Don't throw away your old dvd player

sachin_k5

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Aug 26, 2009
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Mumbai
I have been searching for a cheap source for a few months now. Cheap means less than 10K. I already have a new age mass market dvd player from Sony.
It so happened that i was reading how a diy enthusiast used a normal dvd player and changed some components and turned it into a expensive sounding cd player. I have been reading some articles on the same. I realised that most mass market dvd makers use cheap components like cheap clocks, cheap power source and cheap capacitors to reduce cost which in turn reduces the sound quality of the dvd player.

While i was reading about these things i remembered that my friend had bought a expensive dvd player 5 years ago, a sony DVDP NS530 for close to Rs.10000. I thought to myself if it was expensive in those days maybe they were using good components.

So i borrowed it from my friend. The remote was covered with dust and the body had lost its paint finish. It didn't look like it was being used often. Like a vintage supercar lying unused in a rich man's garage. When i picked it up i was surprised at the weight, it was a good 2 times the weight of my new age sony dvdp, was my assumption of good components being used right ?

Back at home, i hooked it up using el cheapo interconnects, put in a Dilse "Jiya Jale" and waited anxiously. The player read the cd much quicker than my new dvdp hmmm.. Then the song started, I could not believe my ears, every instrument was clearly heard. The chorus was so distinctly different from the other instruments, the stereo seperation was much better, then came Lata with her golden voice, and when she went high with "jaaannn jaale.." the player was able to match the highs. I was enjoying this dvd player. yeeahh!! :clapping:

I played the same song with the new sony player and the difference was night and day, now my new player sounded so flat and lifeless. Folks if you have good old sony dvdplayers don't give it away to the "bhangarwala" (recycling guy) use it as a good audio source. :licklips:
 
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I have been searching for a cheap source for a few months now. Cheap means less than 10K. I already have a new age mass market dvd player from Sony.
It so happened that i was reading how a diy enthusiast used a normal dvd player and changed some components and turned it into a expensive sounding cd player. I have been reading some articles on the same. I realised that most mass market dvd makers use cheap components like cheap clocks, cheap power source and cheap capacitors to reduce cost which in turn reduces the sound quality of the dvd player.

While i was reading about these things i remembered that my friend had bought a expensive cd player 5 years ago, a sony DVDP NS530 for close to Rs.10000. I thought to myself if it was expensive in those days maybe they were using good components.

So i borrowed it from my friend. The remote was covered with dust and the body had lost its paint finish. It didn't look like it was being used often. Like a vintage supercar lying unused in a rich man's garage. When i picked it up i was surprised at the weight, it was a good 2 times the weight of my new age sony dvdp, was my assumption of good components being used right ?

Back at home, i hooked it up using el cheapo interconnects, put in a Dilse "Jiya Jale" and waited anxiously. The player read the cd much quicker than my new dvdp hmmm.. Then the song started, I could not believe my ears, every instrument was clearly heard. The chorus was so distinctly different from the other instruments, the stereo seperation was much better, then came Lata with her golden voice, and when she went high with "jaaannn jaale.." the player was able to match the highs. I was enjoying this dvd player. yeeahh!! :clapping:

I played the same song with the new sony player and the difference was night and day, now my new player sounded so flat and lifeless. Folks if you have good old sony dvdplayers don't give it away to the "bhangarwala" (recycling guy) use it as a good audio source. :licklips:


Hmm! A point to ponder.
I own Aiwa DVd player. .The brand was taken over by Sony about 6 years back. bought it for 5000 that time. the DVDP is Aiwa but on remote it is
sony.It is bigger than today's DVDp although not as fat as high end CDPs. Display is much better than today's DVDps and a lot of informatio which is included solely in OSD now a days is displayed by teh player screen(format, track no) It sounds excellent too.

I understood this when I compared the coaxial out sound (where my yamaha works as DAC)with analogue out sound where DVDp works as DAC.Right from the beginning, i have repeatedly experienced that analogue output is better.:)
 
Spiro,

Thanks for the link, i'll try to contact Akshay. No mods were done in the heavy old dvdp. I have been reading a few articles on modifications and some things like capacitor changes and op amp changes look easy to do. I have one old samsung dvdp which i can risk modifications with.

A lot of time it needed to hunt for the right components, but electronics has been a childhood hobby so i am sure i will go down that path.

I earlier used to think that a DVDP+DAC combination would beat a expensive cd player. But that assumption is shattered now. All cheap mass market dvdp's use ultra cheap power supplies and caps and clocks. There is no way these players can match a good quality cdp.
 
I have a 4 year old heavy Akai DVD player. It was used for watching some classic collections VCDs (yes) & some Tom and Jeryy shows (Again Vcds. Had many of them). Then it was lying on dust somehwere for many months since we shifted to Laptop for moveis.

After becoming active memebr on this site, thoguht of getting a Pio DVD player. somehow I checked & cleaned my old DVDP. and man I found it to be having solid build quality with lots n lots of ports. Even optical out. (No HDMI since its old) Just gave a try with changing many settings available and PQ really looked stunning with 5.1 digital dolby. To my surprise all functions on remote are working fine too ( around 61 keys). Shame to me who didn't understand the value of product supposing the back side just a mess of ports except Yellow composite which was used ever only.
So its back to my TV now.
Thanks to Hifi people here to make me understand what is all about.
 
