Arcam Alpha 7 CD Player – Sound distortion during play back of copied CDs

[Beechwoods]

I'd just like to say that I have a lot of CDR releases from local bands and self-released artists which have been bought legally in proper local shops and at gigs, and which probably put more money into the artists' pockets than most labels do who release 'proper' factory pressed silver discs.

I'd be really disappointed if I couldn't play them back when I wanted to because my equipment threw a wobbly!

[Tripmaster]

Pioneer DVD575 sounds preferable to many budget CD players, and makes a good transport. To my ears anyway.

Playstation One model 1002 with simple modification is worth exploring. If not the most convenient solution.

Hi Alb

I missed you post...how rude!

I have built Peter Daniels Shigaclone transport over on DIYAUDIO and that sounds very good for the money, so I am not without transport.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...t=1462&page=10

I guess I just fancy having a good commercial transport as well

Richard

[alb]

Looks like a nice job, Richard.
I considered having a go too, but the length of the thread on DIYaudio put me off a bit.

I went for the PS1 instead because someone had condensed the main points of the upgrades into a readable webpage.
The PS1 is good, but i found that unless i used it with a valve output stage, it had a rather flat and uninteresting soundstage.
I have to admit that in some respects it betters my transport/dac combination, which came as a bit of a shock.

[Tripmaster]

I shouldn't let that put you off, I started my build when the thread was on page 40. There hasn't been a great deal of development since then.

I bought my JVC RC-EZ31B boom boxes from ASDA for £25 and people have recently reported seeing them on Ebay for £20.

Why not give it a go, its really quite easy? I am happy to start a thread if you need any help

Richard

You will find most things are covered in this PDF.

http://tim.cheapo.cc/images/CD%20player%20mods.pdf

[Ali Tait]

Worth checking out cash converters.I picked up a Pioneer PD-S505 for 19.99.Bargain! A good transport.

[Filterlab]

Worth checking out cash converters.I picked up a Pioneer PD-S505 for 19.99.Bargain! A good transport.

That is a bargain and three quarters! Those stable platter mech players make great transports.

[Ali Tait]

Sure was! Not cosmetically perfect,and no remote,but hey,whaddaya want for 20 quid? Works perfectly.Actually sounds quite good on it's own.I do use it into my lightly tweaked Audio-Note dac though.A very nice combination.

[Filterlab]

Well, cosmetics shmosmetics - if it works well and sounds good then great, and you've got to move to the machine to put a disc in it anyway so who needs a remote? They were good machines in their own right, but as you say with a decent DAC on the end the possibilities are multiplied.

[Yomanze]

Looks like a nice job, Richard.
I considered having a go too, but the length of the thread on DIYaudio put me off a bit.

I went for the PS1 instead because someone had condensed the main points of the upgrades into a readable webpage.
The PS1 is good, but i found that unless i used it with a valve output stage, it had a rather flat and uninteresting soundstage.
I have to admit that in some respects it betters my transport/dac combination, which came as a bit of a shock.

I haven't done it, but fitting a linear powersupply and feeding the DAC / output stage with seperate supplies would be the way to dramatically improve the PS1. I have one with a bypassed power supply and it's excellent, but bettered by the Beresford by a margin. The potential is there it terms of what I suspect is extreme low jitter. The timing of the PS1 is unbelievable, but it's not designed for high-end audio quality and needs a lot of work.

[alb]

Yomanze.

Agreed.
In its standard form i wasn't really impressed. It was doing some things well but sounded rather closed in. Took several days to hit best form. Output a bit low for my amp.
Doing away with the stock output stage and fitting Black Gates was a step up.
Adding a tube output stage was a major improvement.
I built a twin linear supply and things got slightly better again.
Currently mulling over a new housing for it. Cold weather and untidy shed stopped any further progress.
It's certainly a "foot tappin" sort of sound and digs out plenty of detail. Still think it can be a bit undynamic with certain types of music. Maybe that will come in time.
Haven't used it for a few weeks, as its all screwed to bits of wood and not very convenient to use.