Sony cdp-xb930 with Chord 2qute.

[allthingsanalogue]

Well, I've just bought this to use with my new Chord 2qute. Looks new, hoping it will make a good transport. I was going to buy a cambridge audio cxc transport but hear the fixed pick up makes a superb transport.

£130 I just paid but it's rare to find one in a box in such good unmarked condition.

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff430/ibiza23/AOS/86F08CCB-E3FB-4B70-AE84-5AC14B3B09B5.png_zpskj3mvedp.jpeg

[struth]

Nice. I was trying to get one in black. the 930 model but got outbid lol. think I saw that one too. They are excellent units for the money. It is actually a 930 unit

[allthingsanalogue]

Nice. I was trying to get one in black. the 930 model but got outbid lol. think I saw that one too. They are excellent units for the money. It is actually a 930 unit

Of course it is, i meant that! The 940 doesn't have the same mech.

Can you edit my title?

[struth]

Done

[allthingsanalogue]

Done

Thank you!

[agk]

Nice buy at a fair price especially with the box, I do love an original box.

[allthingsanalogue]

It's arrived. Superb condition. Almost looks new, the remote still had the original Sony batteries in and there is not a single usage mark on the remote or machine.

The fixed pickup mech is extremely quiet and slick and sounds absolutely superb through the dac.

WHY OH WHY DON'T SONY MAKE STUFF LIKE THIS NOW? :scratch:

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff430/ibiza23/AOS/06E13EDB-8FCC-4F7C-976C-DA9961B310EA_zpsnwiukeqx.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff430/ibiza23/AOS/A53A2088-3AA4-4DD9-880B-8F9E69EC4AAA_zpsl5jl8rga.jpg

[Roy S]

Got one in black for £60 (but without original box or remote & there's a few 'battle scars'). Mine's got a badge that says 'UK special edition' (bottom left of fascia), wonder what the difference is?

Edit just noticed mine's an XB930E, you seem to have more knobs to play with!

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/Lodger56/IMG_06541_zpsa74gxzfx.jpg

[Tarzan]

Well done Andrew, that looks nice:eek:- so how does she sound?:)

[allthingsanalogue]

Got one in black for £60 (but without original box or remote & there's a few 'battle scars'). Mine's got a badge that says 'UK special edition' (bottom left of fascia), wonder what the difference is?

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/Lodger56/IMG_06541_zpsa74gxzfx.jpg

The UK versions are tuned for (UK ears) as the Japanese prefer their hifi to have more of a sparkly top end, well that's what Sony said at the time anyway which we may find to bright.

Lasers are still available also and I have downloaded the service manual so if needed at some point I can take it somewhere to be fixed.

[struth]

If memory serves the uk sonys were altered to british tastes to be more audiophile..think the headphone stuff was removed and supposedly the psu caps improved... Not sure if it made any difference though and probably was more a marketing gimmic to make it more uk high end

[allthingsanalogue]

Well done Andrew, that looks nice:eek:- so how does she sound?:)

Bloody fantastic. I was using a Naim CD5XS as a transport temporarily and the Sony blows it away in terms of build quality, sound quality and just pride of ownership. I mean it's built like a bloody tank and so much nicer.

I had the CD5XS and tried the Chord dac on home dem. I immediately preferred the Chord dac over the bare CD5 so swapped the Naim for the chord but then needed a transport. The Sony with the Chord sounds easily better than the Naim and when you think about it the Naim is about £2300 and the Chord with the Sony, £1130!

You do the math!:lol:

[Barry]

I have a black Sony CDP 930. Bought it from a fellow Member here for £60; it doesn't have the original box but is in mint condition, and still has the original Sony batteries in the remote control (though I don't use the remote). Mine has an output for headphones, though my previous CDP 720E did not.

Sony make (or use to make) some great gear - fine SQ, excellent build quality, elegant and pleasing cosmetics. Although I don't use the Sony player, having replaced it with a professional broadcast standard Studer Revox C221, it is kept as a spare CD player.

[Macca]

Good CD players, I have the 930E QS UK edition in black - it is lovely to use but a little too smooth sounding in my main set up. It partners more budget kit perfectly, though. I like a little sparkle in the top end even if it isn't strictly 'correct'.

[allthingsanalogue]

Good CD players, I have the 930E QS UK edition in black - it is lovely to use but a little too smooth sounding in my main set up. It partners more budget kit perfectly, though. I like a little sparkle in the top end even if it isn't strictly 'correct'.

As i said it's being used a as a transport, haven't tried the analogue outs yet but will do at some point.

I like sparkle in the top end also, hence the Nordost cable that some don't like as they can sound forward but I love their top end a super quick bottom end.

