Minimax CD Player
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 481 Registered: Jul-07 | Since I'm setting up the spare room in the basement as a listening room, I'm going to need a transport to replace the Oppo which has to stay in the living room with the TV. I've been shopping around for something suitable but had decided after looking that I'd just buy a cdp instead. I figure if I liked it better than my dac I'd use it as a cdp, if not, as a transport. I'm closing the deal now on a demo Minimax unit with a scuff on the top. Pretty much half price. I've wanted one of these for a while and almost bought one when I bought my dac, but they were twice the price new. I always wanted to try a cdp with a tubed output, so now I'll get to hear what all the buzz was about when these first came out. I'll wait until my listening room is setup which should be enough time for the thing to arrive. Can't wait.  |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 8752 Registered: Feb-05 | Excellent Chris...can't wait to read your impressions. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 506 Registered: Dec-07 | You buy the one on A'gon Chris? I have SS/tube switchable output and almost always use the tubes. I also changed out the tubes recently and upgraded based on another owners experience and have to say the sound was greatly improved (more space and better soundstaging), so you can tube roll these things as well. I saw some info from other Minimax users on tube selection, so you can check that out if the initial tubes are not to your liking or you just want to experiment. Cool. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 482 Registered: Jul-07 | That's the one Neil. I'm just waiting to get final confirmation from Bill. I think everything's cool though. And yes, the tube rolling will definitely be in play. I'm getting Bill to ship a set of his recommended NOS tubes with the player, so I'll have something right away to swap in. I'd be interested in any of your recommendations Neil. I'm cooking a new set of preamp tubes on the amp this weekend. I talked to one of the guys at Watford Valve and they recommended the Mullard ECC82/CV4003 instead of the ECC83/12AX7's and 5751's I've been running. I'm enjoying the sound, but there's a bit of a sheen on the overall sound, like the gain's up too high or something. It's a subtle thing but it's there. So I thought I'd run a tube with less gain....hense the 12AU7's instead. The 5751's have less gain as well, but the music flattens out with them, and some of the life and pace goes out. I've read where a lot of amps really respond well to the 5751's, especially the GE version....but there wasn't any magic in my case. Really looking forward to trying the Minimax to see how that affects things. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 512 Registered: Dec-07 | I changed out my EH 12AU7s to Siemens E82CC and it made a huge difference. I am going to buy a set of SED 6550 Winged C's for my amp, which is currently fitted with EH KT88s and will probably need to be changed out sometime in the next year. On the Minimax, I saw a few threads that discussed tube rolling (you may or may not have seen) with somewhat different results (as expected): http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=8430.0 http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23663 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1137557288&openflup&4&4#4 I have heard good things about Amperex and Telefunken tubes, but you can pretty much buy a CD player for what a pair costs. I might be inclined to try the Mullard 6922 or the CV2493/6922 in there. What did he recommend? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 483 Registered: Jul-07 | Bill recommended a pair of NOS Tungsram ECC88's that he had. Thanks for the threads. There was one there I hadn't stumbled onto. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 486 Registered: Jul-07 | Just closed the deal with Bill. The unit will ship today or tomorrow. He's going to ship the Tungsram's with it, but based on what I told him I was looking for he recommended I also try either the Amperex or Seimens 7308's. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 516 Registered: Dec-07 | Looking forward to your impressions, Chris. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 11476 Registered: Dec-04 | Chris, I have heard minimax players quite a few times and have always been impressed. I was never sure of the tube compliment, so interested to see how the rolling goes...and the tubes. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 498 Registered: Jul-07 | I'm still waiting on the Minimax (over two weeks now), but I did get moved into the new listening room. I built the Flexy Rack on the weekend, and setup a bookcase. I have acoustic tile on the primary reflective points. The sound still needs work, as things are a bit hollow sounding which isn't a big surprise as I don't have a lot of furniture or anything else in the room. I'm going to build a few 2'x2' QRD Skyline diffusor's for the front and back walls on the weekend. I won't add any more absorption materials to the room until I get them up and see what I have. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 503 Registered: Jul-07 | I just picked up the Minimax from the post office. I've been tweaking the listening room for a couple of weeks, and am very pleased with the results. I built and hung 4 skyline diffusors last weekend....two on the back wall and two on the front. Together with the acoustic tiles, curtains, and a beach towel, things sound very good indeed. Curiously I didn't need to use any bass traps at all. As a matter of fact I had to move the speakers closer to the wall than I had upstairs in the bigger room. The bass is articulate and tight as a drum. The cdp was a demo so it should be at least partly run in, if not largely so. