eknuds01
Well-known member
Hello ML fan club members. I have been waiting to write a post like this for the longest time. Before I move into the review, a bit of background information...
When we had the 'Gathering of the Geeks' (see twich54's thread) at Dan's house I was introduced to his modified sony player, done by modwright.com. I am fairly the modwright modifications were different than what Paul Weitzel at tuberesearchlabs.com performs. I want to say that Dan had a new clock put in and a few other odds and ends were changed around. His player is devoid of some of the common issues that sony players are known for - they tend to be overly bright and, at times, maybe harsh sounding.
Also, while I was Dan's listening party, I learned several very valuable lessons. I used to think that the speakers and really good amps/pre-amps will make most anything sound good. Sadly this is not the case. The source (both the player and the quality of the recording) are very important. We listened to many redbook and SACD albums, both good and bad, and his system will reward you with a terrific listening experience, but also reveal any flaws embedded in the recording. So I decided to upgrade the CD player first, before moving on to the more pricey upgrades (more on that later).
Paul modified a sony 900v that I got via ebay. It received raved reviews here: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...3&openfrom&5&4
So following Dan's advice, I took the plunge. I mailed the 900v to Paul Weitzel and for $750 + shipping he made a few changes to the analog board, took out the IEC cable and made it so I can use an after-market power cord. Also, he disabled/removed the video inputs. I am guessing those circuits are active when the player is on and they can hinder the performance. Spike had an earlier post as to how and what the various 'modders' can change around. It's an excellent post and I would read that for more great background information.
On to the review!
Associated electronics:
Speakers: ML Aerius i
Amplifier: Sunfire Symphonic Reference
Pre-amp: Yamaha RX-V592 (it was my old integrated amp, and now my pre-amp)
Cables: Kimber Hero and Heartland ICs. Monster M-series bi-wire for the Logans.
Those in attendance: Erik (me), Dan (DTB300) and his daughter.
I allowed for ~100 hrs of break-in time for the 900v prior to the review.
I did some A/B comparisons between my Panasonic DVD RP56 and the 900v. It's not a bad player by any stretch considering the price. But the high end on the RP56 is a bit more accentuated in my opinion. I also think the music through the 900v is well...more musical. It sounds very balanced from top to bottom and when Dan and I listened to Eva Cassidy's Autumn Leave's track from Live @ Blues Alley, the highs were reproduced just fine. A good test for any CD player is to listen to a song that you know will challenge your system, or in this case, the sony's ability to reproduce her aria without rolling off the high end, or producing overly bright music so that your ears start bleeding.
The same could said about Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'My Heaven' from her Between Here and Gone album. What a fantasic record. Do yourself a favor and get this CD. You won't be disappointed. If you love female vocals, this is the CD for you.
Dave (twich54) played this song for me at his house a few weeks back and I thorughly enjoyed her music through his system. Again, compared to the Panasonic player, the modified sony provides a very balanced, and musical experience.
Sarah McLaughlin's 'Angels' is one of my all-time favs. I love this song-just her and the piano. Now, I must admit that the panasonic does a nice job here. The differences bewteen the sony and panasonic are rather subtle, with the former being a bit less bright. Dan has a specific tone, that he calls the 'Zzzzzssss' sound that singers make when saying words that usually end in the letter s. This was present with both players, obviously, but the Sony could reproduce it in a more gentle (can't think of a better term, sorry) fashion.
The final CD used in the comparison was Clapton's Unplugged Album. Well, you should be seeing a pattern by now. The sony sounded more neutral in that the Eric's voice in 'Tears From Heaven' was less harsh, or grainy, sounding and the sony was smoother on the next song, 'Lonely Stranger.'
Well there you have it. I wanted to write something up that didn't contain a ton of flowery adjectives that most audio reviews are known for. All in all, I am impressed with 900v and I highly recommend Paul Weitzel at tuberesearchlabs.com. To date, they have modified nearly 800 players and now I am among the long list of satisfied customers. In my opinion, CD players shouldn't add or subtract anything from your listening experience. Good players simply allow you sit back and enjoy the music without any unwanted harshness. Well recorded tracks are going to sound terrific and bad ones will be exposed too.
Paul enclosed some of favorite songs that he burned on to six CDs: Aerosmith, some Pink Floyd, some classical and jazz CDs (these are all compilations of a many different artists) and some really nice Billy Holliday songs. I haven't listened to everything on those six CDs yet, but Dan and I did enjoy a few of the tracks on the Jazz disc.
