[Duncan]

Richer Sounds are doing a seemingly very special offer on the SCDBX940 SACD player in either black or silver for the equivilant of $260...

First off, is this good value, a steal... or a dud deal, and secondly how would a unit like this fare against my aging, and slightly ill Marantz?

Or, would you suggest any of the other units on the linked list from above? my limit at the moment is £250, so if you think they're all dud within my price limit, advise me what you think would be best if the Sony isn't up to the job, and i'll set some money aside...

Thanks

 

[Joe Bloggs]

That seems to be half of what it's supposed to go for...

 

[wasifazim]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan Richer Sounds are doing a seemingly very special offer on the SCDBX940 SACD player in either black or silver for the equivilant of $260... First off, is this good value, a steal... or a dud deal, and secondly how would a unit like this fare against my aging, and slightly ill Marantz? Or, would you suggest any of the other units on the linked list from above? my limit at the moment is £250, so if you think they're all dud within my price limit, advise me what you think would be best if the Sony isn't up to the job, and i'll set some money aside... Thanks

I doubt you'll find a replacement that's perceptibly better than your Marantz (which is still a pretty good budget player) in the sub-£250 price range. The extra money would be, in my opinion, better spent on upgrades to the Marantz..say, an Audiocom DVC-1 clock+power supply, repacement of captive power cord w/ IEC socket, and chassis damping. An LC Audio ZAPfilter to replace the CD63's analogue output stage would be immensely beneficial as well.

- Wasif.

 

[Duncan]

Thanks for the replies...

wasifazim,

Its an interesting idea to mod the player, but the old problem with it has resurfaced... The analogue outputs are broken, and very intermittent... (long story involving a short cable

)...

Do you really think that even though my player is 7+ years old, that it would still sound better than more modern players? Thats quite an acheivement on Marantz' part isn't it?

If I were to go down the mod route, where would I get the parts you mention?

Thanks

 

[BenG]

I think the the 63se is still a good player. I sold mine because I grew tired of the Marantz sonic signature(of the period it was made) and because I was interested in SACD.

 

[wasifazim]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan Thanks for the replies... wasifazim, Its an interesting idea to mod the player, but the old problem with it has resurfaced... The analogue outputs are broken, and very intermittent... (long story involving a short cable )... Do you really think that even though my player is 7+ years old, that it would still sound better than more modern players? Thats quite an acheivement on Marantz' part isn't it? If I were to go down the mod route, where would I get the parts you mention? Thanks

The analogue output problem is easily resolved: just replace the plugs. I've done that to my Marantz CD6000 and it was as simple as fitting the plugs in the existing holes and soldering three wires (one for each plug and a single one for ground) to the PCB; if you're not comfortable with that, pretty much any dealer should be able to do that for you. And speaking of my CD6000, all its iterations (including the current CD6000 OSE LE and Ken Ishiwata edition) use the NPC5872BS DAC, the same one used in your CD63. In fact, it's widely acknowledged that some older multi-bit DACs (such as the Phillips TDA1541) are superior to current delta-sigma designs. So if you do choose to modify the CD63, you've got a good base to start from. You shouldn't overestimate the pace of technological advancements in this field over the last few years; there really haven't been all that many as far as redbook audio playback is concerned.

As for upgrades, the two most cost-effective (and dramatic) ones would be the Audiocom clock & power supply, available from www.audiocom-uk.com, and the LC Audio ZAPfilter analogue output stage replacement, available from www.lcaudio.com.

- Wasif.

 

[Duncan]

Cool, thanks for the info

I think to play it safe, that I'm still going to buy a new CDP at the weekend (I'm going to look around for further special offers) but then also keep the CD63SE as a 'mod-machine' doing the mods that you've mentioned, and also any others that I can think of (I've heard that Blu-Tack placed in strategic places can make the player sound better)

I'm not that hot with a soldering iron... but, i guess there is only one way to learn