How to get one of the best 2009 sound from 1986 Dac

Hello Guys,

Even I'm a Vinyl Addict I still own a CD as many other vinyl orienteds
My wife gave me as gift a Philips CDD882 transport plus Dac960 in the 1988 and I still own it



During the 1996 I modded the Dac 960 for the first time .. changing the stock TDA1541 for the glorious TDA1541 S1 single crown (Holland production) and that has been a really great improvement in sound quality over the stock chipset
One month ago thanks to a friend of mine I got a new , still boxed , TDA1541 S1 double crown (Holland! ..not Twainese!) and I changed removing the single crown!

Wow!!!!!! Unbeliveable sound!

The soundstage opened up to a level never heard in many other newer & higher priced Dacs the detail/inner detail is simple Magic! even the low level detail
The sound is so analog you could think to listen a good turntable but surely not a CD player

Totally another Dac ..

Now I understand why the Marantz C7 has been so acclaimed by Reviewers and Users .. the C7 had on board two TDA1541 S1 double crown but Twainese production (not Holland!) one per channel
I wish to listen the Marantz C7 nowadays with two S1 double crown Holland ... should be one of the best sounding digital machine available today.

Anyone here experienced mods with this TDA1541?

 

Hey Arlequen - I sort of remember years back people saying that changing the stock bypass capacitors near the 1541 bought about big changes. Maybe best check out diyaudio.com first as those guys will probably put you on the right track. My stance on digital is pretty severe - it'll never be as good as vinyl so just use what you have. I now have a few cheapy Marantz machines which sound good. I used to have the full DCS systems and although good, did not get anywhere near my vinyl setups, so I sold them put the money into more 'used vinyl' and bought the marantz players. I feel so much better for doing that.

 

I know I can change sound changing those caps .. RobM .. but pay attention you change also the timbre .. and I like the analog tonality of the Philips Dac 960
That's why I haven't changed yet

Ken Ishiwata



Some years ago Ken Ishiwata tired to read the oversampling was much better than the old 16bit made a challege saying he was able to build a unit with the old DAC TDA1541 better sounding than all the acclaimed over-samplers around
Well ,he made for Marantz the well known CD7 that used two TDA1541 S1 double crown Twainese production
The CD7 , you can go to read everywhere by a simple google research , has been the best analog-sounding CD since its marched out and probably it's unsurpassed nowadays too
Marantz unfortunately made only 750 units and to have one you should pay lotsa GBP on ebay and other market places .. I saw one some month ago sold for about 4500 GBP!
I have a friend who like to mods hi-fi gears and one month ago he phoned me telling me he had in da hand one TDA1541 S1 Holland Double Crown new still boxed .. OK I gave him my Dac and the day after he came with the Mod done..
First time we listened we floored by a totally new way to sound of my Dac ..same hifi setup ..same balanced cables .. same everything .. but tons of new detail from well known CDs .. mega low level detail too .. super inner detail .. tons of air and ambiances .. and a huge soundstage I never get from that Dac .. higher .. deep .. wide.. Wow!
I know someone else already tried these Chipsets on Marantz-Philips units so it would be interesting to know if they got the same results

Anyone here?

Gabriele

 

Arlequen - what did it sound like compared to vinyl?

 

RobM .. when I say "analog" or the "Dac sounded as a good turntable" .. is only to try to explain I wasn't getting the well known CD-Sound... but as you know no one CD/Dac can sound like the Vinyl...
Speaking about the Philips Dac modified its sound it's comparable to the TT sound because it has lotsa air around instruments , crispy sound , you can feel the armonics of violin strings and the soundstage is very wide high and deep with all the informations of ambience and echoes .. when present .. obviously!
Some Chesky Recordings like Bruce Dunlap or Ana Caram sound like I described .. Tafelmusik (Pachelbel Canon - Reference Recordings) ..too .. Bam Bam Bam and Gene Harris Quartet (Listen Here!) too .. splendid the Gene Harris armonic piano etc..etc..

 

Those black boxes look great - that's proper 80's HiFi.



It puts me in mind of this:



and this:



Now please excuse me, I have some breakdancing to do

 

Marantz CD 7

Hi Arlequen

Your right about the CD 7, stunning sound( I own one ). I have been a fan of these Marantz CDP since the late 80's and have mostly owed Marantz Tda 1541 Dac, based machines Cd 65 se, Cd 85, Cd 94 mk 2 (better sounding than the CD 12 Imho). The SA7320 filter is also part of the Marantz sound too, from these days. The CD 7 lacks the slight grain/glare that other earlier machines had in the treble. Do you/have you noticed a warm up period with your DAC ? If so for how long ? General opinion has it that this module ( TDA 1541 ) is temperature sensitive and sounds better after being on for about 1 week. Can you confirm that ? I have found that to be true (but this is very controversial. I got shot here for suggesting that before). What do you think ?

