Modding/Upgrading Marantz CD50 - part 3

Other mods to this player:
part 1
part 2
part 3 (this paper)
part 4

part 5

This part is dedicated to player's clock!

The one and only mighty clock that everyone is talking about so much.

My personal opinion is that it really matters. But it matter in a way that it has a separate power supply with separate transformer.

Yes there is difference between a clock for 40$ and for 200$ but that difference is not as much as everyone thought.

If your cd player costs 100$ there is no point spending 200$ for a new clock, a 40$ bucks clock will do a perfect job. And yes - if your whole system is an expensive one (over 4000$) it's most probably that you will hear a noticeable difference between cheap and expensive clocks.

But let's focus in our case on a 40$ bucks clock right away from eBay (Hong Kong seller).

First thing (I've already mentioned it) is that you must use a separate transformer. A 5-10V@100mA output is perfect choise. Small and producing enough current.

You must know that correct and stable voltage is the more important than the current produced by the transformer (of course we should have enough at least the minimum required mA).

First let me show you what I ordered from eBay for 36$ (including shipping)



I must admit that this clock is worth every cent even though it is cheap one!

Now you can see how I have installed it within the Marantz cd player




To connect it you should first remove the old crystal along with the two capacitors bounded with it and connect the new clock at the XIN pin of the receiver chip. Please see the photo for better understanding.


Woala! You are ready, set and go! :) Plug in all the cords from the amplifier and power line and listen!

An hour after installing the new clock I decided to upgrade all capacitors in the power supply. So here are some picture describing it.








Done for now! :)