Upgrade of Marantz CD63 MKii K1 sig cdp

[admin_exported]

has anyone had any of the upgrades offered and if so, was it worth it? ..

will be upgrading my cdp early next yearr, not sure if I should have it tweaked/upgraded and I am not sure if any of the upgrades offered on ebay are worth it? ... (some upgrades cost more than £900)

I am also having a close look at Lampizator website ... (will see what they have to say) ... might be a better solution? ... guy seems very knowlegeable and very enthuisiatic

 

[matthewpiano]

Why spend several hundred pounds upgrading an old CD player on which the laser/transport mechanism could fail at any time? For that sort of money there are some very capable machines around brand new. The Rega Apollo is only £485 and that leaves the Marantz for dead IMO.

 

[a91gti]

You might be surprised by that "old" Marantz after a few tweaks, I`d happily have put my home modded CD50se up against at least a grands worth of cdp. Reliability can be a pain but there are spares and donors out there for pennies.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:Why spend several hundred pounds upgrading an old CD player on which the laser/transport mechanism could fail at any time? For that sort of money there are some very capable machines around brand new. The Rega Apollo is only £485 and that leaves the Marantz for dead IMO.

Matthew ... you obviously have not been in the lampizator site ... have a read there ... you may learn something .... not sure if he tweaks the CD63 MKii sig, but will contact and see what he has to offer and sugest ... may not cost very much and could be something really good?

 

[the record spot]

Yep, it's the balancing the benefits of the mod against the risk of having to put it on the sidelines for repairs over the course of time. Plus, there will come a time (if not already) when the performance of a newer player will comfortably meet and perhaps outperform the old hand.

 

[a91gti]

@d_s. Lukasz Fikus (Lampizator) doesnt do the commercial stuff himself, its done by an engineer local to him but done to his design. This is`nt a bad thing as I`m sure the quality is great but it seems worth pointing out.

 

[a91gti]

Quality always lasts, those Philips mechanisms will keep going for longer than many modern ones. NAD for instance use really naff mechanisms.

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:Yep, it's the balancing the benefits of the mod against the risk of having to put it on the sidelines for repairs over the course of time. Plus, there will come a time (if not already) when the performance of a newer player will comfortably meet and perhaps outperform the old hand.

he rebuilds them ... checks all components ... and replaces parts ... and then tweaks them ... have read a few comments from people who have them tweaked by lampizator and they are very very happy ...

so, am looking at what he has to offer and suggest and will then decide ... my marantz is in good condition with no problems ...

if he can make mine sound like a £5000 cd player and it will only cost me a couple of hundred pounds, I may be a fool to not have it done? ...

have sent a mail, so will see what he says ... just curious if anyone else has had any upgrades on the CD63? (there are many ads on ebay offering upgrades)

 

[Anonymous]

andrewknight:@d_s. Lukasz Fikus (Lampizator) doesnt do the commercial stuff himself, its done by an engineer local to him but done to his design. This is`nt a bad thing as I`m sure the quality is great but it seems worth pointing out.

thanks Andrew ... as long its to the same specs as am impressed with the guy (he has a very interesting and informative website)

 

[a91gti]

Yep, the guy has done some fine stuff, I`m eternally grateful to him for saving me a fortune and keeping my iron hot.

 

[Anonymous]

andrewknight:Yep, the guy has done some fine stuff, I`m eternally grateful to him for saving me a fortune and keeping my iron hot.

He could be the 'Tom Evans' of Bulgaria (or wherever he lives) ... seems he likes the older cdp's then totally rebuilds them to a very high spec

read the article where he bought one of those cheap chinese valve amps ... he chucked a load of items away as said they served no purpose, and amp worked without them,

he then 'beefed up the whole amp with different components ... a very intersesting article

 

[the record spot]

Impressed to see his latest homepage has two Kenwood DP7090s on display. Top CD player IMO. Had one for a decade and it was a winner in the standard guise.

 

[Anonymous]

I had a CD63 KI modded with a Level 3 Audiocom mod, I thought it was fantastic, a massive improvement over the standard 63 KI which I quite liked anyway, but that was until I heard a CD6000 KI modded with a slightly lower level Audiocom upgrade, but with lots of extra blackgate capacitors instead and it was light years ahead.

