Marantz CD6000 OSE MODS and Tweaks

This is a wonderful CD player in a nice heavy-duty case. The metal chassis has a heavy base plate, and there is plenty of room inside to add additional boards. Many of the modules are also pluggable, such as the HDAM PCB, and all of this makes it an ideal modification candidate for audio enthusiasts.

There are many interesting modifications shown on the Internet, however the Trichord SuperClock2 mod sounds intriguing. When I get my own CD player, I might have a go at this. Many enthusiasts also change the capacitors for more expensive high specification ones. Sometimes they change some of the capacitors in the power supply to higher values in order to remove that almost invisible ripple showing on their scope.

This amplifier has plenty of RC filtering and of course, there will always be people removing them in an attempt to improve the performance. Many audio enthusiasts enjoy having something that is high-end and unique, and sometimes they go to long lengths of changing the components. Perhaps I might do my own mod one day when I can afford to get a player of my own.

According the circuit diagram, on the CD6000 only model, 2113 and 2114 are 470 uf capacitors. Increasing these to 4700 uf, might improve the filtering on the 12 V rails of the headphone amplifier. If I had the time and money, then that is one of the things I would do.

I would also replace the support plate that goes over the case, with a copper one. Alternatively, even better, gold plated one. Because it looks nice and I believe, it will make the CD player sound better. :-)

As Good as It Gets...

Audio enthusiasts generally tend to obsess over the sound quality and the capacitors used. In particular, replacing the electrolytic capacitors to more expensive gold standard ones, and improving the sound is something they dream about. This venture of course always results in improving the sound noticeably... However, more often, it tends to be a placebo effect.

This CD player uses high-end electrolytic capacitors in key areas where it would have an impact on the sound quality. The headphone amplifier has a MOSFET output stage, which is about as good as it gets. Until someone invents a new component that is even more efficient, it is probably a good idea to leave the HDAM modules alone.

Power supplies will always have a negligible ripple. If you turn the vertical gain factor of your scope all the way up, you will see them. The main question should be, does the ripple -- which is insignificant -- have any impact on the perceived sound quality? However, if you are an engineer and have the money and time, then there is nothing wrong in having some fun replacing some of the components to high spec types.

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