[Macca]

Never tried a Nordost cable, bit out of my price range. I've tried a few CD players as transports incuding the 930 but preferred them as stand alone. I wasn't using a fancy DAC, though, just the ones built into the XTZ A100 amp, and my Sony A/V amp.

How smooth is the disc drawer action on the Sony, though? It is a million dollars build-wise.

[allthingsanalogue]

Never tried a Nordost cable, bit out of my price range. I've tried a few CD players as transports incuding the 930 but preferred them as stand alone. I wasn't using a fancy DAC, though, just the ones built into the XTZ A100 amp, and my Sony A/V amp.

How smooth is the disc drawer action on the Sony, though? It is a million dollars build-wise.

Very smooth indeed. A made a video


http://youtu.be/-rYV8D259q4

[GML]

Nice! I want one.

[bigmarty]

Nice! I want one.

Me too :D

[struth]

Getting one soon ;)

[clack]

I purchased a second hand CDP XB 920 QS last year, that is nearly the same of the 930, except for the black front panel.
I was attracted by the fixed mechanism as I was going to use it as a transport with my DAC.
The seller said he used it as a transport as well and substituted it with a CDP X 5 ES or 7.
He didn't find so many differences, apart the more powerful bass, that is the reason he purchased another player.
Well, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I received the 920, because I found the bass too thin and the overall sound less musical compared to the Rotel RDV 995 I already had.

So I made some mods, not in the output section as I read on a TAOS old thread, but in the power supply.
In my point of view modifying output is not the best way to proceed when the power supply shortcomings are still there.
An italian designer, rather famous here, uses to say that no electronic can sound better than its power supply. I agree with him.
I added some Roe 4700 uF/100V beasts in parallel to the most important power supply caps, bypassed both the 4700's and the original caps with Arcotronics C4G 0,68/850V MKP caps and then bypassed again the Roe's with Ero MKT 1829 0,33 uF/100V that are fantastic to clean power supplies.
It's a real pity they are not produced anymore. I found them in an electronics surplus store and as they gave me a good impression I purchased the whole stock they had.
I have been lucky, because wherever I put them they make a really excellent job.
So I put them everywhere and now they are almost over.
After that I changed the rectifiers to obtain a cleaner power supply and then a cleaner and better defined sound.
In this way the 920 shows a heavyweight and perfectly controlled bass response, beyond a huge improvement overall when connected through the line outputs as well as the digital one.
It can be said that now its behaviour is at the level of a really expensive player.
Luckily the former owner modified the back panel, placing a IEC connector in it, allowing the use of the power cables I build of my own.
Next step will be the complete substitution of the old power supply caps with new Panasonic FC that made so well in a Copland 266 I modded some time ago, obtaining a completely unexpected level of improvement.

[struth]

Yup as an update have bought a nice 930qs. looking forward to it partnering my sony amp, and will initially run it through my monarchy dac. its another thing to do b4 I die :carrot:

[Barry]

Yup as an update have bought a nice 930qs. looking forward to it partnering my sony amp, and will initially run it through my monarchy dac. its another thing to do b4 I die :carrot:

Well done Grant. Is a black one?

Would be interested to hear of your findings if comparing your Monarchy DAC with Sony's own. I did the same using two separate external DACs and found both of them to be different, but overall no better, than the internal DAC.

[struth]

Well done Grant. Is a black one?

Would be interested to hear of your findings if comparing your Monarchy DAC with Sony's own. I did the same using two separate external DACs and found both of them to be different, but overall no better, than the internal DAC.

yes black... least I think it is lol. I will try it through thedac and also try my buffer too. I may well sell it as part of my box reduction(a mfx10v3). also have the dip for the monarchy so may be an interesting trial.... got the Pioneer going through everything at moment including the Teta and it sounds quite good so the sony has work to do.

[Roy S]

Mine sounds better through a Caiman 2

[walpurgis]

Would be interested to hear of your findings if comparing your Monarchy DAC with Sony's own..

My money is on the Monarchy Audio. I have two of them and they are rather special. Stomped the Thetas I'd had

[Barry]

Mine sounds better through a Caiman 2

One of the external DACs I tried was a Beresford, but it wasn't the Caiman 2 (the other was an elderly Cambridge 'Dacmagic'). The only difference I heard was a slight narrowing, but deepening of the soundstage with either DAC compared with the internal Sony DAC.

I can well believe the Caiman 2 would be an improvement.

[Macca]

I purchased a second hand CDP XB 920 QS last year, that is nearly the same of the 930, except for the black front panel.
I was attracted by the fixed mechanism as I was going to use it as a transport with my DAC.
The seller said he used it as a transport as well and substituted it with a CDP X 5 ES or 7.
He didn't find so many differences, apart the more powerful bass, that is the reason he purchased another player.
Well, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I received the 920, because I found the bass too thin and the overall sound less musical compared to the Rotel RDV 995 I already had.