I understand from speaking to Audiocom the CD6000KI has more potential (especially with extra blackgates capacitors) due to it using twin Dacs in dual differential mode instead of the single ones in the 63 KI, and also the CD6000KI doesn't use internal fuses unlike the CD63 KI which restricts current flow. Also they say it beats a £3,500 Marantz CD7 which they had for research purposes and after listening I'd say I agree with them!

I actually prefer the standard CD63KI over the standard CD6000KI, but when modded, the CD6000KI is far better

I suggest you sell the CD63 KI and get the CD6000 KI and have that modded by Audiocom, but ask for a bespoke package with lots of blackgates, not the standard upgrade packages with lesser sanyo and panasonics capacitors.

Don't worry about the phillips VAM1201 transport, they'll last 25+ years and parts are likely to be supported for many years to come as they are used in so many CD players eg Naim CD3.5 !

 

[Anonymous]

Azim1979:

I had a CD63 KI modded with a Level 3 Audiocom mod, I thought it was fantastic, a massive improvement over the standard 63 KI which I quite liked anyway, but that was until I heard a CD6000 KI modded with a slightly lower level Audiocom upgrade, but with lots of extra blackgate capacitors instead and it was light years ahead.

I understand from speaking to Audiocom the CD6000KI has more potential (especially with extra blackgates capacitors) due to it using twin Dacs in dual differential mode instead of the single ones in the 63 KI, and also the CD6000KI doesn't use internal fuses unlike the CD63 KI which restricts current flow. Also they say it beats a £3,500 Marantz CD7 which they had for research purposes and after listening I'd say I agree with them!

I actually prefer the standard CD63KI over the standard CD6000KI, but when modded, the CD6000KI is far better

I suggest you sell the CD63 KI and get the CD6000 KI and have that modded by Audiocom, but ask for a bespoke package with lots of blackgates, not the standard upgrade packages with lesser sanyo and panasonics capacitors.

Don't worry about the phillips VAM1201 transport, they'll last 25+ years and parts are likely to be supported for many years to come as they are used in so many CD players eg Naim CD3.5 !

thanks Azim ... great to hear from someone who has upgraded ... I will research your suggestions carfully so am very grateful for the recommendation ... I have noted on the lampizator site that he claims that the Marantz CD-73 is one of the best to modify?

 

[Thaiman]

I have modded them before, superclock 3, trichord clock, Op amps, black gates, power supplies etc etc... The best one to mod is CD 67 MK2 imo, I wouldn't mod the KI as the classic should be left how it is imo.

 

[Anonymous]

Thaiman:The best one to mod is CD 67 MK2

Yes, if you're only doing the basics like changing caps and re-clocking the DAC. The combined decoder / servo ultimately holds the CD67 back, and that is why the best one to mod is the CD63, preferably the KI variant.

To unleash the full CD63 potential you must re-clock the servo (8.46Mhz). Audiocom don't know about this, they just do the same basic mods to any player and call it done. You must also add dedicated voltage regulators for the servo, DAC, decoder and HF amp individually. This isn't actually hard to do if you know what you're doing, and the gains are astonishingly big.

The standard CD63 isn't very good, it just has a forward vocal presentation that helped it to sell on a quick audition - my humble opinion. Most newer players tend to sound better, but are not very good to modify because they're more miniaturised and those all-in-one chips can't be taken to the same level as older, more discrete designs!

Once you've heard a CD63KI with 2 clocks and a new output stage and low noise regulators it's hard to imagine how anything could sound more open and detailed. SACD players can barely match it in that state of tune.

I gave up with mine, however, as I prefer the TDA1541 sound, which can portray piano and female vocals better. This means 1980s models like the CD94 (the best of all affordable and famous players!)

Simon

 

[matthewpiano]

I still wonder, why spend money on modding an old CD player when there are so many good new machines about for far less than the price of a half-decent example of the CD63 + modifications?

