URGENT HELP NEEDED: Marantz Clock Upgrade

Houston we have a problem!

I must I am slightly concerned about the installation. But living in Australia my options are seriously limited - I don't think anyone here would have modded this player before.

I've asked the guy to look under the DSP board - hopefully he can find it. One other question - is anyone able to confirm the clock frequency of the DV8400? Audiocom advised me that it was 33.8688, but the installer said dvd players were usually 27 and he'd be surprised if the Marantz was any different. Can anyone confirm which is the case? Should I pull the plug on this madness?

Bailey....DUDE.....pay ATTENTION! Slappy, Herman, and Mejames are trying to send you a message here and I concur!
Yes...Pull the plug! Now! Get your unit back and find a reputable person to mod your unit. HE ain't it!

Bailey - the frequency should be written on the SMT clock. It may be a crystal or a clock generator. Crystals typically have two terminals. These clocks are a bit tricky, especially when they are above 24 MHz. If he is wiring something in place of the crystal, such as a Superclock, it is helpful to know a bit about transmission-line effects. If it doesnt work dont be surprised.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer

Just to finish this off, we did eventually locate the crystal - on a pcb board underneath the transport (no wonder it was hard to see). Anyway, the clock mod has made a significant difference to the sound and picture quality (particularly the sound) of the DV8400 (and it was pretty good before).

The clock used was a Millenium (manufactured in Malaysia but available here in Australia). It was significantly cheaper than other options, such as Superclock etc. But really, I would recommend a clock upgrade very highly. It makes me wonder why middle-to-high-end cd and dvd player manufacturers don't use separate clocks rather than on-board crystals - the improvement is really worth it.

Thanks for your help.