So I made some mods, not in the output section as I read on a TAOS old thread, but in the power supply.
In my point of view modifying output is not the best way to proceed when the power supply shortcomings are still there.
An italian designer, rather famous here, uses to say that no electronic can sound better than its power supply. I agree with him.
I added some Roe 4700 uF/100V beasts in parallel to the most important power supply caps, bypassed both the 4700's and the original caps with Arcotronics C4G 0,68/850V MKP caps and then bypassed again the Roe's with Ero MKT 1829 0,33 uF/100V that are fantastic to clean power supplies.
It's a real pity they are not produced anymore. I found them in an electronics surplus store and as they gave me a good impression I purchased the whole stock they had.
I have been lucky, because wherever I put them they make a really excellent job.
So I put them everywhere and now they are almost over.
After that I changed the rectifiers to obtain a cleaner power supply and then a cleaner and better defined sound.
In this way the 920 shows a heavyweight and perfectly controlled bass response, beyond a huge improvement overall when connected through the line outputs as well as the digital one.
It can be said that now its behaviour is at the level of a really expensive player.
Luckily the former owner modified the back panel, placing a IEC connector in it, allowing the use of the power cables I build of my own.
Next step will be the complete substitution of the old power supply caps with new Panasonic FC that made so well in a Copland 266 I modded some time ago, obtaining a completely unexpected level of improvement.

This is interesting. I think I might get some one to do the same mods to mine. Thanks for posting this Claudio.

[clack]

This is interesting. I think I might get some one to do the same mods to mine. Thanks for posting this Claudio.

Hi Martin,
thanks for your interest.

I would do the job for you, but I live in Italy. So the shipment costs could be remarkable.
Your decision, anyway.

You can find for sure a technician to do the job. But usually the average technician point of view is rather far from the audiophile's one.
So, some of the modifications, or even all of them, could be quite nonsense for him.
Very probably he will ask you why using 100V parallel caps, when the voltage of the circuits they are placed in is so lower.
So he could insist to make you use lower voltage caps, that are smaller and more comfortable to place inside a cabinet that is not so big.
I used those caps because I already had them and having placed them in the analog power supply of my DAC as well, was aware they sound really fine. Even better when bypassed with an MKP cap.
Usually a higher tension cap sounds better than the same but lower tension.
For the average technician double bypassing a cap would be another nonsense.
Probably he will do it if you ask, but for sure he will think you are the "usual crazy audiophile".

Anyway the cost of labour and components could exceed the player's one when purchased second hand, but IMHO this is not the parameter to take care of.
For me the right one is: what would be the cost of a player that sounds the same of a 920-930 modded this way?
In this point of view, the modding can be really convenient.

P.S.
Another tweak that is not expensive at all and can give remarkable results is bypassing the output caps with 10nF MKP's.
Even if their value is so low, they make a well audible job, with finer, better defined and more 3D sound.
In this application Ero MKP 1837's are well regarded, but I find that they give too much presence to treble. So they are very useful for dull sound gears.
I prefer Evox Rifa 10nF/400V, the grey ones. Their cost is about the same but they are more controlled at high frequencies and have better 3D.
Their high voltage makes them useful in valve preamps/CDP-DAC output stages as well.

[Macca]

Hi Martin,
thanks for your interest.

I would do the job for you, but I live in Italy. So the shipment costs could be remarkable.
Your decision, anyway.
.

Thanks Claudio. I work for an international carrier and get a big discount on shipping overseas so maybe we could do that :) I have another project in the pipeline but if that doesn't work out and I can't get someone local to do it I'll get back to you. :)

[clack]

Thanks Claudio. I work for an international carrier and get a big discount on shipping overseas so maybe we could do that :) I have another project in the pipeline but if that doesn't work out and I can't get someone local to do it I'll get back to you. :)

Whenever you like, Martin. :pub:

[clack]

An easy and inexpensive way to improve the performance of this CD player is making a cardboard pad to be placed on the CD, between this and the clamp.
The most effective material seems to be the low quality, rather thick grey cardboard made with pressed recycled paper.
Inside the CD transport there is room enough to host a pad made of two layers, joined together with double adhesive tape.
The damping properties of such a pad are quite remarkable. A friend of mine used to place in his CDP a Millennium carbon fiber one he paid 40 euro, but when he tried the cardboard pad was so convinced that he put apart the carbon one.
With the cardboard pad, the transport shows a remarkably better precision in the recovery of the audio information overall, with better detail, more balanced sound and better controlled mid-highs.