 

[Anonymous]

For me personally, it's to have the best sound for little money. And when we're talking about TDA1541A based players, there doesn't seem to actually be anything better (granted those old machines need a LOT of work). A basic CD63 can be had for £20-30, a clock or two can be had for well under £100, other parts the same again. When the work is done you have a box that will destroy £1k players. My friend has taken a CD63KI to the point where it performs equally to a modified flagship Marantz SACD player. It does have over 20 low noise regulators and many hundreds of pounds of parts, but nothing can really touch it - why not want that?

For those who are paying top dollar for modifications I think it's to have something unique and a bit special. Some of the pricier work on offer is perhaps not going to offer better sound per pound than newer equipment in standard trim.

 

[a91gti]

Simonty:

For me personally, it's to have the best sound for little money. And when we're talking about TDA1541A based players, there doesn't seem to actually be anything better (granted those old machines need a LOT of work). A basic CD63 can be had for £20-30, a clock or two can be had for well under £100, other parts the same again. When the work is done you have a box that will destroy £1k players. My friend has taken a CD63KI to the point where it performs equally to a modified flagship Marantz SACD player. It does have over 20 low noise regulators and many hundreds of pounds of parts, but nothing can really touch it - why not want that?

For those who are paying top dollar for modifications I think it's to have something unique and a bit special. Some of the pricier work on offer is perhaps not going to offer better sound per pound than newer equipment in standard trim.

Well said that man!

 

[matthewpiano]

I still think its a lot of money to spend when you can't audition it first and with all the risks of old laser mechs and transports failing.

My days of taking risks with anything vintage are well and truly over.

Each to his own!

 

[a91gti]

"Each to his own!" Also well said and long may that continue!

I get almost as much pleasure out of modding my kit as I do out of listening to it, the risk is part of it, the thrills come when a new tweak pays off.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with all that, but you have to decide for yourself what is best. If you do the work yourself and can fix it if it goes wrong or transfer parts over to another machine there's no risk. If you're paying someone else, there are various risks.

Part of the fun for me is learning too 🙂

 

[a91gti]

Ah, every limb crossed as I press the power button and insert a disc, its so sweet that feeling. One of the reasons I took a gamble on my new player of things small and round.

 

[Anonymous]

Simonty:

Thaiman:The best one to mod is CD 67 MK2

Yes, if you're only doing the basics like changing caps and re-clocking the DAC. The combined decoder / servo ultimately holds the CD67 back, and that is why the best one to mod is the CD63, preferably the KI variant.

To unleash the full CD63 potential you must re-clock the servo (8.46Mhz). Audiocom don't know about this, they just do the same basic mods to any player and call it done. You must also add dedicated voltage regulators for the servo, DAC, decoder and HF amp individually. This isn't actually hard to do if you know what you're doing, and the gains are astonishingly big.

The standard CD63 isn't very good, it just has a forward vocal presentation that helped it to sell on a quick audition - my humble opinion. Most newer players tend to sound better, but are not very good to modify because they're more miniaturised and those all-in-one chips can't be taken to the same level as older, more discrete designs!

Once you've heard a CD63KI with 2 clocks and a new output stage and low noise regulators it's hard to imagine how anything could sound more open and detailed. SACD players can barely match it in that state of tune.

I gave up with mine, however, as I prefer the TDA1541 sound, which can portray piano and female vocals better. This means 1980s models like the CD94 (the best of all affordable and famous players!)

Simon

tried to email the lamizator guys ... mails keep on getting returned, so not sure if they still offer the service?

have however decided that I will save up and get a used Eikos cdp as modded by Tom Evans (a standard Pioneer PD-904 totally rebuilt) ... have been doing a lot of research lately and have read very good reviews on these ... they used to sell for approx £2500 ... many say it runs rings around the Marantz CD-7 and Linn Sondek CD-12 ...

hoping to get a good used one for approx £800-£1500 and will see what happens next year ... My Marantz CD63 MKII K1 sig is working fine for now

 

[Anonymous]

Simonty:
For those who are paying top dollar for modifications I think it's to have something unique and a bit special. Some of the pricier work on offer is perhaps not going to offer better sound per pound than newer equipment in standard trim.

Exactly! One of the reasons I have a heavily modded Quad 405. Rock solid and you can repair them in future!