25yr old cd player still sounds good!

[bobchiba]

Just acquired a Philips cd-104/65 for £30. Apart form some scratches on the top cover, it works perfectly, no faults at all. I bought it on a whim as I wanted to use it as a transport for my dac .The first thing that is impressive is the construction, every single thing is made from metal, not a single bit of plastic anywhere, it weighs about 8kgs! The CDM1 transport feels lovely and I see why it is sort after among people into vintage gear. It really makes me realise how important the transport is in a good digital machine.

Realised when I got it that it doesn't have a digital output! Silly mistake, but rergardless Im really suprised at just how good it sounds for a 25 year old machine with 2 bits missing in the DAC. Sure there is a little hashness on the highs, but nothing that couldn't be eased with the right system. Its best part is just how vibrant and analogue it sounds, its got a seriously good soundstage, I guess because its got a dac for each channel. Its the only player Ive heard that really does sound like a turntable in many respects. I plan on modding it a bit by removing the oversampling chip and making it run the way it was supposed to, in true 14bit mode. Then maybe some more mods and I reckon it could be a real giant killer.

Does anyone Know where I can get/download any sercive manuals etc for this series of player, I think there was one other or a couple 104's made.

 

[audioaffair]

Some of the older players are still surprisingly good but arguably more so on the transport side as they were quite ruggedly built. The little harshness you mentioned could be cured a bit with the addition of a DAC. The Musical Fidelity VDAC might be worth a try.

Not sure on the service manuals - eBay's always worth a try - there are some sellers who have loads of these on offer and I recently picked up a very nice condition manual for my vintage Pioneer TX-9800 for only a few quid!

 

[chebby]

audioaffair:The little harshness you mentioned could be cured a bit with the addition of a DAC. The Musical Fidelity VDAC might be worth a try.

They didn't have digital outputs. (Bob has already pointed this out in his post.)

 

[Anonymous]

Here you go.

Service manual part 1 - http://www.eserviceinfo.com/download.php?fileid=28458

Service manual part 2 - http://www.eserviceinfo.com/download.php?fileid=28459

I have not checked out the content of these downloads.

Excellent mod site - http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/REFERENCES/Philips%20CD104/CD%20104%20philips%20TDA.html

 

[bobchiba]

Awesome, thanks for the links. I used to visit that Lampizator site alot when I First got my TDA1541 based Black Box DAC.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob,

Nice find! Let us know how you get on with the mods, especially with getting it in NOS-mode. I've got a CD304, which is basically the same machine under the hood, and I'd be interested in doing some minor mods myself.

I agree though that as it is, the Philips is a more than decent sounding player with a seemingly indestructible transport. Love the fact that this ancient machine is faster and quieter than some of the modern players I had.

Jack

 

[grdunn123]

Don't forget to put a brick on top of it and get your cd's in the freezer too!

 

[Singslinger]

Congrats - I've just had a similar experience. I have a Marantz CD10 that's about 17 years old that's just been refurbished and still sounds great. Weighs a ton and is built like a brick.

 

[audioaffair]

chebby:
audioaffair:The little harshness you mentioned could be cured a bit with the addition of a DAC. The Musical Fidelity VDAC might be worth a try.

They didn't have digital outputs. (Bob has already pointed this out in his post.)

Sorry missed that - good luck in the manual search in any case.

 

[audioaffair]

grdunn123:Don't forget to put a brick on top of it and get your cd's in the freezer too!

I've never really bought into this nor using green pen on CDs, more madness than method IMHO. Much better to get isolation and cables sorted rather than worry about freezing your music.

 

[SteveR750]

Jack White:
Hi Bob,

Nice find! Let us know how you get on with the mods, especially with getting it in NOS-mode. I've got a CD304, which is basically the same machine under the hood, and I'd be interested in doing some minor mods myself.

I agree though that as it is, the Philips is a more than decent sounding player with a seemingly indestructible transport. Love the fact that this ancient machine is faster and quieter than some of the modern players I had.

Jack

Weren't Phillips once the supplier of choice for transport mechanisms of many a CDP in the "early days" (are they really over already..?!)

 

[Anonymous]

SteveR750:
Weren't Phillips once the supplier of choice for transport mechanisms of many a CDP in the "early days" (are they really over already..?!)

Hi Steve,

That's right: Philips mechanisms are in lots of players, ranging from Marantz and Rotel to Audiolab, Creek and Naim. Philips' DACs are widely used as well, their most famous being the TDA1541.

Jack

 

[Mr Morph]

bobchiba:

The first thing that is impressive is the construction, every single thing is made from metal, not a single bit of plastic anywhere, it weighs about 8kgs! The CDM1 transport feels lovely and I see why it is sort after among people into vintage gear. It really makes me realise how important the transport is in a good digital machine.

I have a 22 year old Sony, 11.5kg! I've accidently walked into the loading tray twice and it's managed to almost cut my leg open. The thing is bomb proof. High speed linear motor that gives access to tracks blindingly fast. Only until you see these early players do you realise just how badly built modern players actually are.