Piranha Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I received my new Sony SCD-222ES yesterday. I must say, I am VERY impressed with it. The sound is absolutely awesome even with redbooks. It blows my Pioneer DV-563AS away. I cannot believe the gap in sound quality. I paid $179+tax for the Pioneer and $279 for the 222ES shipped to my door. That extra C note sure makes a huge difference in sound quality. I will be returning the Pioneer to Best Buy this evening. It sounds horrible by comparison. As I have been told, "Garbage in, garbage out!" I am considering sending the new Sony 222ES to SACDmods, or possibly to another shop to have it modified. My question is this; will I get a noticeable difference in sound for the $350-400 they will charge me to upgrade it? I want to know if the benefit I receive is going to outweigh the added dolllars spent? Has anyone used them in the past? If so, are you happy? Would anyone be able to refer me to a place closer to the West Coast that does these type of mods? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 This has been around the block for a while. If you have a nice horn speaker... And nice a amp.... ALL CD PLAYERS ARE NOT THE SAME! DVD PLAYERS COMPROMISE RED BOOK CD SOUND! (unless you are paying big bucks for a $ 1000 plus Sony, Denon or Marantz) I do like the sound of the non DVD Sony SACD players. Old expensive used CD players can have a lot of life left in them for $ 200-300. Rotel, Music Hall or Cambridge Audio new players have quite realistic performance. Sub $ 200 players have many limitations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Piranhaman, Glad to here ya finally recieved it, AND that you love it. I'm real happy for ya, use it for at least a couple months, than decide if ya wanna spend the $$$ for the mods. Take some time to ENJOY what you already have and paid for. Stop, listen, enjoy, evaluate, write your thoughts down, pros, cons, likes, dislikes...than start making better educated decisions.(this advice is from my heart, and is what I'm doing myself) Look forward to seeing you again soon Smilin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBK Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Congrats on the new 222! I looked high and low over Chicago for one NIB - no luck. Trying the Philips963A which The Absolute Sound recommended (they liked the 222 too!) So where did you find such a great deal? MarkBK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I a/b'ed a mod on my older low end SONY SACD/CD player and it improved the detail, 3d image, fullness, and smoothed the attack. The difference wasn't dramatically noticable at first listen but as I compared them closure and tuned into the delta I better understood why I was enjoying the mod better. The really big jumps I've heard were moving from a 1980's SS cheapie receiver to my vintage tube gear and replacing my old consumer TT w/worn out stylus. Note I'm not a veteran audiophile... What do you think of the Music Hall players...maybe the $1500 Maverick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I have not heard the Maverick. Just be cautious and commited if you spend over $ 1000 for a single box digital playback component. Dean likes his Sony and I do not doubt it is a very good performer. I buy Sony only rarely because they try to monoplolize the craetivity out of the industry; like Microsoft. It would take 50-150 hours just to burn it in. My favorite audio shop tells me when the component is new; they know the difference. The review of the new Marantz multi player is very intriguing; no one arounf my town caries them any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 "DVD PLAYERS COMPROMISE RED BOOK CD SOUND!" I bought a Samsung 709 DVD player a few years ago, listened it stock for 6 months. bought parts, and did the "Bobwire" tweak. This is a bastard player that is known to play Redbook CD's well, stock or modified. (Only caveat is you must run the unit with no top cover, or the regulators will burn it up.) It fares just as well as a Rega Planet, maybe a tad bit hotter on the top-end, not very much though. They both sound just as nice. IMO. I just jammed the unit full of clay, out of boredom. I'm using it now. If looks are of concern, forget it. It's pretty homely with no top cover and multi-colored clay. You'd be suprised at the Redbook CD playback. Movies do well, too. $135 fire sale internet purchase, with 30 bucks worth of parts. It still reeks like burnt building. It's cheap good sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 MIKE; Thanks for reinforcing my point. STOCK mass market digital components are designed for efficiency of manufacture. Not Musical performance. Your description of the mods are sound. My source for simple mod components is www.virmode.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 ---------------- On 2/12/2004 11:27:30 PM MarkBK wrote: Congrats on the new 222! I looked high and low over Chicago for one NIB - no luck. Trying the Philips963A which The Absolute Sound recommended (they liked the 222 too!) So where did you find such a great deal? MarkBK ---------------- Thanks Mark. A local Mom and Pop audio store was going out of business. Finally I found good fortune. Good luck with the 963. That was my other choice in the price range. Let me know how you like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/digital/messages/66200.html How to tweak a Planet. I busted the case on mine open the other day, I may try a few of the mods. Caps, damping, jacks, and maybe change the diodes. This Planet just has Nichicon VX series in the PS, some other brand or more Nichicon elsewhere. Nothing special. One thing, it's a real simple layout, the PCB's look pretty tough. Seem's like a simple unit for tweaks. I wonder if the blue LED light works...... Love opening smilie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Hello, I too have the scd222es as well and have had it modded at SACDmods to great delight. loved the unit prior to the upgrade and like even more now. Hard to put into words the mprovement, other than to say it sounds even closer to vinyl to me. Its also hard to say whether its worth the dough. But compared to other tweaks in the same price range I say go for it. Also you should know that dealing with SACDmods was great. Fast turnaround good communications etc. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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