[BillyBenBilly]

I recently purchased an Onix xcd-88 cd player. As many know, this is essentially the same cd player as the Music Hall cd-25 at a bargin price of $299. At the price, it's a great bargin and a very respectable cd player. I recently upgraded the op amps to 627's and the player really has improved considerably in detail, musicality, and extension. I highly recommend the stock player and modded player for your consideration.

 

[grandenigma1]

as do I

glad to hear you like it billy!

 

[arnesto]

I just ordered one, are they really as good as everybody says they are?
How is the player as a transport only?

I am thinking of using this player initially without a DAC, but I thought because of the inexpensive price. I can get this player and a DAC within my budget.

Or what are some recommendations for other budget transposts under $500?

 

[dwc]

HK DVD-31, Toshiba 3950, 3960, 4960, Pioneer DV-525, Samsung HD-841,

All these player start out decent, and can be tweaked for improvements if desired. Some tweaks may not apply if you're taking the digital output instead of analog.

See Peak's page

 

[calaf]

I updgraded my XCD-88 too: following grandenigma1 excellent HOW-TO I forked about $120 in op amps and Brown Dog adapters, burned my fingers (only once

) in my first soldering project since grad school and in a couple of hours I was ready to roll op amps. My first impressions is that there is an improvement in bass speed and detail and more "energy" and extension at the top end. I also hear a flatter, wider soundstage (must have to do with extension of the highs, because I felt the same when I recabled my AKG K340). Overall I feel the XCD-88 sounds more detailed without being brighter.
Was it worth it? Considering it is a fun, easy and relatively inexpensive DIY project, certainly! Soundwise? Probably: no doubt the player improves but we are talking about fractional improvements (say 5-10%). Considering the parts for the upgrade costs 30% of the XCD-88, it is fair to say Onix hit the sweetspot in terms of cost/performance with their op-amp choice.

 

[Jeff E]

Based on my experience I would highly recommend posting a solicitation in the DIY forum for a pair of BD adapters with the 627 chips mounted. I ended up paying half the cost mentioned above in this thread and all I had to do was unplug the old ones and plug in the new ones--no soldering on my part.

 

[calaf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff E Based on my experience I would highly recommend posting a solicitation in the DIY forum for a pair of BD adapters with the 627 chips mounted. I ended up paying half the cost mentioned above in this thread and all I had to do was unplug the old ones and plug in the new ones--no soldering on my part.

never mind the soldering, are you saying yo can purchase 4 OPA627 (AP or BP) and two BD adapters for about $60? If so I would like to know where so that I can at least quote the price difference to the vendor I got the op-amps from...

 

[grandenigma1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calaf never mind the soldering, are you saying yo can purchase 4 OPA627 (AP or BP) and two BD adapters for about $60? If so I would like to know where so that I can at least quote the price difference to the vendor I got the op-amps from...

seriously... unless you are picking these up from ebay (where you never quite know what you are going to get) I have no idea where you can get them that cheap... hook us up!

 

[Sinbios]

I have two pairs of 637AU for sale, and I can buy some adapters to mount them on. $60 for the whole package?

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calaf never mind the soldering, are you saying yo can purchase 4 OPA627 (AP or BP) and two BD adapters for about $60? If so I would like to know where so that I can at least quote the price difference to the vendor I got the op-amps from...

IMO negotiating with a vender by quoting a price from an individual DIYer would not be appropriate.

I do not know whether the person who sold me the populated BD adapters has more to sell. He made the offer privately after my posting so I would rather not pass along his name. I also got several other offers.

I ended up with a great deal: $60 for 4 BD adapters with a total of 8 opamps (2 pair of 627 and a bonus two pair of 825 for rolling). Let me repeat my advice. "Based on my experience I would highly recommend posting a solicitation in the DIY forum..."

 

[calaf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff E IMO negotiating with a vender by quoting a price from an individual DIYer would not be appropriate. I do not know whether the person who sold me the populated BD adapters has more to sell. He made the offer privately after my posting so I would rather not pass along his name. I also got several other offers. I ended up with a great deal: $60 for 4 BD adapters with a total of 8 opamps (2 pair of 627 and a bonus two pair of 825 for rolling). Let me repeat my advice. "Based on my experience I would highly recommend posting a solicitation in the DIY forum..."

congrats for the deal! I did a minimum of research before purchasing and I understood that Burr-Brown source price for the OPA-627 BP was something like $16...