Review of SDC-CE775

[ctransj]

<font color='#000000'>Hi Gene,
I just borrowed the &quot;fireback&quot; from CarNDriver magazine for this thread.
From your review, the final cost for your CD player is appr: $200 (player cost) + $500 (modification) + S&amp;H = $$$$$.
I would be surprised if your player doesn't sound better but also you failed to have a second original stock player to compare with.
Honestly I love you guys but this time, I don't see the point here. Would you think your new player can beat a $700-$800 cdplayer?
$500 dollar works for a $200 CD player? how about the chassis? finish? features?

CT.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>I explicitely stated I did not have a stock player to compare it to. &nbsp;However, I compared it to my more costly Sony ES player and felt beforehand my ES player sounded better and after the mod, the CE775 sounded better. &nbsp;I never claimed the build quality of this player would be better than a $700 or higher player. &nbsp;I simply suggested that this player now sounds good enough to compete with players at the $700 price range. &nbsp;I did a fairly objective analysis based on the new parts selection as to why I may have been hearing better performance in the modded player.

In all honesty this was my first experience with modding equipment and I felt it did enhance the performance. &nbsp;Was it worth the extra $500? &nbsp;That is for the user to decide. &nbsp;Many audiophiles are willing to spend $1000's more on cables because of the alleged better performance so to each is own.

All I know is I now have a very musical SACD changer in my bedroom system that I am quite happy with &nbsp;

</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Auricaps in the power supply and a new power cord?  I don't know about that myself.  Undoubtedly tho loading a unit up with that many Auricaps will surely pump the price up a fair bit.

Think of how much better it will sound using silver foil!  

Audio Note we love you!

New DAC's I can see adding something, and any caps handling the audio in the analog domain will benifit from an Auricap treatment as well.  I really can't see how an expensive Auricap will do squat in the digital domian or power supply.  If the caps Sony put in are total junk there are lots of more suitable replacements available at a lower cost.

All about caps

http://ldsg.snippets.org/appdx-ec.php3#CAPS

It's a good read, and it is unbaised and not ad-supported so use Paypal and donate Dollar or two if you like it.

Rob</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Rob;

The DAC's were not changed, the audio op amps were however and I provided objective analysis of old vs new to show their benefits. &nbsp;As for the capacitor changes, I cannot comment on what percentage that increased player performance since I don't really know what the stock caps were. &nbsp;However, bypassing a power supply with low ESR caps does have its advantages and lowering the noise floor and ripple of the supply is equally adventageous. &nbsp;Changing out the caps in the audio section also has merit, especially if the stock ones were poorer in performance. &nbsp;

Again, I never claimed the mod was value minded, and why should it be? &nbsp;If someone is fanatical enough to demand more performance of their player then they are going to pay a premium to do so. &nbsp;Reworking isn't cheap. &nbsp;

My objective was to determine if an external companies modifications to a stock player would result in a perceivable improvement in audio performance. &nbsp;Audience seemed to have delivered in this capacity regardless of cost.</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#008080'>If all goes as I hope, I will be providing reviews in the future of modded projection systems which cost about 50% less, and perform much better than their $15,000 counterparts... so modding has a place - the question is value vs. performance. And that's something everyone has to decide on their own.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>I'm puzzled: &nbsp;Gene's &quot;Associated Test Equipment&quot; lists a Denon DVD-2900 &quot;universal&quot; player, but he neglected to compare this to the modded Sony for playing SACDs. &nbsp;Was this part of the deal with Audience?</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Was this part of the deal with Audience? </td></tr></table>

What deal did I have with Audience? &nbsp;It sounds as if you are implying something here.

Here is an excerpt from my review you may have missed while making false inferences:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">In fact during my down time when Audience was modifying my player, I had the fortune of evaluating the very impressive Denon DVD-2900 Universal Player (review forthcoming), and felt my modded SACD unit performed comparably well to it. &nbsp;I didn’t do extended DBT listening tests between the two units since their output levels were quite different and would involve constant volume level compensation when switching between units.</td></tr></table>

At the time I was writing this review, I just received the Denon DVD-2900. &nbsp;I did not want to spill the beans on the Denon player since it will be part of an exclusive review forthcoming with their AVR-5803 receiver.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I did not want to spill the beans on the Denon player ...</td></tr></table>
I accept your explanation of saving for a review of the Denon; I withdraw my inference.

I can appreciate the output level issue: &nbsp;I own the Denon DVD-2900 and have noticed that the LFE output level is low relative to what my receiver expects.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Mod_free;

There is reason for the LFE level being low for DVD-A/SACD. &nbsp;It has to do with format differences between DVD-A/SACD and DD/DTS. &nbsp;Denon has a technote on that.

Denon Tech Note on DVD-2900

IF your receiver/preamp/processor has independent trim settings via the 6CH input, you may need to boost the LFE by 10-15dB.</font>