HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Dave I am sure that is true, the point I was making is that modern hi-end players have a lot of money spent on 'look and feel' - the bits you can see because people buy with their eyes - and even listen with their eyes - with a cd player it doesn't really matter what box you put the gubbins in, it is the quality of the gubbins that matters. And you can't see that so manufacturers don't spend money on it.

A really good solid transport mech is important to the sound, but I just can't get any at a sensible price, and this donor DVD player as stand alone with CDs is a lot better than a majority of cheaper CD players around, and I know what power supply and analogue stage upgrades do to cheaper CD player as that is what I did in the 90's. I will say now the donor then was the NAD 502, I won't say what the donor unit is now as it creates prejudice. When I start my work on it one of the jobs will be structural reinforcement of the transport to make it more solid as it is bound to be a plasticy affair.

This was the inside of the NAD, and anyone with any hi-fi electronics understanding will say yummy yummy let me at it. The assets are obvious and the liabilities also. It is exactly as Macca said, and I proved it by re-casing and re-power supplying them. I don't remember how many were done I think over 100, but just about all went export as NVA was virtually blocked out of the UK shops by the flat earth bullshit.

What made me laugh is the donor unit was made in Taiwan and I exported my one back to Taiwan

Is the CDM 9 mech any good Doc? If so are these not available any more?

I have and love my old quirky Marantz CD73 with the Philips CDM0 mech with a Rodenstock laser, it's built like a tank but sadly when available (rarely?) they go for silly money SH, unburstable though.

Alfi

The way I understand it is that the mech could only affect sound via mechanical vibration from it somehow affecting the analogue outputs. It won't read the disc any better because CD doesn't work like that. So that and longevity are the only two factors. Longevity isn't important if the mech is cheap and available and the possible vibration issue is really counting angels on pinheads compared to the important stuff. I'd rather not pay extra for a fancy mech.

Pretty much a right analysis.

In a way I went through this with the TFS done in conjunction with Jason. But in that case it had a computer and storage disk in it as well. We got that sounding very good. It may be an option at a later date to build in some Raspberry pie and cream when I think that becomes viable. That could become an updated version of the TFS, and give a trade in/up option for this, but lets not run before we make the thing walk

EDIT - should have read TFS not TDS

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote:A really good solid transport mech is important to the sound, but I just can't get any at a sensible price, and this donor DVD player as stand alone with CDs is a lot better than a majority of cheaper CD players around, and I know what power supply and analogue stage upgrades do to cheaper CD player as that is what I did in the 90's. I will say now the donor then was the NAD 502, I won't say what the donor unit is now as it creates prejudice. When I start my work on it one of the jobs will be structural reinforcement of the transport to make it more solid as it is bound to be a plasticy affair.

What is a sensible price? If it added £20 or £30 to the overall, (already reasonable), cost of the machine would that be so bad?
Personally, I'm not a fan of engineering to the minimum standard. I prefer a bit of nice engineering and would pay a BIT extra for it.

As I have said it is not just the transport mech, I have no ability to program it or build a CD player from scratch that is not the point of this. It is rebuilding a donor unit!

Anyway I want it to do DVD as well, so I will make sure the transport of the donor unit I use is up to the job.

I think a lot of people will pay a few hundred pounds more for a top quality specialist CD transport. Personally I would like to see a top loader because all my transport problems have been failed draw mechanisms. Worth thinking about in a statement player.