Thanks for stopping by and reading the review! :music:
When we had the 'Gathering of the Geeks' (see twich54's thread) at Dan's house I was introduced to his modified sony player, done by modwright.com. I am fairly the modwright modifications were different than what Paul Weitzel at tuberesearchlabs.com performs. I want to say that Dan had a new clock put in and a few other odds and ends were changed around. His player is devoid of some of the common issues that sony players are known for - they tend to be overly bright and, at times, maybe harsh sounding.
Also, while I was Dan's listening party, I learned several very valuable lessons. I used to think that the speakers and really good amps/pre-amps will make most anything sound good. Sadly this is not the case. The source (both the player and the quality of the recording) are very important. We listened to many redbook and SACD albums, both good and bad, and his system will reward you with a terrific listening experience, but also reveal any flaws embedded in the recording. So I decided to upgrade the CD player first, before moving on to the more pricey upgrades (more on that later).
Paul modified a sony 900v that I got via ebay. It received raved reviews here: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...3&openfrom&5&4
So following Dan's advice, I took the plunge. I mailed the 900v to Paul Weitzel and for $750 + shipping he made a few changes to the analog board, took out the IEC cable and made it so I can use an after-market power cord. Also, he disabled/removed the video inputs. I am guessing those circuits are active when the player is on and they can hinder the performance. Spike had an earlier post as to how and what the various 'modders' can change around. It's an excellent post and I would read that for more great background information.
On to the review!
Associated electronics:
Speakers: ML Aerius i
Amplifier: Sunfire Symphonic Reference
Pre-amp: Yamaha RX-V592 (it was my old integrated amp, and now my pre-amp)
Cables: Kimber Hero and Heartland ICs. Monster M-series bi-wire for the Logans.
Those in attendance: Erik (me), Dan (DTB300) and his daughter.
I allowed for ~100 hrs of break-in time for the 900v prior to the review.
I did some A/B comparisons between my Panasonic DVD RP56 and the 900v. It's not a bad player by any stretch considering the price. But the high end on the RP56 is a bit more accentuated in my opinion. I also think the music through the 900v is well...more musical. It sounds very balanced from top to bottom and when Dan and I listened to Eva Cassidy's Autumn Leave's track from Live @ Blues Alley, the highs were reproduced just fine. A good test for any CD player is to listen to a song that you know will challenge your system, or in this case, the sony's ability to reproduce her aria without rolling off the high end, or producing overly bright music so that your ears start bleeding.
The same could said about Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'My Heaven' from her Between Here and Gone album. What a fantasic record. Do yourself a favor and get this CD. You won't be disappointed. If you love female vocals, this is the CD for you.
Dave (twich54) played this song for me at his house a few weeks back and I thorughly enjoyed her music through his system. Again, compared to the Panasonic player, the modified sony provides a very balanced, and musical experience.
Sarah McLaughlin's 'Angels' is one of my all-time favs. I love this song-just her and the piano. Now, I must admit that the panasonic does a nice job here. The differences bewteen the sony and panasonic are rather subtle, with the former being a bit less bright. Dan has a specific tone, that he calls the 'Zzzzzssss' sound that singers make when saying words that usually end in the letter s. This was present with both players, obviously, but the Sony could reproduce it in a more gentle (can't think of a better term, sorry) fashion.
The final CD used in the comparison was Clapton's Unplugged Album. Well, you should be seeing a pattern by now. The sony sounded more neutral in that the Eric's voice in 'Tears From Heaven' was less harsh, or grainy, sounding and the sony was smoother on the next song, 'Lonely Stranger.'
Well there you have it. I wanted to write something up that didn't contain a ton of flowery adjectives that most audio reviews are known for. All in all, I am impressed with 900v and I highly recommend Paul Weitzel at tuberesearchlabs.com. To date, they have modified nearly 800 players and now I am among the long list of satisfied customers. In my opinion, CD players shouldn't add or subtract anything from your listening experience. Good players simply allow you sit back and enjoy the music without any unwanted harshness. Well recorded tracks are going to sound terrific and bad ones will be exposed too.
Paul enclosed some of favorite songs that he burned on to six CDs: Aerosmith, some Pink Floyd, some classical and jazz CDs (these are all compilations of a many different artists) and some really nice Billy Holliday songs. I haven't listened to everything on those six CDs yet, but Dan and I did enjoy a few of the tracks on the Jazz disc.
Thanks for stopping by and reading the review! :music:
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