Advice on a CD player for an all Aksa System

bluesky · « **on:** 29 Nov 2003, 05:00 am »

Dear Aksaphiles

In the near future I want to get a CD player to synergise with my Aksa system. At the moment I have the TLP preamp and 55 watt amp, both Nirvana. I will shortly get the Aksonics MKII speaker kit and, when it becomes available, the Aksa DAC. The interconnects and power cables are both from fellow Aksaphiles designs or advice, so it is very much an all Aksa system. It is great by the way, except for some residual hum and a rather long gestation with some er........ character building adventures along the way. Some new cases and experimentation with placement of wires should cure the small amount of hum remaining.

With this in mind does anyone have any suggestions for a good value CD player, keeping in mind that I need to conserve dollars? From what I have read the DACSA will be "transport independent" even so I would appreciate any advice or opinions that might help me.

Cheers

Ian
Brisbane, Australia

mb · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 05:45 am »

If I had to purchase a transport, I'd go for the Pioneer universal DVD player. DV566A (I think that's the number). In test reports it had very low jitter (~150psec), and reasonable sound. It will allow you to listen to SACD and DVD-A on its own, plus provide a good xport for the DACSA.

bluesky · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 08:24 am »

Hi MB

Yes, a good suggestion, trouble is we don't have much of a selection in Australia. I saw a recommendation for the Pioneer DV-563A which retails for $179 in the US (about $250AUD) on the Modwright site and promptly looked up the Australian Pioneer site, and, they don't have it, just something much more expensive.

Do you know of anyone in Singapore that might handle these? I suppose I could always get the US one and use a step down transformer.

Cheers, Ian

mb · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 09:49 am »

Get a cheap ticket to Singapore. buy and bring home.

Rocket · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 10:14 am »

Hi Ian,

I would recommend a cheap cdp, like a marantz 4500 which can be bought for about $450 and then buy a digital clock upgrade. I'm not impressed with the sound of dvd players, i have an onkyo and it sounds terrible in my 2 channel system.

DIY supply from hong kong sell the guido tent clock for about $120 us. also damping mods for the chassis and an iec socket for a power cord would be good as well.

My modded pioneer pds 507 with g&d clock was almost as good as my perpetual technologies p3a (stock version) which cost me $1500 au to import into oz.

Btw Singapore is a great place to buy hifi. My new turntable (bluenote piccolo with cartridge) should arrive early next week, purchased from audionote in singapore. It will cost about $1550 au including shipping and taxes, in comparison the dealer in sydney was charging $2000au plus shipping and no cartridge.

Ian, it sounds like your accumulating a really nice system. My journey has been long and expensive.

regards

rocket

PSP · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 03:50 pm »

Bluesky,
I'm currently using a Phillips DVD763SA as a transport that I bought for $150 and an ART DI/O DAC ($122). I bought the Phillips for movies, tried it out on 2channel just out of curiosity, and found that it beat out my NAD C540. Someday, I'll get a big buck CDP, but I have higher audio priorities right now.

My main purpose in posting is to offer help if you want to work on your hum problem. I struggled with hum from my TLP and found that I had to put the TLP in its own enclosure. I also spaced the transformer away from the TLP board, kept signal leads short, shielded the transformer, etc. My TLP and AKSA system is now completely, utterly, did I say TOTALLY??? free from hum. All I have is an incredibly faint hiss at the tweeter with the volume pot wide open. When you want to work on your hum issue, I can send you some pictures of my current TLP and AKSA builds.

Good luck,
Peter

bluesky · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Nov 2003, 09:16 pm »

Hi PSP

I have done all that, well, I went to a person who advertised himself as an "electronics wizard" and he did domr additional shifting of the transformer, shortening the wires, putting shielded wires on the TLP module. He traced all the signals with an oscilliscope etc etc. I have the TLP in a seperate box with the transformer in a metal box, identical to the one Larry has his transformers in on his GK-1.

The hum has certainly been reduced but when I put my hand near the CD player or just approaching the volume control (I use Hugh's extension shaft) the hum audibly increases. Both Hugh and "the wizard" both advise to make the cases metal, they are cheap MDF at the moment, and earth the mains to the case and this should cure it.

