half baked Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Good news for DP-777 owners, i recently had mine upgraded by Cameron from MaxMedia. its an upgraded board designed and made by AMR . Cameron tells me it takes the 777 to the SQ level of the AMR cd-77 cdp which was a $12000 player. I can say a side by side comparison with a standard dp-777 and my upgraded one was chalk and cheese, i wasnt expecting such a big difference, the first thing that hits you is the bass, it goes way lower with more detail and punch, a larger more open soundstage and a more extended and detailed treble and midrange. I must also mention the Gemini usb cable, i've had this in my system for a few months now, it replaced and easily bettered my Locus Polestar and mapleshade clearlink + various AQ cables, obviously a great match for the 777, well worth the money. 1
Nada Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Looks excellent. I wonder what changes were made and why?
half baked Posted October 27, 2013 Author Posted October 27, 2013 Tech specs i couldnt tell you, Cameron did start to explain it but i swear he started talking chinese, i did pick out "quad core board" tho I think AMR were aware of people doing diy upgrades on the dac and wanted to do an upgrade that was safe, i think it is going to be a board that the owners themselves will be able to change.
Audiobugged Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Interesting. No mention of this on AMR's website? (yet?) Any links and/or pricing? Thanks, AB
Grimmie Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Very interesting indeed Half Baked. I reckon this and the upgrade of Tubes that is mentioned in the manual could be a worthwhile lift. I wonder how much either or both of those improvements would cost me.
Nada Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Gossip has it the new board is a $500 DIY drop in. I reckon a good pair of NOS mullard output tubes for 200 dollars or so will take the sound with the original board to a whole new dimension with sweet thick mids and great soundstage but you still need an AMR tech to swap the tubes under warranty
half baked Posted October 27, 2013 Author Posted October 27, 2013 i dont think the price is finalised yet , if it is around $500 or 600 its worth it, its not a tweak or a subtle difference, The board hasnt officially been released yet, maybe in a month or 2 Nada, why Mullard tubes, i've tried Mullards in amps i've had but found them a touch too soft or thick sounding. Anybody tried swapping tubes in the 777, its something next on my list.
matt200sr Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 (edited) Gossip has it the new board is a $500 DIY drop in. I reckon a good pair of NOS mullard output tubes for 200 dollars or so will take the sound with the original board to a whole new dimension with sweet thick mids and great soundstage but you still need an AMR tech to swap the tubes under warranty Mullard E88CC are not usually known to be the best of the 6922 valves. Try to find some 1960's Philips SQ, Siemens or Telekunken. Edited October 27, 2013 by matt200sr
PorkBun69s Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Wow...just when my 777 sounds great they bring out an upgrade. Will give Cam a buzz to find out about the goss on this...
PorkBun69s Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 I wonder if it will retain that magical midrange that the 777 has with the current dual dac?
gavtron Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 Any idea if it keeps the same DAC chips? I know there has been talk of switching the chips to a single DSD capable chip.
half baked Posted October 27, 2013 Author Posted October 27, 2013 I wonder if it will retain that magical midrange that the 777 has with the current dual dac? its better in every aspect.
gavtron Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 I wonder if it will retain that magical midrange that the 777 has with the current dual dac? Cam let me know that it keeps the dual dac system, and the multibit dac chip. Looks like I will have to wait until mid December for the upgrade tho.
PorkBun69s Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 I'm biting into this upgrade...emailed Cam, now wait for a reply.
PorkBun69s Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) Just got an update from Cam....Dec it is then..will have to sit tight for the moment and do more burn-in to hit the holy grail 1000 hour mark.. Edited October 28, 2013 by katattack74
Juicester Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Mullard E88CC are not usually known to be the best of the 6922 valves. Try to find some 1960's Philips SQ, Siemens or Telekunken. I had good experiences with mullard, although preferred svetlana..
