[carusoracer]

Looking for explanations and diagnosis of Sibilance issues with my CDP.

With that said it is a Music Hall Maverick SACD player. I like the player and it has served well but I still think that the modded versions might have a good purpose I just do not know where to go to address the issue.

I can hear some very strong Sibilance on SS's or Sch or smearing or sheen in some cymbal crashes. The other issue I notice is a slight ringing or extra air around the vocals. This is prevalent on alot of Rock and Hot or heavy mixed studio recordings. I can also tell that the midrange is slightly lean. I listen to mostly Jazz and New Age. Alot mainstream recording sound bright. Reference recordings sound really good.

Laymans diagnosis: I'm guess from reading various threads and posts from Modders that perhaps the Rectifying Diodes would address this problem? Or perhaps it is "Jitter" and a Clock upgrade would help?

Last perhaps the OpAmps could be changed?

I like the player but would not be opposed to changing out to a different one if upgrades start to reach over the 800.00 mark. I really like the Looks of the Shanling T200 which is virtually the same player.

I have tried several different PC's and couple different IC's


The Rig:
Music Hall Maverick SACD player
VH Pulsar IC
VH Flavor 4 PC
EE Modded Mini Max PreAmp NOS tubes
Signal Cable IC / Stock PC
Musical Fidelity A3cr SS Amp
Signal Cable or Z Blue Lightning PC
Gallo Acoutics Ref 3 Speakers
PS Audio Xtreme Prelude Speaker Cables
Croyed Hubble Wall Outlet,Silclear Contact Enhancer,Walker Vivid

Sorry for the lengthy thread, Just looking for someone to breakdown these issues  If in wrong forum please move, Thanks.

[Scott F.]

There could be a couple of diffent issues at work here. First, I've not heard the MH player so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

You might be right when it comes to jitter. It can definately contribute to sibliance. I think Kevin at DIY Cable sells a clock upgrade that will work with most players.

The second could be the source material. Depending on what you are listening to and how recent the release is, you could be experiencing the effects of poor mastering of the material. Between compression and normalization (making it louder), these can definately produce the effects you descibe.

Not to mention poor mic selection by the recording engineer or artist. This can force the mastering engineer to use a de-esser in the mastering process. The one singer that comes to mind here is Karrin Allyson. She insists on using a particular vocal mic. In conversation I had with Stan Ricker he mentioned when he mastered her releases on vinyl for Pure Audiophile he needed to use a de-esser because the signal was so hot.

Normalizing essentially pushes (or can push) the recorded signal beyond the 0db point on transient signal peaks. In turn, the music signal becomes clipped, hence distorted. Many of the music peaks on a recording are just what you mentioned, cymbal crashes, Sss's and Ch's. Unlike tape which can handle peaks nearing +3db without sounding overly distorted (its called tape saturation), digital won't let you exceed 0db. Digital clips the signal.

Normalizing has become prominate over the past decade or so. I forget where and who did it but one of the Pro sound guys did a really good article documenting the effects of normalizing. He showed the computer analysis of a few different Rush releases, one original CD release from teh 80's, the same release [re-released] and remastered and then Vapour Trails.

If it is normalizing, there is absolutely nothing we can do to correct it other than write nastygrams to teh recording engineers and music exec's asking them why they are killing the music.
Oh, you can spend money on audiophile re-releases that have been remastered but your choices are limited.

Hope that helped.

[mattybumpkin]

That it is your power source, not the gear.  I live in an apartment and like you noticed sibilance.  I got a conditioner for my cdp and guess what, no more sibilance.  YMMV.

Regards,

[cmscott6]

I subbed new fred diodes and little bitty BlackGate nonpolar caps for the bypass caps on my NAD cd player PS, and although I didn't set out to address high-frequency issues, it really improved the high end.  Cymbals, violins, etc. were much crisper and less harsh.  Bass extension was improved as well.

[audiobomber]

Looking for explanations and diagnosis of Sibilance issues with my CDP....

How do you know it's your CD player? Have you tried another one, or another source?

[Nick B]

I had horrible sibilance for a few years. Shielded IC's, good PC's and simple, cheap power conditioning (Audioprism Quiet Lines) solved the problem.

[carusoracer]

I subbed new fred diodes and little bitty BlackGate nonpolar caps for the bypass caps on my NAD cd player PS, and although I didn't set out to address high-frequency issues, it really improved the high end.  Cymbals, violins, etc. were much crisper and less harsh.  Bass extension was improved as well.

Nice to hear. How did you know what to go after?
I'm trying to get some information from other Modders as well to find out what issues to address which problems and yes I realize it is a integrated affair but...

[cmscott6]

Hi, Carusoracer.

Many people had talked about replacing diodes in the power supply as a worthwhile mod to just about any stock piece of equipment, and it was a relatively easy (and cheap   ) job.  I bought the service manual for my NAD player, and checked out the power supply schematic.  There were little ceramic bypass caps by the diodes, and I'd just used Black Gate caps on another mod, so I figured I'd try those as well: I used the smallest value available of non-polar caps here, and I bought ultra-fast, soft recovery diodes to replace the old ones - the main thing to check is that the diode is rated well above the voltage level in your power supply.  I think I got the diodes, FREDS, and the caps from Michael Percy.  

I also followed the signal path on the schematic and replaced a couple of cheap resistors with old style Holcos and an electrolytic with a Black Gate.  

I really can't say enough about replacing power supply and signal path electrolytic caps with Black Gates!  There is always a noticeable improvement.  Granted, it takes 20 - 30 hours for the caps to "break in", but in my humble opinion you can't go wrong with those!  (Except maybe for the main power supply caps, where buying Black Gate may break the bank   .  For these I "settle" for Nichicon KG...)

Anyway, if you have any desire/ability to open the case on your cd player I'd highly recommend some of these mods: fairly easy, fairly cheap, and fun to hear the difference!

Good Luck!

Chris

[carusoracer]

Hi, Carusoracer.

Many people had talked about replacing diodes in the power supply as a worthwhile mod to just about any stock piece of equipment, and it was a relatively easy (and cheap   ) job.  I bought the service manual for my NAD player, and checked out the power supply schematic.  There were little ceramic bypass caps by the diodes, and I'd just used Black Gate caps on another mod, so I figured I'd try those as well: I used the smallest value available of non-polar caps here, and I bought ultra- ...

Excellent post. Now if I knew what I was looking at once I had the schematic realizing I could screw this up;-)   I really do want to tackle this upgrade issue so time to hit the library and figure this out.
Anyother suggestions are most welcome.
I know that this player can be made to sound better given all of the popular mods.  Thanks

[electricbear]

Try the cheapest things first. Remove the silclear, take it off all your cables and anywhere else you've applied it. In some systems it has been known to cause similar problems to what you are experiencing. You can always reapply it if this proves not to be the case.

[miklorsmith]

Here's another cheap-o.  Rip an offending CD onto your hard drive using EAC, then burn it to a blank using slow (4x works) speed.

Even if it doesn't fix THAT problem, you'll be stoked.

Caviat - I have a dedicated burner rig.  I assume most of the benefits could be obtained on a standard computer but I don't know for sure.

[Bob Wilcox]

Don't rule out vibration control.

Bob