Magnavox DVD player

Picked up a Magnavox 2300 DVD player for $29+shipping. Small plastic box that looks really cheap but I wanted to test it out after reading the hype on this board. Cold, out of the box, the Magnavox has a very fast, forward sound, with great clarity. But it sounds dry and sterile, lacking harmonics. After continuous play for a few days, the sound was basically the same, so I took the cover off and loosened the screws holding down the circuit boards, along with the screws holding the loading tray. The sound opened up with increased scale, and a wonderful harmonic envelope! The great clarity remained, and I am really shocked at how this thing sounds! Easily beats my Benchmark Dac. Any Audiophile looking to upgrade their digital front end, needs to give this baby a try. I can't stop laughing at the small plastic box. This is fun! Thank you, Michael Green.

My pleasure! And the beast is very tunable. I use them to test other components now all the time. The Maggie will tell you tons about the rest of your system as it is truly the first full range player I have ever heard. Tuned right it is one of my all time favorite sources. I recommend the Bare Essense power up grade but even if you strip the existing power cable it does fairly well.

I wanted to give this thread a bump again as this is insane. The Maggie now Funai DR-100FX4 is selling for $24.00

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Funai-DVD-Player/27584750

Insane because you have a chance to buy several of these while they last without changes.

Important also that you realize that cold and stock (untuned) you may not get the best sound, but well burnt in, top off or more, power cord dampening removed and a basic knowledge of tuning and you have a true audiophile bad boy.

Michael:

I just did the same things that the OP did. Quite a dramatic improvement in sound. Not bright at all now and even the Lovin' Spoonful sounded much better with the exception of one song. Still better than the first time around though I think the original recording was probably not mastered well. Still hear a little distortion. But the soundstage is now open and I can hear detail that was not there before and the instruments have some depth to them. Tried listening to the Focus 3 album a bit and could suddenly hear details I have not heard before and more bass in the Jamo C601's than before with the Topping amp.

I can't do the mod to the AC cable though. Too risky. But aside from that I think the current form along with a more powerful T amp and your blocks and I will be good to go on my first system. Will work on a second system before long with the same Funai DVD player. BTW. Still using the IC3 cable and it sounds fine now. The weight is not proving to create any pressure on the back of the DVD player.

I am so happy to see you take this step  

Every time I see someone take the first few steps I feel for them cause I know how it must be to go from "the crazy-ness" of tuning. I have had more people get a hold of me over the years that have said thanks, but there was no way they were going to let their buddies know how these things that fly in the face of High End Audio and are so cheap actually beat up on high end once we learn the tricks.

I don't do these things cause there cheap, that's the funny part. I do them cause I like the sound. And I honestly do not know a better player than the Funai for tuning in the sound I like. I'm sure there will be others in time but I'm not wanting or in a hurry to find them. I have been looking for this sound from digital for ever and as good as some of the stuff I got before (a long list believe me) I was always reminded that I was listening to digital if that makes sense. Digital, that sound that stops shy of real, kind of mechanical in nature. This player set me free from that sound, not untuned of course, but it doesn't have to be very tuned to come to life as I have seen and what I see others go through.

I almost gave up on this hobby before trying this little gem. CDPs with oversampling and no oversampling just did not provide me the sonic goods of a good analogue turntable. Every oversampling player that I have experienced gave me sonic fatigue within the first five minutes of playing a cd. As Michael has offered, the Maggie is extended and balanced from treble to bass. It seems to find the right balance between clarity and musicality.

Michael provided me wonderful top tuning tool/s for the Maggie that takes this little player to another realm of sound. The Maggie and Michael's tuning platform is by far my best audio purchase in years. Why spend big bucks on the dac of the week when you can have a simple, little mighty music machine that finally does redbook correctly.

Garp. I'm really impressed with the sound of this thing now that I've got the cover off and the screws inside have all been loosened. What a difference. It actually sounds better than the $400 Cambridge Audio CD player! And the Jamo Speakers have really meshed well with the Topping Amp and this DVD player. The speakers sound better now than when I was using the Qinpu with them.

I am going to do some tests in a couple of weeks in that room that I provided pictures to. Will try the Qinpu as a Pre Amp into the Topping and then vice versa. I also want to see if the rear ports on the Jamo are going to be a problem in that room and its back wall with the fireplace. The plaster is another matter altogether that I can't do much about at this time.

Hi Billiam

Also when you get a chance take a look at GARP's thread. He is one heck of a listener both in his home and live.

If I was someone from the outside looking in, his thread and posts would be a treasure chest to look at.

https://tuneland.forumotion.com/t35-old-tunee-newer-system

I feel exactly the same way about the Maggie. It was that one thing that was keeping me in doubt over digital and I was enjoying my systems but I could hear that one thing missing that was driving me a little batty till the Maggie came along and then it was like someone handing me gloves in winter.

I will be buying a couple more of these DVD players very soon. One for each system I create in the house and then at least one or two to have as backups when the others give out. I should be set for many years as far as a CD player is concerned.

I am going to pick up a solid wood table at IKEA in a couple of weeks as long as it is in stock at my local store. Will hope to hear some more improvement once I have that in line.

The improvement I am hearing with this DVD player in line is even more dramatic than when I added the Pangea 14SE power cable to the Cambridge Audio CD Player. No question the CD player's sound was greatly improved with the power cord as it added more depth to the instruments and sound stage and also widened it too. But this Funai has even surpassed that level if you can believe that.

Hi Guys

As the raves keep coming in about the player I wanted to show how it is currently setup in my listening.



The FUNAI is an audiophile dream come true. What makes it so for the tunee is how it reacts to it's surroundings so well. This last week Harold Cooper was here as we made one change from 3 LowTone Blocks to 4 LT Blocks with a slightly different flavor and the sound changed dramatically.

I'd like to put a post up about this fantastic product on the Stereophile forum, and would like if any of you would to mention what this product has replaced in your system to give the readers there a chance to see that this player is truly a real high end audio product at a steal of a price. For myself this component has surpassed any digital front end I have ever used (once tuned). It's also the most flexible front end I have ever had period. I can get more and different sounds out of this component than I could out of any of my tables. The tables at times with the right settings, did out do the CD but as far as shapping the sound this is far easier to play with.

A true chameleon and for me that's what high end audio and being an audiophile is all about. I want to be able to explore a piece of music on my terms and not have the music dictated to me by a fixed sound.

the FUNAI Strikes again

https://tuneland.forumotion.com/t226p30-toledo-s-system#3836