Nada Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 ..Nada why Mullard tubes, i've tried Mullards in amps i've had but found them a touch too soft or thick sounding. Mullard E88CC are not usually known to be the best of the 6922 valves. Try to find some 1960's Philips SQ, Siemens or Telekunken. What was I thinking recommending Mullards. Your right - the European makes are much better and easier to find too.
georgehifi Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 If your interested in hearing this stuff, looks like our club (ASON) Audiophile Society of NSW, has got him comming up to Epping for our monthly 1st Sunday of the month clam bake for a demo. Maxmedia (Cameron Keating) who will be bringing new products from AMR and Avantgarde. http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/57217-nov-3rd-2013-meeting/ Cheers George
georgehifi Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 Here a list of the stuff being demo'ed. Cheers George Date: November 3rd 2013 Time: Starts 2.45pm to 6pm Where: Epping Creative Centre (in the Epping Aquatic Centre Complex) 26 Stanley Road, EPPING NSW Source: AMR CD-777 and DP-777 (recently and much-lauded upgrade modification on DP-777) Amplification: AMR AM-777 amplifier Speakers: Avantgarde Uno G2 Classy cables of unknown branding Cameron will also be displaying some of the iFi (offshoot of AMR) budget components AMR components Avantgarde Uno G2
gavtron Posted November 6, 2013 Posted November 6, 2013 Just had a listen to the upgraded DAC vs my own unit - very impressed at the difference! I have a short test track I know very well that I listened to twice to get a feel for the sounds and then switched back to my unit, about 5 seconds in I stopped listening, it was that obvious. Not a minor upgrade at all. 2
alistairm Posted November 6, 2013 Posted November 6, 2013 Good news. And Cameron is one of the true gentlemen of Australian audio - always an absolute pleasure to be in contact with him. 1
gypr1961 Posted December 14, 2013 Posted December 14, 2013 Got my upgrade board and its a pretty big upgrade. Its everything "half baked" said "it goes way lower with more detail and punch, a larger more open soundstage and a more extended and detailed treble and midrange". I dont know how theyve done it but the bass if fantatstic, Ive always struggled with bass in my room, its large and an awkward shape and bass just gets sucked away. I tried playing with equalisers but upping the bass always sounded false. The bass on the upgraded board is just there deep rich and completely natural no bloat or orverhang. For me bass is the driver to music, you can have the most beautiful midrange and top end but if the bass doesnt bop along with clarity and timing I always find myself fidgeting trying to find/follow something that I know is there but not coming through. So whoever at AMR did this well done, I went for a AudioGD Dac5 and audiophilleo to the AMR and that was a great jump but this is just as big a jump. 2
gavtron Posted December 14, 2013 Posted December 14, 2013 Got my upgrade board and its a pretty big upgrade. Its everything "half baked" said "it goes way lower with more detail and punch, a larger more open soundstage and a more extended and detailed treble and midrange". I dont know how theyve done it but the bass if fantatstic, Ive always struggled with bass in my room, its large and an awkward shape and bass just gets sucked away. I tried playing with equalisers but upping the bass always sounded false. The bass on the upgraded board is just there deep rich and completely natural no bloat or orverhang. For me bass is the driver to music, you can have the most beautiful midrange and top end but if the bass doesnt bop along with clarity and timing I always find myself fidgeting trying to find/follow something that I know is there but not coming through. So whoever at AMR did this well done, I went for a AudioGD Dac5 and audiophilleo to the AMR and that was a great jump but this is just as big a jump. Thanks for the report on the upgrade! Looking forward to getting mine done! Cheers, gav.
half baked Posted December 14, 2013 Author Posted December 14, 2013 hi. believe it or not , i found it sounded even better after about around 70 hours playtime. the dynamics are amazing, I'm rediscovering my music library all over again.
Audiobugged Posted December 14, 2013 Posted December 14, 2013 I did attend the ASON gathering (and yes I was the guy coming in late requesting the last minute A-B test of the two DP-777's) For what it's worth (and I'm one who's almost got an in-built loathing towards hype), the differences were pretty clear between the two... so much so that I asked Cam whether the original DP-777 was faulty, in all seriousness... he assured me it wasn't... The new board certainly ticks all the "better" boxes from the usual audiophile dimensions. The main question (for me) remains whether it maintains the relaxed easy-to-listen-to analog quality and superb mid-range tonality of the original (standard?) DP-777. Unfortunately, I still don't know the answer to that one as I did not much care too much for the room/partnering equipment for the day (almost certainly the room as I've never been really impressed by anything I've heard played there this far in my 4 visits in about as many years). Apologies in advance to the ASON crowd as the people have always been wonderfully hospitable. AB
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