meech
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2002
- Posts
- 622
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- 11
Well, it's been a long wait but it's finally here. I've waiting since January to have my 555 modded by Matthew of SACDmods. Was the wait frustrating? Absolutely. Was is worth it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,OH HELL YES!!!!!!
First, I have to say a quick thank you to Markl, Sacd Lover, Nightfall and others who have recommended this player. I would have never considered this player without their words of enthusiasm. Through their recommendation, I have taken a huge step towards my own audio nirvana. Thanks a million! Also, thanks to Matthew Anker of SACDmods. He was very cooperative and answered all of my questions. He did the entire mod on my unit in two days once he received all the necessary components to do so. I can tell he's very efficient and that he takes pride in his work. Definately a good guy!
Here's a couple of pics:
rear shot left:
rear shot right:
close-up Cardas jacks and IEC input:
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Ok, on to the fun stuff. Let me start by saying that I've been listening to a stock 555es for about 6 months now. I had a pretty good idea of what it sounded like and I assure you, the modded player is a definate improvement.
Unlike many of the others, I had a different initial experience with the modded unit. I started out by plugging the Hot Rod up to my 2 channel stereo rig. This system is powered by a pair of 7 watt SET monoblocks. Between the tight fitting bullet plugs on my ICs and the HUGE Cardas rca jacks Matthew installed, I didn't think I was ever going to be able to ICs off of the 555. I loaded up John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" sacd. The first thing I said to myself after about 20 seconds into the music was "DAMN,,,,,,,,,,who turned up the volume"? To start off, the Hot Rod's output voltage is very high as it is. You definately have to get used to using a lot less of your volume knob. But anyway, this wasn't what I meant when I said "who turned up the volume". I swear it seemed like the volume got louder 20 seconds into the music. Hmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,this is wierd
,,,,,,,,,could it be what I think it is
,,,,,,,,,,,is it,,,,,,,,,,,I think it is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that's right folks,,,,,,,,,,,you guessed it,,,,,,,,I've just been formally introduced to Mr. Dynamics. So that's they mean by dynamics. Ahhhhh. Nice!
!
And this wouldn't be the last time Mr. Dynamics would slap me in the face. Usually, when you're listen to a familiar piece of music that has it's slow moments,,,,,you're prepared for the burst when things pick up. Well not with this beast. This thing goes from silent to headbanging in any instant. No warning at all,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,better buckle up
. This player gets louder and busier than anything I've ever heard before. The strange part is that even when things get nuts, nothing draws attention to itself. It's just all of the instruments out there on display for you to enjoy. Everything in complete harmony. The HD650s introduced my to this kind of 'keeping it together' trick a few weeks ago but the 555 takes it to a whole different level. I found myself cringing as the volume increased (or so it seemed) because I'm used to brightness at that volume. Not here!!!!! As loud as it gets,,,,it still greets you with a warm and inviting sound and a complete picture. Totally amazing
!!! The 555 Hot Rod spits out so much information that you are thoroughly convinced that there's nothing left behind on your disc. You literally get it all,,,,,,,like it or not! I would later learn that on some recordings I kinda preferred to be lied to. But the Hot Rod didn't care. It just brutally revealed the truth about every disc I fed it. I hate to admit this but there are now a handful of disc that I used to like but I can't listen to them anymore. These were the discs that have really good music but were recorded horribly. There's nowhere to hide with this player. If you're ugly, it's gonna call you ugly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,right in front of the entire junior high cafeteria!!!!
Later on that evening I loaded up Diana Krall sacd "The girl in the other room". This was my first true experience with real high frequency extension. Cymbals were absolutely fantastic. They would tap and splash forever. It seemed as if they just never vanished. The splash was always there just floating in the air. You didn't stop hearing the decay until you stopped listening to it. FREAKIN AMAZING
!!!!!! This thing breathes air around every object. It's kinda spooky in a way because you really do forget that you're listening to speakers. For the first time ever, I really did have the band in my room. This is by far, the single best improvement that my 2 channel system has seen.
Ok, on to the headphone rig. I plugged the Hot Rod up to my RA-1 and my HD650's. After about 5 disc, I realized that something wasn't right. Although I was loving this new level of detail I was hearing, something was still off. There was a strained sound to all of the CD's. Something was being overworked. It was like having a V12 Ferrari engine on a Hyundai. Yeah that's one hell of an engine, but way too much for a Hyundai. I think you see what I'm getting at. I could be wrong, but I think the Hot Rod was too much for the RA-1. The bass was very thin and the mids/highs were a little messy. I wanted to believe that this wasn't the case but I couldn't ignore it. I could tell that the 555 was trying to work it's magic but the RA-1 was not letting all of that information through. This was really strange because when I used the RA-1 with the RS1s and an inferior source, it sounded ten times better. It had a little less detail but it was definately a cleaner more cohesive sound with much better bass response. I have a feeling that this could be caused by either one of the following problem: A) The Hot Rod is too much source for the RA-1 or B) The 650s need a lot more power to get them going up to the Hot Rod's capabilities. Needless to say, I was not too happy with this combination. After about the tenth CD, I decided that maybe I should try a fresh pair of batteries in the RA-1. This rendered very minor improvements in cleaning up the midrange but the bass was still inadequate.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with the bass output up to this point. I didn't get that heart pounding bass that I was hoping for. I decided, just for fun, to go back to my 2 channel rig with a different amp. I have a 200 watt solid state Parasound amp that I haven't used sice I got hooked on tubes. I fired up the Hot Rod with 'YES------Tales From Topographic Oceans'. I skipped to the last section, 'The Ritual' (which happens to be my favorite part) and let it rip. All I can say is WOW! It's amazing what the Hot Rod can do with a little power behind it. Although the solid state brightness was there, it was still a much livelier sound now. I felf the drums in my chest. There's the heart pounding bass I've read about. The bass wasn't overwhelming, just sharp and very articulate. Not just MORE BASS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but MORE GOOD BASS!!!! Mind you this is all after only less than 20 hours on the unit. My 2 channel speakers are monitors with one 6in. driver per speaker. I swear it sound like I had a subwoofer now. Needless to say, I'm very happy with this new player. I hate to give impressions this soon since I know the sound is going to change a lot over the next few weeks. Even at this early stage I'm already sure of one thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,this player needs a powerful amp to really get rockin'. I'm a few weeks away from getting a pretty powerful headphone amp. By that time the Hot Rod should be broken in and I can give you guys better headphone listen impression.
