and getting the player back from the audio tech who installed it for me. When I took delivery of the player I looked at it with great anticipation and some trepidation. Would I be able to notice any difference? Allen had been fairly vague in his descriptions since he wanted me to judge for myself. "Prepare for it to sound a little different", he said. Ok.

I am very aware of the tricks our audio memory can play with us. And not being able to do instant A/B/A comparisons did concern me a bit. I had to make sure I was not hearing things that were not there so I played only recordings that are intimately familiar to me. I summarized my overall impressions below and provided more detail on the individual clues afterwards. I am sorry that I cannot compare the player with other SACD players, making this review probably more interesting for you, but I hope my descriptions are meaningful even as a 'stand-alone' effort.


Overall impression summary:
The Level 2 modification gave me an added level of clarity and detail allowing me to hear even deeper into the music. It seems to me that my SACD player has become 'faster' than it was before. Stopping and starting of notes is sounded quicker, giving the music a more immediate impact. This could also be a consequence of the increased transparency. Instrument separation has greatly improved, something that became even more apparent after approx. 20 hours of burn-in. The overall improvement brought about by Level 2 is clearly audible and immediate - I felt very positive about about the changes I heard and the main improvements as described spoke pretty clearly to me right from the first disc.

Details:
- On Bruce Cockburn's 'Anything Anytime Anywhere' I never heard such clarity and drive of the drums. Analyzing this I believe its because of the fact that the drumkit stands out more. Not that it's artificially lifted, but there is more space surrounding the instrument, allowing it to play its proper role and not get buried into the mix.

- This drumkit observation I explored further by playing SRV's 'Couldn't Stand The Weather'. The multiple sounds emanating from the drumkit I found easier discernable, from the metallic tics on the rim to the kick on the bass drum to the shimmer on the cymbals. The player allowed each element to play its individual role into building the overall drumkit sound. So you get both the component parts and the whole. On track 6 'Tin Pan Alley' I actually heard the skin of the bass drum vibrate - something I never heard here before. It is this incredible detail that actually makes up the sound and enhances your involvement in the music.

- The detail retrieval on the track "Britta's Blues" from Anthony Wilson's SACD called 'Our Gang' also reached a new level. The runs up and down the keyboard of the Hammond organ are rendered with incredible fidelity. I can hear the touch and the slight clicking/chafing sound as the keys are pressed. I don't think that this detail retrieval has made the player too analytical btw, because its overall balance has remained in tact vs Level 1. It still has this transparent liquidity I talked about in my earlier review. It's just more nimble with the Level 2 mod installed.

- I cannot recall hearing the burnished copper sound of Miles' trumpet on 'My Funny Valentine' (JSACD) quite like this. I also heard more space around the instruments than I was accustomed to.

- Pieter Wispelwey's Saint-Saens piece has become more spacious than I recall with a floatiness to the mass strings that struck me as new.

- On 'Friday Night In SFO' a source component has to be able to let go off the notes very quickly to capture the guitar pyrotechnics that are on display here. The L2 mods have increased that speed noticibly (I am very familiar with this album). The other thing that I noticed here - and with other live albums - was the increased resolution with which the player reproduced the audience participation. Clapping, shouting etc is always a difficult thing to get right and the L2 mods deliver here as well. That is a pretty big benefit in my book. On live recordings the audience is very much part of the performance and improved sound quality in this regard has a positive effect on how one enjoys 'live' concerts on disc. If your system reduces audience participation to a hash you know what I am talking about.

- DSOTM's 'Us And Them' sounds better than before; I would define 'better' in this case as less hazy especially in the chorus parts (I wanted to prevent using the word 'hash' for a third time, lest you get the wrong impression :-). This 30th ann. edition still screams for a better stereo mix, but I have resigned myself to the fact that this is due to master tape limitations. Sigh.

- Eva Cassidy's voice on 'Songbird' (RBCD) is already well recorded, but at the very first listen it struck me how more immediate and startingly clear that voice really was. The effect of the mod surrounds her voice with more air and increases the clarity in the high treble one notch which explains the difference I heard.


Short technical description:
Level 2 adds some very special supply rail bypass caps in the digital section. Across the various player models, between 9 and 15 get added in specific places around the digital filter and S-TACT (if used). For my XB-940 player 10 of these caps were used on the Sony audio board. It required some static-free soldering and Allen says this is not a job for beginners. Allen may want to expand a little on this here, but I guess there is not much more to be said about it. Allen's audio design motto is KISS. And Allen, that's what you deserve (but not from me though :-) for coming up with this one!

Cheers,
Jw


Product Weakness: see above
Product Strengths: see above


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Topic - REVIEW: Sony SCD-XB940 AW-S Level 2 CD Player/Recorder - Joel_Waterman 03:11:02 05/3/03 ( 2)