how good is sacd1000 on red book

Poster RandyTsuch has a SW modded 1000 and a search here might provide you with some info. Randy is also a regular over at HD where you might find his impressions. The one thing is (if memory serves me right) is that he sent his new stock unit directly to Stan without hearing it in stock form. Randy can confirm.

While my 1000 is still at my buddy's house in CT, I have yet to decide on how to approach this whole mod thing (I've got a "Kerned" 333ES currently)... Do I:

1. Get it home into Western Canada to see how it performs against my Sony. If I don't like it I should have no problem getting my money out it especially since this particular Philips is virtually non-existent in Canada.

2. Get it modded but herein lies the problem. I know first hand the Richard Kern does great work, Stan offers what appears to be a very reasonably priced mod and Dan Wright's "absolute truth" mods in corporating a tube output stage is very intrguing although very pricy.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

If i have anybody do anything to my SACD 1000, it would probably be either Ric from EVS or Kyle at Reference Audio Mods. I've talked to Ric about this and should probably give Kyle a call to see what he's got up his sleeve. I know that a lot of you folks like Dan Wright, Stan Warren, Joe Curcio, Richard Kern and John Hillig, so it would appear that we've got quite a few qualified and reputable folks to choose from in terms of having them "gut" our brand new units : ) As mentioned in another thread, i would talk to a few different "tweakers" and get a feel for how they operate. From there, you shouldn't have a hard time deciding on who you want to work with. Much like selecting gear, this SHOULD be a personal process. Just because i like something or someone doesn't mean that you will. Sean
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Sean, thanks for your detailed report on this player. Please give SACD a shot, and let us know what you think.

I agree with your assessment of the modders. If I ever have my SCD333-ES player done, it will be Ric at EVS who does the work.

Air... yeh, that's what I think I feel like I'm missing from redbook playback on the philips player. BUT, after almost 6 days of continuous playback, the sound has opened up some, and become better integrated within itself.

the midrange is probably it's best trait, the high end needing the most help.

In asking for mods, I'd look for someone who could open up the top end, add some air, and remove some of the overall coloring the unit has... there just seems to be a little bit of a thickness to the sound. I'd also ask to see if the soundstage could be expanded... the sound is full, but doesn't extend far out on either side.

All this said, the unit sounds much better than it originally did, even two days of continuous playback. my ear did hear improvement over time.

Glad that we are basically on the same page Dennis and that you did not take offense to my comments / observations. I'm also glad to hear that the sound is opening up a bit. As i mentioned though, i'm thinking that i'll need to change the interconnects that i'm using in the long run. My initial thoughts are that some Magnan's would work wonderfully here for multiple reasons.

I don't really notice a "thickness" with this unit so much as i do the deep bass standing out. If one were using speakers with smaller woofers, mid-woofers with limited bass extension or a vented system ( especially passive radiator design ), i could see how this could tend to muddy / thicken or "congest" things a bit. Both my woofers and amps are definitely being pushed harder than they have ever been before, so i can see someone with less power and / or bass and power handling capabilities running into problems sooner than later with this player in the system.

With that in mind, i'm wondering what BIG "Hollyweird" explosions are like on DVD via this player ??? Maybe i need a few more watts and woofers : )

Joe: This unit comes with two SACD's, so i'll give them a listen when i get a chance. Is there a good SACD that one can pick up at Best Buy or one of the chain stores that will really let me see what this unit can do in SACD mode ? I know that they might not have the best variety of "audiophile approved" selections, but i don't think that anything that might have "fancy" recordings will be open on Sunday.

I'd also like to mention an idea here. If we can find a disc that is commonly available and use that as a reference for all of us to compare notes with, that would make things a lot simpler with greater potential for useful info being shared. With all of us using a disc or two for reference, we would be able to to compare the resolution and sonic characteristics of any SACD player. As such, we need to hear some suggestions as to what disc(s) are worth using for something like this.

Someone with a good selection of SACD's with a lot of SACD listening experience should start a thread regarding "reference quality SACD's" and let's see what we can come up with. Obviously, musical tastes will come into this, but if we do this strictly as a technical measure for comparison sakes, the doors are wide open. Sean
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