Generic CD Player Mods

You may not have any ......

if you pm me we can see if you have !

 

I made my CD63 KI sound a load better by constructing a fuseless mains plug - I just used the neutral pin from a donor plug. I also attached an earth from the chassis to a water pipe - the amount of extra detail I got from this free tweak was enormous.

Jon

 

I presume your not serious .....

if you are then you seem to know what your doing and obviously need no help from this forum ...which begs the reason for the post?

 

Some well-meaning comments here:- IMHO if you don't have the knowledge to recognise these "faults" that manufacturers impose on us (buyers), it is a potential disaster in the making. Manufacturers spend a lot of time doing whatever is best for the price and all parts will be selected to meet a certain-level of performance. Whilst damping the case may make yr kit sound more rigid, it's small things inside (which you can't fix) that determine the sound - for example the accuracy of the DAC - if the maker is respectable, adding extra capacitors is a futile exercise....altough having bits and wires hanging about is a potential for disaster IMHO. Far better to clear some of the junk out of your room (esp things that can act as Helmholtz resonators!)...such action will "brighten " the room. Also remember that bass is limited by the size of the room....the diagonal must accomodate the lowest note (otherwise it won't fit-in)....so moving into a larger room is sensible.
I'm not suggesting that things (like CD players) canot be improved, just that it need expertise and test-gear to understand what's happening. The risk of yr average Joe opening up their kit is not to be contemplated...
Someone (here) suggested getting a "better" player and I can't help thinking this is good advice, alhough the law of diminishing returns sets in - ultimately the recording is likley to be a limiting factor ...and the neighbours if you like it loud!
Hope that helps....no offence intended.

 

joe average improving things through electronic changes is little more than luck, though of course using better matched and specification parts can rarely lead to disaster.

damping the chasis and transport is almost guranteed to improve things, for minimal outlay and zero risk.

my cd player has 4 sq feet of dynamat strategically placed in it, based on nothing more than judicious use of a stethoscope, the results, quiter player, deeper and tighter base. something i couldnt have purchased and applied for the same £40.

 

hary111.....

I used to think the same ....until I took the time and effort to learn a little about the industry and the workings of cdp's.

I manufacturer will use the cheapest possible part that will work..taking no account of the sonic impact .

If that statement is not correct , why is it just one component change can bring a player to life ?

 

Hot Air

My first post on the Forum so hello...........

Hot air refers to inflated cycle inner tubes. Has anyone else had any luck using a small bicycle inner tube under their CD player ? I have one of the original model Exposure CD players which has certainly benefitted from this sub £5.00 tweek. I have not noticed any consistent improvement at low to mid volumes but I can play at much higher volume before any dropout or skipping than when the player is just placed directly on the glass shelf of my Sound Organisation rack. I guess the players error correction must be having a much easier time; anybody use inner tubes as well and can you hear benefits and sensible dbs.
Cheers
Dave.

 

Yes, I had very good luck with that, but ONLY in conjunction with significant mass. The player straight on inner tube or squashballs never worked well for me (sounded worse), but player on heavy slab (granite, concrete, etc) on inner tube worked very nicely.

 

For those looking at an opamp swap I can recommend the LM4562. I got three 'samples' from NI. Delivery cost me $10 but they came in 3 working days, from Singapore!!

 

Yeah i'll second that. Got mine last week. Breathtaking clarity where the sound used to be muddy on busy mixes.
Very nice

 

I'll have to take a look at those .....

I was underwhelmed by the inner tube ...but it was with out the mass ...may have to revisit it !

 

I should have mentioned in my original message that the inner tube is used in conjunction with 2 sheets of rubber on top of the player. They were added to damp the top plate resonances but the rubber is a high mass type used for electrical testing up to 15KV and the 2 sheets together weigh 4.5Kg.

 

Thats not big or clever!

 

Aren't these 2 tips mutually exclusive first you have to remove some superfluous load on the op amps then add some more of your own?

Also on a standard class ab output stage very low outputs will be in class A and higher levels outputs will be class B

 

IMO its very stupid to remove the fuse from the plug ....its there for your and your loved ones protection. If you feel you need to mess here just get a better sounding one, and yes they do sound different.

I had much the same thoughts before I tried the class A thing with the opamps but it does work.