[yfei]

I compared 963sa to NAD c540:

The 963sa has about 20 days burn-in time, c540 is very old.
headphone: HD580

Music are: Telarc SACD sampler I (mostly jazz, blues), Telarc 1812 CD and SACD, Dark side of the moon SACD, misc Pop, Hip-pop, Rock, Metal, classical CDs.

1. tremble of 963sa is really good! extended, pleasing, without any harsh.
2. 963sa has more details (except in low bass). space image is more accurate.
3. 96k and 192k upsampling, i don't like them, gut feeling is the sound lost some details and texture and some frequency range (I guess 5kHz~10kHz) is blurred when upsampling on. Without upsampling the redbook is very good.
4. using either CD or SACD, lower bass of 963sa is muddy, blurred, I feel something is wrong.
I don't think 963sa lacks of bass, because when I tried Festival Coronation March in the Telarc 1812 SACD, I really shocked by the bass which goes deep and powerful, c540 can't match. But I tend to feel that 963sa's bass is muddy, blurred. (that track can not reveal this problem, because bass is prolonged in that track) The fast deep drums, deep bass guiltars sound burry, unreal in 963sa.
5. c540 put more emotion into the music, the tremble and bass has much more energy than 963sa. I think 963sa is more close to the truth, but less emotion there.
6. [963sa is more sensitive to CDRs, I can hear alot of 'pi','pa' noises in some CDRs, just like very very dirty LP. Old c540 has almost no noise, but sometimes skips.] - I take that back, after trying more CDRs, I found 963sa is better. NAD c540 has a lot of noise on most golden, silver and green CDRs (like TDK, Sumsung ...), only no noise on Verbertine Super AZO blue CDRs. while 963sa is the very opposite: no noise on most CDRs, only has noise on Super AZO discs. (and, most of my music CDRs are Verbertine)

final word: To me, the bass of 963sa is the biggest problem, but overall it is better than NAD c540 on redbook playback.

 

[john_jcb]

Your impressions are very close to what I and others have found. Overall for the price it is a good player but it does have problems with loud deep bass. I found that the upsampling works well with some recordings and made others sound off.

I haven't heard the poppiny noise you mention. If you read enough threads on this player you will find that different people have reported different noises that may or may not be present in your player. The victim of low cost mass production I guess.

 

[drewski]

This may be a good place for a better power cord... We did some testing at a meet with the Philips player and found that the one of the areas that the powercord improved on was the bass. The top end didn't change much even when using $600-$700 power cords, but the bass control did improve. Are you using the stock PC?

 

[john_jcb]

I am yes. Maybe I will give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[yfei]

Quote:

Originally posted by drewski This may be a good place for a better power cord... We did some testing at a meet with the Philips player and found that the one of the areas that the powercord improved on was the bass. The top end didn't change much even when using $600-$700 power cords, but the bass control did improve. Are you using the stock PC?

Thanks, it works! I tried all power cord I can reach, including monitor, computer, printer cords, found one cord (it's a monitor cord) that really improves the low end! however, it worsen the highs, distorded, dry and tiring.

where to buy good audio power cords? I am new in power cord. i am also considering replace power capacitor to blackgate, any people have idea of that?

strange, not many people complaining about the bass. To me, the bass is so bad, almost unacceptable (for both CD and SACD). Maybe my ears has problem? or, am I tuned by NAD c540 for too long time...

 

[bundee1]

Go to VHaudio.com and get a good PC for a decent price. They make ungrounded PCs for products like the 963. I got a flavor 2 cord for my amp and the bass bloomed. Also check out Signalcable.com, less expensive but also very good.

 

[aeberbach]

Think about opening up your 963a and replacing a little more wire. There's still wire connecting the IEC socket to the power supply PCB. As you'd expect for a low-priced unit the power supply is nothing very special, small transformer etc. - I wonder how much it could improve if replaced entirely?

 

[bobjew]

yfei:

Changing the power supply cap makes a big fat improvement in the overall sound of the 963. I have not had the Bass problems you have, but after changing out the stock cap just today (10 minute job) the results are audible right off the bat. Bass is tighter, more detail everywhere, soundstaging is especially affected, much wider and layered. Everything is cleaner and more relaxed sounding. This is with only about an hour of burn in. The one I used was a Blackgate VK 150uf 350v (30mm X 25mm) from www.referenceaudiomods.com.
Not bad for a 22.95 mod! (30.58 w tax/ship)

 

[Xerxes]

Dear all,

I would highly recommend the 100uf NP from Blackgate. You just need to make sure that it is above 20V.

It will give more clarity, extension and significantly speed up the bass. The 150uf will probably give you more warmth and bass compared to the 100uf but will probably sound slower.

 

[bobjew]

Xerxes:

What would you tweak next that would be easy for a rank amateur (like me)?
I have taken off the stock feet; replaced them with Herbie's Tenderfeet replaced the powercord and the PS cap.

 

[bobjew]

Xerxes:

What would you tweak next that would be easy for a rank amateur (like me)?
I have taken off the stock feet; replaced them with Herbie's Tenderfeet replaced the powercord and the PS cap.

 

[Xerxes]

I would recommend putting some of the Cardas end-caps on unused connectors.

 

[drewski]

Quote:

Originally posted by yfei Thanks, it works! I tried all power cord I can reach, including monitor, computer, printer cords, found one cord (it's a monitor cord) that really improves the low end! however, it worsen the highs, distorded, dry and tiring. where to buy good audio power cords? I am new in power cord. i am also considering replace power capacitor to blackgate, any people have idea of that? strange, not many people complaining about the bass. To me, the bass is so bad, almost unacceptable (for both CD and SACD). Maybe my ears has problem? or, am I tuned by NAD c540 for too long time...

If you're new to power cords, I would try looking for a Virtual Dyamics Power 3. They run about $60 used and can be found either here or at www.audiogon.com used from time to time. You won't get the degradation on the top end with this power cord. I wouldn't spend much more than this because if you have really bad power, no power cord is going to make a huge difference. Don't blow $300 on a power cord until you are comfortable that power cords do make a difference on your system (and to your ears!).

If you really want to step up, then in the $200 range, I like the PS Audio Lab cables. It makes the bottom end sound a little "rubbery", but I still really like it and it its non-fatiguing sound. It also has some of the best shielding in the industry so it keeps out a lot of the interference that causes distortion on your system. I also like the Harmonic Tech Fantasy AC 10, which is in the $250 range used.

I personally use a combination of PS Audio power cords, PS audio ultimate outlets, Virtual Dynamics (Audition, Reference, and Signatures) for my systems.

Hope this gets you started. Welcome to the wonderful world of power cords!

 

[markl]

I second the VD Power 3 reco. You will not believe the boost you get to low frequecies plus overall increase in "palpability", presence, and better/larger soundstage.

I wouldn't go higher than the Power 3 for the 963SA, that cord should be sufficient and (relatively) cheap, especially used. They are incredibly bulky cables, hard to bend and very heavy. You need at least 6" of clearance behind your component and the wall to let it make a right-angle turn.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[yfei]

I replaced stock power cap with BlackGate VF 300V 150uf. the bass improved alot!
If the bass of stock 963sa reaches 80% (bass is weak, drum sounds like 'pa' 'pa') that of NAD c540, then after replaced cap it reaches 90%(strenth is close (but still not enough), and a little slow/boomy). but not bad for only $30!!
Now i am begin to enjoy my 963sa