I have an LG DTS/Dolby/Prologic II Player
(Rs.7990/-) for more than 7 years old, i use this player for demo in my showroom, the sound and picture quality is good than the current DVD players. doing the job fine and good. The Dvix palyability is not there, but dont need that format. It plays all the disc very well.
 
I got my Pioneer DV 490 V modded from Akshay a few months back & I must say it really made a difference.The Bass is more tight & the Treble crisp.
It was worth trying :)
 
Hi Sachin
I would advice you mod your friend's DVDp if you are allowed to rather then your Samsung. Would become a solid source.
The mods dont cost few hundreds so its better to do it on a player you will use for a longer time.
But believe me its worth spending
 
Hi Sachin
I would advice you mod your friend's DVDp if you are allowed to rather then your Samsung. Would become a solid source.
The mods dont cost few hundreds so its better to do it on a player you will use for a longer time.
But believe me its worth spending

Unfortunately i had to give it back since he is a parsi and was not willing to sell :sad:

I have another new age Sony DVDP. Any suggestions of where to get the components from for mods ? I think capacitor mods are easy but i am not sure where to get them from in Mumbai.
 
Unfortunately i had to give it back since he is a parsi and was not willing to sell :sad:

I have another new age Sony DVDP. Any suggestions of where to get the components from for mods ? I think capacitor mods are easy but i am not sure where to get them from in Mumbai.

Hi Sachin
I am not into DIY so not sure from where you can get it.
Please try to read Akshay's thread. He has written down the mods he had made and I dont think it will be easy to do all by yourself. Best bet is to contact Akshay or someone who is into DIY and let him do it for you
 
hello Sir,

i own a LG DVD player- model 'LPC D1000'. didnt get to use it much and currently its not working properly. dont want to throw it but not being an expert i dont know what to do with it. Would you like to buy it? i dont know how much it is worth; you may decide that. and you can offer whatever u find apt after i send to you the player.
i am sending some images of my player.
i came across this site while looking for some use for an old dvd player. came across your post. since you own something similar i am writing this to you.
thanks in advance.

anand morakhia
09974250561
[email protected]

http://s19.postimage.org/5kh9asplf/dvdplayer1.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/hav6s6idv/dvdplayer2.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/f7krkiikz/dvdplayer3.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/c9nsqtaxf/dvdplayer4.jpg
 
I have an LG DTS/Dolby/Prologic II Player
(Rs.7990/-) for more than 7 years old, i use this player for demo in my showroom, the sound and picture quality is good than the current DVD players. doing the job fine and good. The Dvix palyability is not there, but dont need that format. It plays all the disc very well.
hello Sir,

i own a LG DVD player- model 'LPC D1000'. didnt get to use it much and currently its not working properly. dont want to throw it but not being an expert i dont know what to do with it. Would you like to buy it? i dont know how much it is worth; you may decide that. and you can offer whatever u find apt after i send to you the player.
i am sending some images of my player.
i came across this site while looking for some use for an old dvd player. came across your post. since you own something similar i am writing this to you.
thanks in advance.

anand morakhia
09974250561
[email protected]

http://s19.postimage.org/5kh9asplf/dvdplayer1.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/hav6s6idv/dvdplayer2.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/f7krkiikz/dvdplayer3.jpg
http://s19.postimage.org/c9nsqtaxf/dvdplayer4.jpg
 
Spiro,

Thanks for the link, i'll try to contact Akshay. No mods were done in the heavy old dvdp. I have been reading a few articles on modifications and some things like capacitor changes and op amp changes look easy to do. I have one old samsung dvdp which i can risk modifications with.

A lot of time it needed to hunt for the right components, but electronics has been a childhood hobby so i am sure i will go down that path.

I earlier used to think that a DVDP+DAC combination would beat a expensive cd player. But that assumption is shattered now. All cheap mass market dvdp's use ultra cheap power supplies and caps and clocks. There is no way these players can match a good quality cdp.

I have done modifications to my Pioneer DVD player DV-373S. I removed the OP-AMP after the DAC and replaced it with National Semiconductor op-amp. The result was excellent. The new OPAMP sounded very open, tighter Bass and crisp highs. Now i am contemplating in changing the DAC itself and still under design stage. Should be able to do in short time though.

Cheers,
Hari.
 
I agree 100%. I got a Sony DVD player (made in malaysia) DVPNS67P I think it is. It was got as a replacement for an faulty DVD player of the same make/model from Sony World in Chennai. It will play almost anything (sometimes say that it will play even a chapathi) and the quality is outstandingly good (both picture and sound). I was using this as my primary cd player until not long ago and in comparison (same amp and preamp), philips, Samsung and LG DVD players sounded crappy. However, my brother was using a Marantz CD63 MKII at the time, and I thought I too should own a proper audiophile CD player. I actually did a comparison between my brother's CD 63 MKII and the Sony DVD player and thought that the Sony sounded better. Eventually, I got my very own Marantz CD63SE which actually beats the Sony, but only marginally and the difference can be noticed only during critical listening. I still have the DVD player wired to my rack and use it for playing CDs rejected by the Marantz. People dont own up that some DVD players actually have good audio analogue outputs. Its the style-statement thing, you see!!
 
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