The Marantz CD 7 is the top of Kens art. However my understanding was that it used Holland Dac modules. How can you tell which are which? The machine is easy to open.

Another fave of mine is The AMR CD77, which uses a single standard TDA 1541. AMR claim they have been able to make it perform better than the double crown s1 module. Regardless ( of this claim, which unless I/they substituted a S1 D crown, would be hard to verify )I love the sound of this no filter machine. Pure Magic and better than the CD7 IMHO.

Regards D Louth 77

 

Neil Hi , I borrowed an AMR , and was a little disappointed I found it rolled off at both extremes and just a bit flat and dull, I had a similar experience with an AN UK dac 5 , another NOS design , I can understand how such a player might suit some speakers, any thoughts or is it just me? Very best Keith.

 

http://www.htg2.net:80/index.php?topic=37137.0;wap2

TDA1541 S2 = Twainese production

 

We are three friends to own the same Dac with the same mods
Me and Giorgio Philips Dac 960 and Angelo the Marantz same Dac
On Angelo's dac whe have soldered a drum (dunno the english name but it's a quick/easy way to change chipset without to solder them just inserting ...)
Well we made lotsa listening session with TDA different type...
The best is the TDA 1541 S1 double crown Holland production
Talking about best working temp you're right it sounds magical after some hours (3/4 continuos playing)
Giorgio keeps its unit always turned on while I turn off after listening session .. its units obviously sounds better form the time he turns on all the hi-fi gears .. mine needs 3/4 hours

 

Hi Keith

Keith, we have talked about this before and to be honest I just don't know. The sound you describe would not be how I would hear my AMR CD 77. It is open and detailed with excellent treble, a magical mid and very good bass ( which is a little fat but not slow). Dull and lifeless are also not terms which would describe it either. It has a very deep soundstage with excellent image placement and good extension past the speakers ( its not overblown or unnatural either).

When we last talked I had suggested run in as a factor but you had run yours in as much as I think it needs. I use mine in Two systems moving it every so often. It sounds amazing in either. I have had an ex customer of mine here, who listened to it and he has a real fetish about treble and Extension, detail etc. He thought it was amazing ( he hates CDP as he will only use a TT (Clear audio Master Ref, Graham Phantom + Transfiguration cart). So I was very surprised when he said how much he loved the sound. He also like my Moon Andromeda but also correctly identified the AMR's superior mid-range focus( I had not briefed him on what to look for).

I know you were disappointed and I just can't answer for you. Perhaps the other digital gear you use is just a lot better, than the AMR( Weiss is very good. I haven't heard the other kit you do so I can't say about this). Its possible that the output of the AMR does not match your Allnic kit, but I doubt that ( it sounds much better via the rca outputs and set to the Digital Master 2 setting). I have not found it to be fussy with any of the kit I have to hand, be it solid state or valve, and have had excellent results with everything I have tried it with. Perhaps the sample you had was not up to spec ? I know there were some issues with the pre-production units but production( which mine is ) are okay with no problems.

Its a mystery, if I lived near you i'd be happy to bring mine round but as we live hundreds of mile apart, this can't happen. I just don't know. Every so often you just find a matching that just does not work. this maybe the case here. Or I could be deaf LOL.

Regards D Louth 77

 

Time for a Vintage room?

 

I didn't know that Abingdon brand and never seen here in Italy the AMR CD77 but I just seen some pic and read the review on 6moons .. very very interesting!
Nice unit to find on pre-owned market ... if you 'll see one around just tell me .. Louth

 

ex demonstrator at a reasonable saving here

 

Neil Hi, perhaps I was just sent a duff example or I am going deaf ( more than likely ) when I auditioned an Audio Note UK dac 5, and matching transport I did find the same rolled off bass and treble, I just wondered if that might be a quality of some NOS dacs/cdps? Very Best Keith.

 

Do you know the AMR CD77 .. Keith?
And if you have listened one .. do you like?

 

Arl a year or so ago when I set up Purite I auditioned a lot of cdps,and dacs , I had really high hopes for the AMR, it was beautifully built, it looked an innovative design, 6 filter settings etc, even a really cool remote! But the sound of my example was just so dull, I asked a friend of mine to come and bring his player along just to make sure.
Like everything you must listen to it in your system before you buy, personally I would buy a cheap 'pro' cdp as transport and a decent dac which you can use to stream high res files from your computer if you want to at a later date. I have been trying a Weiss DacII sounds superb with cd and using it with a macbook ( via firewire ) with some hi-res files it is even better.
Diminishing returns with dacs kicks in very quickly imho.

 

Thanks Keith
Btw I never heard or seen your Stahl-Tek here in Italy too... just some reviews around the net .. and it should be a very interesting unit to listen and compare

 

I like the tda1541a chip, and prefer it in a NOS implementation.

I have not heard the AMR.