Digital Drive: REVIEW: Samsung Samsung 709 DVD Players by DaveT

Model:	Samsung 709
Category:	DVD Players
Suggested Retail Price:	Less than $100 US
Description:	Tweaks posted by Bowire
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by DaveT ( A ) on July 01, 2002 at 08:55:34
IP Address: 12.78.178.39

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for the Samsung 709

Overview:
I owned a Samsung 709 which I have compared to my tweaked Sony CD player for the last couple of years. I purchased another 709 for $56.00, and kicked in another $40 for capacitors. The unit as reviewed cost less than $100 and took about three hours of my time replacing parts and tracing schematics.
Modifications:
I went through removing and replacing the capacitors that BoBwire suggested, and I installed the suggested jumpers. I did not perform the resistor modifications.
Initially, I the capacitor vendor had back orders for the 2000 MFD 10 volt caps required for PE1-4. They wouldn't have the caps for another 90 days so I substituted 16 Volt units. They are huge by comparison to the caps they replaced, but with some creative lead bending I was able to get them in a neat and orderly fashion. All replacement electrolytic caps were Panasonic FCs or NHGs. NHG were used where FCs were unavailable. I used RS metal film bypass caps because I forgot to order them from my vendor.
I have yet to replace the "all over the small board" caps. The jumper wires were Teflon 24-gauge solid copper wire from a CAT5 cable.
It is easier to get the front off the unit if you pop the drawer front off the unit when the drawer is open. The silver trim on the front of the drawer will pop off if you apply moderate upward pressure. Then the drawer can be closed and the unit can then be unplugged and disassembled.
The unsoldering is tedious, but with caution the old caps come off with little effort.
The Sound:
With the stock caps in place for PE1-4. The sound of the 709 sounstage was not as wide or as deep as my tweaked Sony CD player. The sound of the tweaked 709 was clearer than a stock 709. Once the PE caps were replaced the tweaked 709 was presented a clearer stereo and video image. I let the 709 play for 48 hours before seriously listening or camparing video. The tweaked 709 had a deeper soundstage than the Sony and was much clearer. There is a lot more detail and air around instruments - a more life like performance.
Wynton Marsalis Live Vanguard sessions sounded like you were there. I have spent countless hours at the Vanguard and I am familiar with the placement of instruments and the overall presentation. Cymbals ring and you can sense the rosin coming off the strings of the bass. A detail to listen for is the vibration of the snares on the drums when the snare is not being played. The sound from the 709 accurately projects the sound of this room.
Pictures of an Exhibition placed the instruments accurately within the orchestra, and the detail from the sound of valves closing on reed instruments is scary. The overall performance sounds as if the orchestra moved up from the orchestra pit to the stage. Woodwinds sound "woody" and Brass sounds like brass.
On Cassandra Wilson's Belly of The Sun the instruments are well placed layered front to rear with plenty of air around each instrument. Chimes are on the left and elevated as it would be in a live performance. The wash tub bass does have a subtle difference in overtones from a regular bass. Detail wise 4-minutes into the song "Wichita Lineman" after a rest you can clearly hear Cassandra turn her head to clear her throat. This could be heard on my Sony and the system of friend, but not as clearly as that heard on the 709. The silibence on Cassandra's voice is more pronounced than with the Sony. This is true of her and not the other female vocalist on the CD. At this point there is that hard digital sound on female vocals from the 709. Short of that the sound of train station where this is recorded and the boxcar are easily discerned.
I plan to implement Bobwire's balanced output modification to the 709. I hope this smooths the digital sound.
Conclusions:
This tweaked 709 easily best the stock 709 on both video and audio presentation. I am sure that there is not a comparable commercially available DVD player for under $100. The increase of detail and depth of soundstage make it well worth the time and relatively little expense it takes to upgrade the performance of the 709.
Bobwire provided clarification for details I didn't fully comprehend at first glance. This is a fantastic project which could be easily done by a moderately experienced tweaker.
The performance of the tweaked 709 easily exceeds the performance of units costing hundreds more.

Product Weakness: Some digital edginess
Product Strengths: Depth of soundstage. Detail - video and audio.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Hafler DH200 (Pooged)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Foreplay (tweaked)
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Sony CDP (tweaked) / Samsung 709
Speakers:	Superwhamodynes
Cables/Interconnects:	JR 89259/89248 twists. ICs from DVD/CD is shielded.
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, Classical, Rock, Latin, Vocals
Room Size (LxWxH):	25 x 60 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	none
Time Period/Length of Audition:	10 hours
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	JR PLC
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Some digital edginess
Product Strengths:	Depth of soundstage. Detail - video and audio.