Thanks for reading,
Stay tuned
First, I have to say a quick thank you to Markl, Sacd Lover, Nightfall and others who have recommended this player. I would have never considered this player without their words of enthusiasm. Through their recommendation, I have taken a huge step towards my own audio nirvana. Thanks a million! Also, thanks to Matthew Anker of SACDmods. He was very cooperative and answered all of my questions. He did the entire mod on my unit in two days once he received all the necessary components to do so. I can tell he's very efficient and that he takes pride in his work. Definately a good guy!
Here's a couple of pics:
rear shot left:
rear shot right:
close-up Cardas jacks and IEC input:
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Ok, on to the fun stuff. Let me start by saying that I've been listening to a stock 555es for about 6 months now. I had a pretty good idea of what it sounded like and I assure you, the modded player is a definate improvement.
Unlike many of the others, I had a different initial experience with the modded unit. I started out by plugging the Hot Rod up to my 2 channel stereo rig. This system is powered by a pair of 7 watt SET monoblocks. Between the tight fitting bullet plugs on my ICs and the HUGE Cardas rca jacks Matthew installed, I didn't think I was ever going to be able to ICs off of the 555. I loaded up John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" sacd. The first thing I said to myself after about 20 seconds into the music was "DAMN,,,,,,,,,,who turned up the volume"? To start off, the Hot Rod's output voltage is very high as it is. You definately have to get used to using a lot less of your volume knob. But anyway, this wasn't what I meant when I said "who turned up the volume". I swear it seemed like the volume got louder 20 seconds into the music. Hmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,this is wierd
And this wouldn't be the last time Mr. Dynamics would slap me in the face. Usually, when you're listen to a familiar piece of music that has it's slow moments,,,,,you're prepared for the burst when things pick up. Well not with this beast. This thing goes from silent to headbanging in any instant. No warning at all,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,better buckle up
Later on that evening I loaded up Diana Krall sacd "The girl in the other room". This was my first true experience with real high frequency extension. Cymbals were absolutely fantastic. They would tap and splash forever. It seemed as if they just never vanished. The splash was always there just floating in the air. You didn't stop hearing the decay until you stopped listening to it. FREAKIN AMAZING
Ok, on to the headphone rig. I plugged the Hot Rod up to my RA-1 and my HD650's. After about 5 disc, I realized that something wasn't right. Although I was loving this new level of detail I was hearing, something was still off. There was a strained sound to all of the CD's. Something was being overworked. It was like having a V12 Ferrari engine on a Hyundai. Yeah that's one hell of an engine, but way too much for a Hyundai. I think you see what I'm getting at. I could be wrong, but I think the Hot Rod was too much for the RA-1. The bass was very thin and the mids/highs were a little messy. I wanted to believe that this wasn't the case but I couldn't ignore it. I could tell that the 555 was trying to work it's magic but the RA-1 was not letting all of that information through. This was really strange because when I used the RA-1 with the RS1s and an inferior source, it sounded ten times better. It had a little less detail but it was definately a cleaner more cohesive sound with much better bass response. I have a feeling that this could be caused by either one of the following problem: A) The Hot Rod is too much source for the RA-1 or B) The 650s need a lot more power to get them going up to the Hot Rod's capabilities. Needless to say, I was not too happy with this combination. After about the tenth CD, I decided that maybe I should try a fresh pair of batteries in the RA-1. This rendered very minor improvements in cleaning up the midrange but the bass was still inadequate.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with the bass output up to this point. I didn't get that heart pounding bass that I was hoping for. I decided, just for fun, to go back to my 2 channel rig with a different amp. I have a 200 watt solid state Parasound amp that I haven't used sice I got hooked on tubes. I fired up the Hot Rod with 'YES------Tales From Topographic Oceans'. I skipped to the last section, 'The Ritual' (which happens to be my favorite part) and let it rip. All I can say is WOW! It's amazing what the Hot Rod can do with a little power behind it. Although the solid state brightness was there, it was still a much livelier sound now. I felf the drums in my chest. There's the heart pounding bass I've read about. The bass wasn't overwhelming, just sharp and very articulate. Not just MORE BASS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but MORE GOOD BASS!!!! Mind you this is all after only less than 20 hours on the unit. My 2 channel speakers are monitors with one 6in. driver per speaker. I swear it sound like I had a subwoofer now. Needless to say, I'm very happy with this new player. I hate to give impressions this soon since I know the sound is going to change a lot over the next few weeks. Even at this early stage I'm already sure of one thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,this player needs a powerful amp to really get rockin'. I'm a few weeks away from getting a pretty powerful headphone amp. By that time the Hot Rod should be broken in and I can give you guys better headphone listen impression.
Thanks for reading,
Stay tuned
