Recommended source for headphone rig?

Anyone have any thoughts or advice on output from a digidesign 002 rack (you use it to run protools cheapo i.e. home version-firewire connected) to solo srg ? [still collecting funding for the upgrade to 003   ] just ordered srg - every day ticks by with a depressing lack of haste..

not sure what digital format is the most productive to listen to.. there are tons out there it seems - several claiming to be the ultimate etc.. so much mince to wade through.

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at least until i can spend some hard earned money on getting myself a proper playback format instead of trust tomy digital


Edited by ramsay - 18 Sep 2009 at 1:38am

Francisco,

unfortunately, the short answer is no.  

Mainly because it is now some years since I did those mods.

If I were so inclined and had the time I could dig the unmodded one out of storage and do a comparison, I do have K701 and a "green" Solo though not yet an SRG.

I am not sure what "prog rock" is, although I do listen to a wide ranging variety of music depending on mood, classical, baroque, chamber, rock, R&B, folk, jazz, vocal, ethnic - not much opera, hip hop or rap.

A couple of comments re the 52 II SE, it has an excellent laser mechanism and reads almost anything I have put in it, the case is very well mechanically damped and cross braced (bit of a pain when modding it but good nonetheless), it is riddled with quality capacitors that one would consider upgrading to on a lesser model (lots and lots of now unobtainable blackgates).

A simple first step might be to unsolder the two output opamps and solder two 8 pin sockets in their place, this will allow you to "roll" opamps and will be necessary if you wanted to fit the burson modules.

If I were starting out to mod this player now, I might consider changing the input diodes for hexfreds or schottkys and beefing up the input caps.

If you get keen you could probably follow Thorstens guide to the CD 67 mods on tnt-audio - you will need the circuit diagram for the CD 52 but most of what he describes is applicable to the CD 52 also.

I did make up a guide to the mods I did - google it - there are lots of pics and a pdf.

The clock would be better for being wired with coax and having a separate supply.

I subsequently bought an E-Sound E5 Signature which is usually my CD player on my speaker system though I continue to use the Marantz on my headphone setup.

I have tried a number of different DACS including several iterations of the Monica 2 and a Valab without finding anything that shouted "this is better" I have recently been trying a Beresford Caiman (upgraded 7520) and on my speaker system this appears an improvement on the E5 - largely in instrument separation and soundstage depth, have yet to try it with the Marantz and headphone setup but on the speakers this is the closest I have come (within my budget) to my vinyl setup which is still markedly better.

I have heard a lot of CD players on a lot of systems since I modded the Marantz and there has been only 1 stand-out "I want to hear that at home" among them and that was the 47 Labs Shigaraki.  On a far from shabby setup it bested a Moon CD player costing twice what it did in the opinion of the 8 people present including the owner of the Moon.

So, to sum up, probably your best bet from where you are ATM, do the sockets and diodes in the Marantz, get a decent digital cable and try out a Beresford Caiman DAC.

Do remember that vinyl and speakers are my usual and preferred listening.

OK Francisco,

I have dug out the spare CD52 for a comparison for you.

Both players are CD 52 Mk II SE.

Amp is GS "green" Solo c2007 SMPS, grounded.

Cans K701

Cables, VDH First Ultimate on modded deck, VDH The Second (slightly better IMO) on the unmodded deck.

Players connected to both inputs of Solo, 2 copies of the same disc, synced to within 1 sec of each other so it is easy to switch from one to the other with little loss of flow.

Music, PULSE by Pink Floyd, CD1, live performance.

Provisos,

1 - the unmodded player has only been powered on for around 2 hours, the other for ? - months, Solo is permanently on.

2 - the VDH are probably not my preferred cable for use with the K701 - they tend to have similar characteristics to me, but I do not presently have a matched pair of anything else of quality to run this test.

Initial impressions:

nothing "in your face" between them, the differences are subtle (more apparent with W1000) but consistent with what one might expect.  

Similar to what I might expect from a change to the PSU1, improved clarity, decreased "grain & hash", blacker background and improved instrument separation and spatial and vocal definition.

If you want a "wow" moment, I doubt this will do it.  If you want a less fatiguing, more musical presentation it is worth while.

This is preliminary, to be completely fair to the unmodded deck, I will leave it run for a week and then give it a more thorough comparison, possibly with some different cables.

The Burson modules, K701, Solo and the VDH cables are all well and truly run in, the K701 have over 1500 hrs on them, the cables more than 500 hrs and the rest years of running.

more to follow........