Lector CDP 7 Experiences, Placement Tweaks


Hi there,

new to Audiogon, I wanted to share my experiences with my Lector CD 7 (Version 3? blue Display) that I have now had for a year. I would be keen to know what recommendations you have to tickle the best sound out of this great box!

1. Tubes: After having read a recommendaton to switch to Gold Lion tubes (who ever recommended had apparently tried the lot - thanks again!) , I ordered a pair not expecting a huge difference in sound - mistaken! I had tried Telefunken and Brimar NOS, which where honestly in total no better than the originally supplied JJ's and was already to spend serious money. Instead ordered a pair for 60€ and have never looked back.
They are better in every respect: bass is deeper, tighter and has much better drive. The trebles are maybe a bit less tinkleling, but sound less technical and the soundstage grows immensely. Foremost, the midrange, which I considered a bit thin and husky with many voices suddenly has great pitch.

Get some!

Power Lead: I bought a Stein Music Excel Power Chord which is originally designed for power amps and I also run on my Rowland Capri (not on my power amp though!). Not easy to get hold of outside Germany and not cheap at approx. 700€, this thing really adds dynamics, whallop and richness to the CD. Probably other wires out there that do as well, so upgrading the power chord is a MUST to get the best from your Lector.

Placement: I have been fiddling with this for a year now and the player changes it's character with every change one makes. These are my findings with feet straight under the chassis:

Hard Ceramic Spikes:
Bass is faster, thinner yet differentiations in sound are better to hear - but the drive is missing and the midrange and treble sound washed out and too lean.

Wooden Blocks: Sound pretty good, but every thing has a slight ring to it - probably OK if youo system sounds a bit muffled and dull.

Ceramic and Felt Feet: Can't remember who porduces these, but they are essentially three small ceramic tubes between a felt top and bottom layer treated with C37 lacquer. Not bad in total, especially the bass contour, but dynamics drop a notch - good if you prefer a more relaxed sound over speed.

Cork: Cut these myself from the box of a bottle of Cardinal Cisneros Brandy! and use them successfully under my component pedestals - under the CD they drain the life out, yet create an unfavourable ring. NO!

Akytna Aris: worked nicely, but in total didn't fit the sound of my system that well.

So, what next? Strange, but true - I get the "best", most system integrating sound from those rubbery feet originally suppied. They are far from perfect, but summing up the player was tuned for/with these and they are a good compromise.

As far as the pedestal or rack goes, I find it makes very little difference. It sits on a solid 35kg block of wood (cork below and above) with a small 22mm wooden board inbetween. I've tried it on all kinds of other "racks" including light Ikea tables and this was never crucial to the sound.

HOWEVER, what I do find crucial is the placing of the power supply. I tried dampening the setup at first and again it drains the magic from the sound. My ideal setup now is a fairly solid block, a light wooden board with brass screw-caps underneath and the regular rubber-footed box on top. Somewhere the power supply seems to need a "hard-connection" that makes it ring. I place a 2kg acrylic block on top of the housing to round it off.

Just to complete the details: I have the rear ground switch set to "off". And to put sound into perspective; my system consists of: Wilson Benesch Curves, modified Forté Model 3 by Nelson Pass, Jeff Rowland Capri, signal and speaker cables all JH88 by Jürgen Henseler and Velodyne DD12 (run off 2nd pre-amp output and cut-off at ~42Hz). My room is 7 x 4,5m and the speakers (more on those soon) are well off the wall - 80cm to rear of cabinet)

Look forward to your experiences comments, thoughts and suggestions!
tangosquash
I have owned a MkII and two MkIIIs. In short, I liked using Herbies on a very solid base for both the player and power supply. I had good luck with both Mullard (smooth and rich/buttery midrange, but good across the board) and RCA Blackplate (a bit more resolution and tighter bass but still very good midrange) tubes. I used a Shakti stone in conjunction with mass loading (brass) on the power supply, and mass loading (Herbies Stabilizers) on the player, including drawer top. I used Herbies tube dampers on the tubes.

Toward the end of my ownership (about 1.5 years ago), the distributor from CA loaned me a new power supply Lector had just come out with. The thing was about as big as the player and had the capability of running other gear, or filtering power. The new supply made things sound slightly "tighter" but also perhaps a bit "drier." I told the dealer that, in my system, the new power supply may have provided a bit more resolution and slightly tighter bass, but that I found it's sound to be less full and not quite as enjoyable overall as the power supply with the stock player. IMO it was not worth the extra cost.

The Lector players are very enjoyable to listen to, over the long haul, and some actually like the MkII with it's TI PCM63 dac chips best. I replaced mine with a MUSE Erato II which I found to be better in just about every way.
Glory.... Don't you get it? Tangosquash enjoys playing around with his Lector. It's called being a hobbyist.
True Goldenear - I am a hobbyist!
I have to say that I do believe that a really good DAC and PC can outrun any disc player on the market and I am sure that in the future that will be a step I take, but for now finances do limit this - unfortunately.