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What CD Player would you like to see tested?

SigmaR1 said:
This device must have been very, very expensive....
Click to expand...
A little more than 3 times the most expensive Sony...

And to prepare for the review (Right Channel D/A conversion):

IMG_3336_03.jpg


Legend:
  1. Power Supply for right channel D/A board
  2. Optoisolator
  3. Digital serial to parallel converter to feed the Intersil
  4. Discrete DAC with the 4 Intersil and arrays of resistors, including variable ones for fine tuning
  5. I/V converter and deglitching circuit
  6. Five-Pole GIC type Butterworth low pass filter
  7. Balanced output
  8. Unbalanced output
  9. De-emphasis circuit
 
If you’re going to be testing transports then something more that the frequency response through a DAC may be of interest?
I have read something about some transports dealing with scratches and gaps better than others.
If you a variety of damaged CDs, then may shed some light on whether a transport does something better than another transport.
 
Holmz said:
If you’re going to be testing transports then something more that the frequency response through a DAC may be of interest?
I have read something about some transports dealing with scratches and gaps better than others.
If you a variety of damaged CDs, then may shed some light on whether a transport does something better than another transport.
Click to expand...
I’ve been reporting resistance to scratch CDs and other tests related to tracking capabilities of the drive for several months. I also report potential digital transformation of the digital output, for all CD players I test that have digital outputs, in the context of using them as transports.

I never tested a pure transport, but that’s what I would test. Testing via an external DAC is not of much interest if I can qualify a good digital output. But I’d go for it if I’d see a non-standard digital output, to verify if the default transitions to the DAC or is filtered by the receiver. That’s what I did with the Accuphase I talk about above to discover it obviously interpolates more than usual when decoding data from the CD. And that shows in the digital output and at the output of an external DAC too.

I hope this clarifies.
 
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Do you plan to test any Technics CD-Player?

I have here in Vienna:
  • Technics SL-P310
  • Technics SL-P320
  • Technics SL-P350
  • Technics SL-P550
  • Technics SL-P555
  • Technics SL-P777
  • Technics SL-PS7
I tought I had also a SL-P720 but couldn't find it.
 
Viper780 said:
Do you plan to test any Technics CD-Player?

I have here in Vienna:
  • Technics SL-P310
  • Technics SL-P320
  • Technics SL-P350
  • Technics SL-P550
  • Technics SL-P555
  • Technics SL-P777
  • Technics SL-PS7
I tought I had also a SL-P720 but couldn't find it.
Click to expand...
I have nothing against them, so yeah, why not.
It would be easier to come to you to measure all of them at once.
And Vienna is a very beautiful place ;)
 
NTTY said:
I have nothing against them, so yeah, why not.
It would be easier to come to you to measure all of them at once.
Click to expand...
If you like we can arrange something.
Maybe you wan't to test something unusual.
As CD storage and SACD player I'm still using the Sony DVP-CX995V (with a 120V Transformer)
NTTY said:
And Vienna is a very beautiful place ;)
Click to expand...
I can't complain (or as we say here - I can't complain enough ;) )
But also Switzerland is very nice.
I've worked in Zurich
 
charlielaub said:
I would love to see this tested:



#1: I have always wondered about the TEAC products and their CD mechanism.
#2: I just bought one!
Click to expand...
That one is easy to source, I'll give it a try when time allows, probably in September.
 
Oh my. These things are a 4-bit current switch that still needs external precision resistors? Oh my. No wonder Accuphase used 8 (presumably 2x 16 bit) or even 10 (presumably 2x 20 bit) of the things then. That's an integration level much lower than the usual Burr-Brown jobs, but presumably provides much more tweakability when it comes to linearity as well.
 
I suppose a static calibration method based on DC signals and a very accurate digital mutimeter, but without service manual is not for me. Maybe asking by email, for such an old equipment can be feasible to obtain a schematic/calibration procedure.

