mekanoplastik
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Modifying the Sony d25 Discman v.0.9 By Mekanoplastik 2003
This document will cover the following issues:
1- Intro, history
2- Modifications
3- Conclusion and review
XXX IMPORTANT XXX
This document is 75% done, I am still working with Puppyslugg, Purk and Hirsch on the final revisions, it will (I hope...) include, pictures, the puppysupply specs plus diagram, Puppy’s, Purk’s and Hirsch’s review comparing the player to a standard 25, d303, d555, some high end denon portables.
I am posting this because I will be moving soon and I dont know when I will be able to do it otherwise, but please remember this is not the final revision of this file.
XXX---------------XXX
Introduction, history
About a year ago, I was on the lookout for a cheap cd player to use at home. After reading the fantastic review of the old Sony D-25 written by Russ Arcuri (definitely a must read document for d-25 enthusiasts) I decided give it a try and picked up one from ebay.
The first impression couldn’t have been better, brand new player, in the original box, very pretty looking and rather cheap ($40 + shipping) the sound was excellent but I wished for a little more bass and a little less noise.
Soon after I started hanging out at head-fi I decided to open the player and take a look to see what I could find inside and the rest is history..(well maybe, but not quite yet, but I love that sentence
)
The first modification I did to the player was to replace some coupling caps at the headphone out . I didnt have much time to compare results since I had to sacrifice my d-25 in order to resurrect a d-555 , in need of a new laser . When I opened the d-25 to take the laser out, I saw an opamp and naively assumed it was the analog output. I contacted Puppyslugg (my #1 collaborator
) and he suggested replacing it with a better quality opamp and see what the results were. He suggested using the ad8620.
I quickly replaced the opamp with the ad8620 and while I noticed some positive changes. I also noticed that the opamp was not in the analog output. (I am still trying to figure out what the function is. Help is welcome (update: after reviewing the schematic it seems the opamp has something to do with the servo or error correction. Anyway I am not going to open the player again to remove it. and I still think it helps). After seeing (hearing) that the player can actually be improved and having a spare player for parts, I tried to find if I could use some of the parts in the dead d-25 (especially the dac chip) and I decided to do all the mods I could for the d25.
Modifications:
D25s turbo mods ideas and comments
Conclusion:
The modifications results in a noticeable difference in sound. The difference is a huge improvement. I have modded few other d25 players, to confirm I wasn’t just lucky with the first one and they all turned out equally nice.
Reviews
My review:
I have owned a d-555, d-303, d-35, d-12, d-33, d141 and some others and I can only say that my turbo is UNMATCHED. I have publicly (with my friends) reviewed this player and they were amazed of much detail and how easy going and smooth the music sounds, in my opinion (biased and influenced, of course J) this player is just perfect for classical music: smooth, quick, detailed, and non fatiguing… just right. The main characteristic I find with the sound is the level of detail without noise. Tight bass and clear highs. A friend of mine said: "...the black one (303) has more energy, but your (turbo) sounds like real instruments.. " hehe.. I can not think of any other $40 device that sounds even remotely close to the turbo.
Coupled with a tin amp, a nice ps, and a nice set of cans it makes a small system that sounds a lot bigger than it looks.
Any negatives? Yes it is now impossible to find the d25s old or new. Silicon Salvage that used to sell them at eBay, are sold out of d25s. Though you can order the PCM66 DAC from Partsolver.com.
Puppyslugg writes:
It started out innocently enough. Mekanoplastik had posted a cap mod for the d25 and I posted asking what opamp was used in the d25. He tells me it was a ba10358 and sent a link for the opamp. I assumed it was in the audio chain and I suggested he give the ad8620 a try. Which he did and reported positive results.
Well, it turns out the ba10358 was not in the audio chain, but was used for error correction. Perhaps, the ad8620 offered better error correction(?). Regardless, with the sound improvement to the d25, along with the cap mod, it was worth leaving the ad8620 in.
Some time had past, when MekanoPlastik emailed me about doing a stacked, dual dac, mod and asked if I would be interested in auditioning the TurboD25. I said: Sure, send it. As I was about to sell my d25 because I agreed with Gloco and others, that the d25 sounded ‘metallicky’, I was feeling somewhat indifferent towards the Turbo.
When I received the Turbo, I hooked-up my regulated power supply and the Grado60s to the hp out of the Turbo. At first, I thought there wasn’t much difference between the Turbo and my stock d25. But as listened more, I could hear the Turbo was a bit more dynamic, and the soundstage was somewhat larger and there was more depth.
I then connected the lineout of the Turbo to my modified Corda HA-1 and Ety4S. And in a word, WOW!!
The soundstage was huge, with great depth. There was a sense of excitement to the music that the stock d25 and other pcdps, totally lacked. It was rhythmic, with terrific pacing, and decay. During the listening, I had to recompose myself and say: “You’re listening to a pcdp,…” But as I listened to the Turbo more, it only reinforced my opinion of the Turbo.
I believe the Turbo to be a significant upgrade to the stock d25. The mods transforms the d25 to a much higher level of performance. How high? If you were to tell me the Turbo is as good as any of the classic Sony’s, you’d get no argument from me. If you were to tell me the Turbo can hang with some home cdps, I wouldn’t even blink.
Bottom line: From my perspective, the Turbo is well worth the expense and effort. Particularly if you want way better than average performance from a portable/transportable rig. Not too shabby in a stationary setup, either.
Kudos for MekanoPlastik!!
