mike stehr Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Carver SD/A 490t made in 2/91. Nichicon Muse in the power supply, hexfreds in the power supply, more Muse and Elna Cerafine in the tube B+ for the tube buffer circuit and regulator. Regulators are bypassed with AVX .01?uF. The op-amps in the ladder circuit after the DAC,(Wore out MASH, BTW) are Burr-Brown 2134 and AD OP275 in a couple spots. Mute transistors in the output path were yanked. Some wires were changed to solid copper, over the tinned stranded stuff. The Elna caps and op-amps except the OP275's were free samples. Elna gave me a bunch of 47uF bi-polars @ 100 volts for some reason. I didn't really know what to do with these damn things, so last night I replaced all the 10uf bi-polars around the last op-amps in the output. I also used two in the volume control circuit along with a couple cerafines, this helped out the thin sounding volume circuit, and seems to be more gain, who knows. Then I replaced two 2.2uF coupling caps in the tube buffer circuit with a 2.0uF 400 volt Solen with a Harmony 0.22uF bypass cap. Bugle boy 6DJ8's in the buffer circuit. Blue tak around the clock on the DAC and in other spots. Cheap rubber cabinet stops for feet. The Carver doesn't sound harsh, nice and warm. Works for me. I always liked the Heart 6000 for some reason. But then again, I do not think having a tube buffer circuit is that big of a deal. My Samsung 709 DVD player is a cheap 1st generation player. Lack of venting in the lid killed the regulators and made them worthless. They had a pretty good DAC in them, and works well for CD use. A few cap mods, leave the lid off, and it's not bad for a cheap good sounding unit. sounds way better than the overmodded Carver, IMO. I would like to find a Rega Planet eventually, better yet a TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbry39 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 I, like most, haven't heard all the CD players out there, but recently auditioned a few in the $500-$1000 range. The one I ended up buying was the Arcam 72T because, to my ears, I loved its sound the most. It has a list price of $899, but I got the dealer's floor unit with only a few hours use (according to him) for $599. And, best of all, as I'm going with the silver look now, it matches my silver Rotel 1066. What I'd do is audition a lot of CD players to see what you like. They really can sound quite different sonically and, while I personally preferred the 72T over models like Sony's ES line and the Rega Planet, I can really understand others opting for those. Just depends on the sound characteristics you personally like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Danbry....good choice. I auditioned the 72t last year and will be picking one up next month with tax money. Had it in my system for two weeks and as every day passed I liked the player more and more. Incredible detail and note decay, looks are nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 I saw a used Meridian DAC for about $1200 about six months ago. That seemed like a good deal considering the sophistication of meridian's technology. After reading allot about Bob Stuart of Meridian and MLP implementation in DVD-A; it seems like this guy is really obsessed with making digital be musical. I am all for DACs. Sunny Sal and a few others have MSB and are quite satisfied, as I am. Of course if you can get a used Rega Planet for $ 400. It is only a little more than the cost of a used MSB Link and a decent digital cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 I have auditioned a Meridian 508-20/24 and they really do deserve the hype. They are VERY nice players. The 20bit version is so good that the 24bit upgrade it really not needed in my view. I am one of the few that preferred the 20bit Arcam Alpha 8 over the Arcam Alpha 9 24 bit player. To me, the 8 sounded more natural. The 9 got all the praise from the press, however. The Meridian 508 is a great little player, though. They are still pretty expensive even used, however. This is one of the ones that ole Sam Tellig (Tom Gillet) got right! kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freud Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 dbflash, Could you tell me the difference in quality sound between the "heart CD6000" and the "rega planet 2000". I have the "rega planet 2000" and I think that something is missing, maybe some more body... I was thinking for an other CD player and the original "Rega planet" as well as the "Heart CD6000" was on my top list... System: KLIPSCH Cornwall I(83) DENON PMA-2000R (int amp) REGA Planet 2000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 You might also wish to give Cambridge Audio a listen. They provided a lot of bang for the buck. I have the 500se and find it very nice indeed. I also like the original Rega Planet. I can't comment on how the the Rega 2000 compares as I haven't heard one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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