1753887435775.png
 
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AnalogSteph said:
Oh my. These things are a 4-bit current switch that still needs external precision resistors? Oh my. No wonder Accuphase used 8 (presumably 2x 16 bit) or even 10 (presumably 2x 20 bit) of the things then. That's an integration level much lower than the usual Burr-Brown jobs, but presumably provides much more tweakability when it comes to linearity as well.
Click to expand...
You get why I could not resist buying this player when I realized what these ICL were :)

Playing with the trimming pots, I could easily get down to -110dBFS linearity (with shape dither) and it was equally easy to get exact -90dBFS without dither. That indeed probably made this DAC the most linear of the period, by far.
That said, it seems that, from factory, they were adjusted to offer best performance at full scale.
I played with the left channel only, and it was deviating by as much as 3dB at -90dBFS and 8dB at -100dBFS. After adjustment, I got perfect linearity, but increased the distorsion at full scale by 3dB (it was -92.5dBr before).

I will continue playing with that and try to identify a proper procedure for adjustment, but without the service guide or the circuit schematic, it will take time.
 
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NTTY said:
You get why I could not resist buying this player when I realized what these ICL were :)

Playing with the trimming pots, I could easily get down to -110dBFS linearity (with shape dither) and it was equally easy to get exact -90dBFS without dither. That indeed probably made this DAC the most linear of the period, by far.
That said, it seems that, from factory, they were adjusted to offer best performance at full scale.
I played with the left channel only, and it was deviating by as much as 3dB at -90dBFS and 8dB at -100dBFS. After adjustment, I got perfect linearity, but increased the distorsion at full scale by 3dB (it was -92.5dBr before).

I will continue playing with that and try to identify a proper procedure for adjustment, but without the service guide or the circuit schematic, it will take time.
Click to expand...
We love watching you play with dac and cd players :)
 
Hello everyone,

Since some of you were interested by the Denon DVD-A1, I did a light review here.
Unfortunately, I no longer have the player and I only kept few measurements at the time. They are not up to what I do now, but it was enough for an overview of it. Build quality was staggering, and from what I see, it delivered, at least as a CD player.

Cheers.
 
NTTY said:
Hello everyone,

I’ve been testing CD players for some time now, and I was wondering what’s next in the list.

So far, I tested the below:

And to come soon:
  • Accuphase DP-70 (measurements done, graphs ready, need to publish)
  • Denon DCD-655 (measurements done, graphs ready, need to publish)
  • Kenwood DPF-1010 (not received yet)
  • Pioneer PDR-04 (measurements done, graphs to create)
  • Sony CDP-450 (DOA)
  • Sony CDP-597 (measurements done, graphs to create)
  • Yamaha CDX-530E (DOA)
  • Wadia Digimaster X-64 (measurements done, graphs to create)
With all the above, I basically tested and got to know/measure what I wanted, especially about ancient DACs (in a CD player).

So the question to you is: Which one would you like to see reviewed next?

Of course, I don’t have the budget to satisfy everyone’s needs, but if I can find, at a reasonable price, a CD player of your interest, I’ll go for it.

Thank you and enjoy the WE!
Click to expand...
Hi. Maybe the Shanling CR60 as it is a low form factor transport. I had one for a few days but it failed to play some cds as sometimes it paused sound and struggled to read data. I used the correct power supply. Some users also reported this behaviour. The cds played ok in a Denon DCD900 and Technics PG5. And maybe the SMSL PL150 as it is also a small form factor player but it is quite controversial about the true gapless palyback. It would be interesting to see if these little players are bit perfect as transports. I have an external DAC and look for minimum alteration of the sound. Thanks in advance:)
 
Droid_chinchilla said:
Hi. Maybe the Shanling CR60 as it is a low form factor transport. I had one for a few days but it failed to play some cds as sometimes it paused sound and struggled to read data. I used the correct power supply. Some users also reported this behaviour. The cds played ok in a Denon DCD900 and Technics PG5. And maybe the SMSL PL150 as it is also a small form factor player but it is quite controversial about the true gapless palyback. It would be interesting to see if these little players are bit perfect as transports. I have an external DAC and look for minimum alteration of the sound. Thanks in advance:)
Click to expand...
One thing I liked about the CR60 was the USB out... but I returned it due to those reading problems.... any orther low form factor player out there in the lrice range ?
 
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