Go Team Turbo!!
3:
Purk review coming soon
4:
Hirsch review coming soon
....end ....
m
This document will cover the following issues:
1- Intro, history
2- Modifications
3- Conclusion and review
XXX IMPORTANT XXX
This document is 75% done, I am still working with Puppyslugg, Purk and Hirsch on the final revisions, it will (I hope...) include, pictures, the puppysupply specs plus diagram, Puppy’s, Purk’s and Hirsch’s review comparing the player to a standard 25, d303, d555, some high end denon portables.
I am posting this because I will be moving soon and I dont know when I will be able to do it otherwise, but please remember this is not the final revision of this file.
XXX---------------XXX
Introduction, history
About a year ago, I was on the lookout for a cheap cd player to use at home. After reading the fantastic review of the old Sony D-25 written by Russ Arcuri (definitely a must read document for d-25 enthusiasts) I decided give it a try and picked up one from ebay.
The first impression couldn’t have been better, brand new player, in the original box, very pretty looking and rather cheap ($40 + shipping) the sound was excellent but I wished for a little more bass and a little less noise.
Soon after I started hanging out at head-fi I decided to open the player and take a look to see what I could find inside and the rest is history..(well maybe, but not quite yet, but I love that sentence
The first modification I did to the player was to replace some coupling caps at the headphone out . I didnt have much time to compare results since I had to sacrifice my d-25 in order to resurrect a d-555 , in need of a new laser . When I opened the d-25 to take the laser out, I saw an opamp and naively assumed it was the analog output. I contacted Puppyslugg (my #1 collaborator
I quickly replaced the opamp with the ad8620 and while I noticed some positive changes. I also noticed that the opamp was not in the analog output. (I am still trying to figure out what the function is. Help is welcome (update: after reviewing the schematic it seems the opamp has something to do with the servo or error correction. Anyway I am not going to open the player again to remove it. and I still think it helps). After seeing (hearing) that the player can actually be improved and having a spare player for parts, I tried to find if I could use some of the parts in the dead d-25 (especially the dac chip) and I decided to do all the mods I could for the d25.
Modifications:
D25s turbo mods ideas and comments
Conclusion:
The modifications results in a noticeable difference in sound. The difference is a huge improvement. I have modded few other d25 players, to confirm I wasn’t just lucky with the first one and they all turned out equally nice.
Reviews
My review:
I have owned a d-555, d-303, d-35, d-12, d-33, d141 and some others and I can only say that my turbo is UNMATCHED. I have publicly (with my friends) reviewed this player and they were amazed of much detail and how easy going and smooth the music sounds, in my opinion (biased and influenced, of course J) this player is just perfect for classical music: smooth, quick, detailed, and non fatiguing… just right. The main characteristic I find with the sound is the level of detail without noise. Tight bass and clear highs. A friend of mine said: "...the black one (303) has more energy, but your (turbo) sounds like real instruments.. " hehe.. I can not think of any other $40 device that sounds even remotely close to the turbo.
Coupled with a tin amp, a nice ps, and a nice set of cans it makes a small system that sounds a lot bigger than it looks.
Any negatives? Yes it is now impossible to find the d25s old or new. Silicon Salvage that used to sell them at eBay, are sold out of d25s. Though you can order the PCM66 DAC from Partsolver.com.
Puppyslugg writes:
It started out innocently enough. Mekanoplastik had posted a cap mod for the d25 and I posted asking what opamp was used in the d25. He tells me it was a ba10358 and sent a link for the opamp. I assumed it was in the audio chain and I suggested he give the ad8620 a try. Which he did and reported positive results.
Well, it turns out the ba10358 was not in the audio chain, but was used for error correction. Perhaps, the ad8620 offered better error correction(?). Regardless, with the sound improvement to the d25, along with the cap mod, it was worth leaving the ad8620 in.
Some time had past, when MekanoPlastik emailed me about doing a stacked, dual dac, mod and asked if I would be interested in auditioning the TurboD25. I said: Sure, send it. As I was about to sell my d25 because I agreed with Gloco and others, that the d25 sounded ‘metallicky’, I was feeling somewhat indifferent towards the Turbo.
When I received the Turbo, I hooked-up my regulated power supply and the Grado60s to the hp out of the Turbo. At first, I thought there wasn’t much difference between the Turbo and my stock d25. But as listened more, I could hear the Turbo was a bit more dynamic, and the soundstage was somewhat larger and there was more depth.
I then connected the lineout of the Turbo to my modified Corda HA-1 and Ety4S. And in a word, WOW!!
The soundstage was huge, with great depth. There was a sense of excitement to the music that the stock d25 and other pcdps, totally lacked. It was rhythmic, with terrific pacing, and decay. During the listening, I had to recompose myself and say: “You’re listening to a pcdp,…” But as I listened to the Turbo more, it only reinforced my opinion of the Turbo.
I believe the Turbo to be a significant upgrade to the stock d25. The mods transforms the d25 to a much higher level of performance. How high? If you were to tell me the Turbo is as good as any of the classic Sony’s, you’d get no argument from me. If you were to tell me the Turbo can hang with some home cdps, I wouldn’t even blink.
Bottom line: From my perspective, the Turbo is well worth the expense and effort. Particularly if you want way better than average performance from a portable/transportable rig. Not too shabby in a stationary setup, either.
Kudos for MekanoPlastik!!
Go Team Turbo!!
3:
Purk review coming soon
4:
Hirsch review coming soon
....end ....
m
