[jeffro]

I currently have a Phillips 963sa as my main source and have been bitten by the upgrade bug. Has anyone heard a SACD mods Phillips and a Phillips running through an Ack!DAC? I am not sure whether to mod or go with the DAC.

I am a little hesistant to spend money to mod the player since it locks up at times, resulting in me having to unplug the player.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

 

[Anders]

I had a 963SA that also locked up sometimes, it became worse after a few months and I had to send it for service. I got a new one, but this was on the edge because there is a lack of such players, at least in Sweden, because the model is discontinued. They tried to give me another Philips DVD-player instead, but I didn't accept that.
So I am glad that I upgraded with a Perpetual DAC instead, which was a clear improvement of sound (only on CD of course). I believe that the Ack! would do the same. Or some MSB DAC. Which is best of these, I don't know.

In the meantime, I bought a CDP to use as a drive, so now I am facing a similar problem. Modify 963SA or use it as a DVD? I have not decided yet. This is my experience and I hope that the problems with your player will be just occasional. I don't know how serious they are, but there are often some small problems with players.
BTW, the new 963SA seems to sound a little better than the previous. Maybe, there was some fault from the beginning.