Hi-Rez Highway: REVIEW: Electronic Visionary Systems Philips DVD 963SA SACD Player (Modded) by thegage New high resolution SACD releases, players and technology.

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Model:	Philips DVD 963SA
Category:	SACD Player (Modded)
Suggested Retail Price:	$750
Description:	Modified CD/SACD/DVD Player
Manufacturer URL:	Electronic Visionary Systems
Manufacturer URL:	Electronic Visionary Systems

Review by thegage ( A ) on October 10, 2003 at 06:24:14 IP Address: 64.208.165.16

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This player replaced a Theta Data Basic II transport, JISCO jitter decorrelator, and EVS Millennium DAC, which I’d used unchanged for more than three years. Recently I was listening less and less to CD playback, largely due to the fact that during the same period I had gone through a phase of rebuilding my vinyl playback system (current full system listed here: http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/2270.html). Compared to vinyl, CD playback was not nearly as musically satisfying to me. Convenient, yes; enthralling, no.

Deciding it was time to upgrade, I settled on going the modified CD/SACD player route. My primary goal was to significantly improve CD playback, but I also wanted to have the option to get into SACD. There are a lot of options out there right now for modding; I chose a Philips 963SA and Ric at EVS since from my experience with the Millennium I was very familiar with the quality of his work and the “sound” he aims for from components.
Before sending off the 963 to Ric I ran it for two months, primarily to make sure there were no transport issues like the Philips 1000 – it worked fine (and in any case I haven't read anything about the same problems with the 963). This gave me lots of time to compare my old CD setup with the unmodified 963. The 963 very obviously did not have the transparency or extension at the frequency extremes of my older DAC system. Also, there was no huge “Wow” factor comparing CD to SACD, and SACD could be a bit hard sounding. But – and this is a very important but to me – it still was very listenable. Especially on upsampled CD the 963 played music in an engaging way that made me want to listen more; it did not make me lunge for the OFF button.

Modified by Ric the 963 is an vastly better player. What I hear as improvements: very transparent without being harsh – individual details, instruments, and musical lines now stand out better; more “rounded” musical images in that, for example, acoustic instruments now sound more full-bodied and 3-dimensional, in their own acoustic space, similar to the way a good tube component adds flesh to the bones; bass to die for – deep, very deep, but with definition and control; highs that approach the delicacy of vinyl; faster attack of notes and more realistic decay.
The most surprising improvements have been in the area of soundstaging. First, depth: with my old rig I occasionally had the impression of depth, but with the modded 963 if it’s there, you’ll hear it. Second, width: again, if it’s there, you’ll hear it go outside the speakers; if not, the player doesn’t artificially add it. Third, disappearing speakers: I never though a component change (as opposed to speaker) would do this, but now my speakers really do get out of the way, and it’s not something my VMPS model is really known for. Finally, surround sound, with only two speakers: take a good recording in a live acoustic space – say the Dorian lute recordings in the Troy Savings Bank music hall – and I hear the full ambience of the hall all around me, sides, back, and front; I’ve had this experience before with very good vinyl playback, but never with CD.

I do not miss my old rig in any way for CD playback. In fact, one of the things I was doing less with the old rig was sitting down for critical listening. I am doing that now more with the modified 963 – partly because it is new, of course, but also because it is more rewarding in terms of opening a wider window onto the recorded musical event. SACD now lives up to my expectations. I can’t say yet how it compares directly to CD since the few SACDs I’ve bought do not duplicate CDs I already own; however, compared to vinyl, in my few critical comparisons (e.g. Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks”) I’m having a harder time convincing myself that the extra work of LP playback is worth it. The LP is still noticeably more “organic” to me, but the SACD is oh so close, and on the couple of comparisons has a much more balanced sound. It is also nice that with CD playback you can to some degree tailor the sound to your liking with the degree of upsampling you apply (none/96/192). My only complaints have nothing to do with the modifications, but with the design of Philips player itself (see “Weaknesses”).

I have not heard any other modded SACD players, so I can’t directly compare performance. I can, however, say that my former Millennium DAC was a giant killer at its price point, and that my EVS modified 963 far surpasses its performance. A very satisfying purchase.

Last minute note: Most of the above was written based on listening to the player simply plunked down on my Salamander rack. I just placed the player on some Aurios bearings, with Herbie’s Tenderfeet between the Aurios and the player bottom. The results are an even smoother, more continuous sound, and slight tightening of the bass.

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Product Weakness:	(All unrelated to the mods) Poor layout of remote; no Open/Close drawer option on the remote; loooonnggg drawer open/close and disc recognition times; tinny case.
Product Strengths:	Engaging digital playback with very little hardness or grain; sound more like the “continuousness” of vinyl, without vinyl distortions

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	NA
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	NA
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	NA
Speakers:	NA
Cables/Interconnects:	NA
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	NA
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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