I will do this when my insurance money from the car accident I had finally comes through. And all I can say on that is, at the moment, I do not have great love for the Australian legal system.

And thanks for your advice Rocket, did you fit the Tent clock yourself? Was it difficult?

Ian

Rocket · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Nov 2003, 12:50 am »

Hi Bluesky,

Although i know next to nothing about electronics, your hum issues should be solved with grounding the electronics to the case. you could contact the person with the all wood case and he may have some ideas you could utilise.

In my aksa 100 i have only the slightest bit of hiss which i can hear from about 6 inches from the tweeter.

I haven't bought the tent clock as yet. My pioneer has a g&d clock which is unavailable these days. The tent clock also includes a better quality digital circuit for use with a dac. I haven't bought the clock yet as i have just purchased a new TT from audionote in singapore. it worked out a lot cheaper than purchasing from oz.

I think it would be best to have someone fit the clock like i did.

regards

rod

Tinker · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Nov 2003, 11:59 am »

You need to consider what you want out of a player. I am also assumign that "conserve dollars" means << $1000, preferably < $500.

I have auditioned a lot of CD players and DVDs recently. I must say, there is very little "hi-fi" below the $1000 mark, however, DVD players represent great value as transports for external DACs. I have been particularly impressed by the Pioneer players as value for money in terms of features and quality. One has already been mentioned for <$300, for about twice this the 665 has the best video I've seen under a grand (and it plays SACD I acceptably!) Time will tell how good the build quality and reliability of these is , but all indications are positive.

NOTE: If you want to tweak a DVD get a pro to do it: a lot can go wrong trying to mod these things. Heaps of sensitive, tiny parts!

If you haven't already go a deev, then you get video for free. Most DACs on cheap deevs are very ordinary though. Note that some/many dvd players do NOT put out an SPDIF stream when there is no CD in them. So some (many?) external dacs will lose sync and make clickng noises during disc change over. Nothing to worry about, but annoying. I am confident the AKSADAC won't suffer from this.

CD players only - I have had very good experiences with Rotel. They have a pretty good design philosphy. IMHO the lower end of their is great value for money, and some not too hard to tweak. And someone has already pointed out that old Marantz units are a tweakers delight.

If you can get to a hi-fi store, take your favourite CDs and make them play a few players for you. Your ears will quickly tell you if its worth the $. Do a visual inspection: see how solid the chassis is, check if the loader wobbles a lot and see how much disc noise you can hear (and feel) during playback (turn the amp down). Chassis damping and psu upgrades are cheap tweaks for any system, then you can think about reclocking and dac upgrades.

My 2c, worth. Any help?

T.

blizzard · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Nov 2003, 09:35 pm »

Hi PSP,
Check your private messages.

Thanks,
Steve

Seano · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Nov 2003, 09:47 pm »

Bluesky
If you want to save a few bucks then take yourself down to whatever local hifi shop that does 2nd hand gear. If they have any players that have a digital out then get the dealer to hook them up so you can run a few of your fave CD's through. Even a five to ten year old transport will serve your purposes nicely as long as you like the look/useability and the noise it makes. Can't imagine having to spend more than $300 on something that was top shelf just three or four years ago.

But make sure it has a SPDIF digital out (looks like a normal RCA output) so you can connect the DAKSA when you get it.

Personally, my NAD 502 has served me well over the past ten years and with the soon to be released DAKSA then it should get a new lease on life (it has a digital out). Sound wise it doesn't really cut it with more recently released product (not quite the detail and life of a 2002 model Rotel CD player for instance) but the rest of the system covers for it big time.

A 2nd hand 502 shouldn't cost more than $120.

If you really want to play with the internals do so but bear in mind that the DAKSA will make some or all of the internal upgrades redundant. So if you do go that route then choose......wisely.

Soundlabs in Sydney supply and supply/fit a range of CD player upgrades. Worth checking out if you are keen
http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/index.htm

bluesky · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Dec 2003, 05:13 am »

Hi guys

Thanks for all your advice. I am still pondering on whether to get something very good or just average with a digital out. At the moment I don't know how difficult the Daksa will be to build and if it will be within my somewhat limited skill range.

From what Hugh has said to date it should match anything out there for quality of music, perhaps that is why our friend Tinker has been auditioning so many different players.

Cheers

Ian