[Illah]

Hi All - I know this is a pretty old player by modern standards, but in its day it was the best value player around. I was about to toss my old one when I noticed that it had a 96/24 A/D DAC on board, so I searched around and what do you know it's actually a pretty decent DAC! I also found out that it's a very moddable player. I'd love to know if anyone has any tips or advice on how to mod this thing. All I care about is the analog out, this would be a dedicated CD player (my video has long since been upgraded).

Thanks!

--Illah

 

[Garbz]

Search the DIY forum for Pioneer DV-676 if the players are similar then there's a lovely post which will give a few ideas for a cheap start.

On top of that reclocking may be a good idea.

 

[Illah]

Sorry, mine's a few generations older than that

The DV-333 would be the equivalent price/performance gem...only of 1999/2000. From what I can dig up online a modded unit should be very nice sounding so I'm willing ot give it a shot if anyone has any ideas.

--Illah

 

[Garbz]

Well i actually ment just for ideas.

Output capacitors can be replaced, trace the circuit from the DAC and read the datasheets, we Identiifed one capacitor that could be removed completely form the signal path. By pass capacitors make a difference, but the biggest change came from replacing the output opamp.

 

[Illah]

Well I'm good, but not good enough to read the datasheets and all that

Maybe this will help...pics and an email from Dan Wright of ModWright fame:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Wright If you are handy with this stuff, you can upgrade the power supply, analog out op-amps and coupling caps. I'm afraid that I really don't have time to give much more explanation as to how to do this, but there are a lot of resources on the web.

And here's an old page summarizing the ModWright mods to this line of players:

Quote:

# Upgrade rectifiers to ultrafast soft-recovery diodes # Add an IEC socket to allow the use of upgrade power cords # Modify and improve the power supply filtering with the use of high-quality electrolytic caps and Solen poly bypass caps # Upgrade analog coupling caps to Black Gates # Upgrade op-amps to high quality ultra-fast op-amps with film bypass # Remove muting transistors and much of the output stage that colors the sound, simplifying and improving the analog output stage # Upgrade output resistors to a single pair of Caddock precision metal film resistors # Improve individual power supplies to DAC and analog circuits for improved sonics

How many of those mods are easy/cheap to do? I don't really want to go nuts on this modding, just the simpler ones.

So I *think* I found the output caps and the opamp, can anyone confirm? Any help would be appreciated!

--Illah


RED: Solder points for Analog RCA output signal
BLUE: Solder points for caps on other side of board...are these the output caps?
GREEN: Opamp?

Close of Opamp?

What value caps should I replace these with?

Here's the whole board

Dan Wright says I can upgrade the PSU...how? Here's pics if anything stands out

 

[crazychile]

Not to threadcrap or anything, but I have one of these and would like to know if anyone knows how to fix a drawer problem. I have to hit the open/close button about 20 times before the drawer will stay open. When I go to open it again later, the same thing happens.

Back in the old days (80's) this was usually caused by a bad drawer belt. I dont think they used a belt on this one (I cant see one) and so I am wondering if there is a sensor or something that needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Other than that it has been a good player.

FYI, I bought a Panasonic DVD changer a few months ago for the home theater system. I dont remember the model number but it was around $129. It absolutely killed the Pioneer in sound and video quality. Video was especially noticeable. My wife even noticed.

 

[Illah]

Yeah well the 333 isn't even a progressive scan player and even $40 players these days are progressive scan - that could be a factor. For home theater I've always used digital out so I've never really listened to the analog out of the 333

I figure it's either a mod or the trash can, so why not. I can see how it compares to my EMU0404.

--Illah

 

[Illah]

bump...can anyone confirm I found the opamp and suggest a good value for replacing the coupling caps? Maybe I should have posted in DIY

--Illah

 

[soundboy]

I wonder if these mods apply to my "even older" Pioneer DVD-414?

 

[Illah]

I would think so. Most of the mods in question are pretty universal, i.e. opamps and caps.

So here's what I've been able to deduce:

1) Every opamp I've seen in the DIY forum is a tiny, 8 pin chip, just like the one I've identified. It doesn't look like there are any other such chips on the board...
2) Either replace the caps with bigger, higher quality caps or bypass them all together.

Other than that I don't know what else to mod. I would like to tweak the PSU a little bit but I don't know a thing about it. Any advice would be appreciated! I'm thinking of grabbing a couple of botique caps and an AD8620 for this thing and would like to do the PSU on the same order if I could.

--Illah