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 11631 Registered: Dec-04 | You will have fun with that setup, Chris, no doubt. If some of your treatments are moveable, then I would sto there until all the parts are in place. Bass traps are not always necessary, and flat panels are fairly broad in spectrum absorption and sometimes dispersion. room dim's again please? Looking to recover bass makes me wonder if you have a node or dead spot happening? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 506 Registered: Jul-07 | The room's in the basement, so there is a 4' pony wall on the front wall. It makes the length of the room 12.5' down low, and 13.5' up top. Width is 12', Height 7.5'. When music is playing, if you walk around the room I don't really notice any spot that has any boom in it. There are places still where the upper mids are a bit aggressive, but that's about it. I have two of the diffusers in the corners on the front wall. I'm wondering whether that is what's taming the bass. But even before I had the diffusors up, booming bass wasn't an issue. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 544 Registered: Dec-07 | Great, Chris. Glad it finally arrived. Are you using the new deck as the source for your posts above? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 507 Registered: Jul-07 | Not really Neil, for a couple of reasons. First, I want to make sure it's fully run in first. Second, I had the flu last week and I still have sinus issues, and my ear canals are completely plugged.....so I don't trust my hearing right now. I'm hoping I don't end up with an ear infection. I'll let it run for 100 hours or so and by then hopefully my hearing is back to normal. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 553 Registered: Dec-07 | First things first. Hope you have a speedy recovery, Chris. |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 2167 Registered: Feb-07 | Nice score Chris. Are you gonna use this with your CI Dac? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 511 Registered: Jul-07 | I'm gonna see which I like better. If the VDA-2 wins, I'll use the minimax as a transport. Otherwise the vda-2 will get a rest until I get a wireless feed to it from my Mac. |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 2172 Registered: Feb-07 | Good to have options... |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 514 Registered: Jul-07 | Sorry for the delay getting any comments out on the Minimax. There have been a number of changes to my system lately, so I had to let everything settle in before I could sort things out. I sort of lost my acoustic reference point for a while, as things sound quite different in the new room. On Friday evening I made some adjustments the room that finally rounded out the sound. Then I went through the Master Set procedure ( can't remember who posted the link here a few days ago, but thank you ) to position the speakers. I also went out and purchased some 18 awg hook-up wire based on past discussion here, just to give smaller guage, solid core wire a try as speaker cable. I cut some 6 ft lengths and hooked them up to my speakers, and set my Zu cables aside, at least for now. After all that I finally got some time this weekend to sit back and just listen to music. It was nice. I have to say I'm delighted with the overall result. As for the Minimax, I think I can safely make a few comments. I still want to do some switching back and forth from my DAC so I can confirm my impressions, but I won't likely get to that now until next weekend. I'm tired of fiddling for the moment. So, on to the Minimax. I understand why many reviewers characterized this unit as "musical". It really does a good job at just about everything. It doesn't fall down anywhere and call attention to itself, or get in the way of the music. It's solid top to bottom. I think it's strengths are tone, image density, and pace. The depth of midrange instruments and voices is very good, with a real "thereness" quality. For instance, you don't just hear someone playing the piano, you get a sense there IS a piano. When vocals first enter on a song, it startles you a bit at first, they are so "there". But they aren't thrown out at you at all, or the least bit aggressive. One complaint of mine for any system I have had is the reproduction of cymbals. Cymbals are very complex. The strike, the ringing of both inner and outer bands of the instrument at the same time, the decay where the different frequncies fade out at different times......I haven't heard too many systems get this right. The Minimax does that better than anything I have owned. Not perfect, but quite convincing. Bass lines are strong, with good kick, and without loosing all of the texture. Once I dialed in the room, and got the speaker placement right, bass was as satisfying as anything I've owned. Kick drums were awesome, and I don't own a sub. Front to back depth on the soundstage is excellent. Left to right it is good, but not outstanding. How much of this is room setup I'm not sure. Music is mostly contained to the limits of the speakers, occasionally wandering a foot or two outside on particular tracks. Height is good also, but again, not outstanding. But again, I haven't been in my listening room long enough to isolate this to the cdp. Instrument presence within the soundstage though is very good. Solid, real, with weight and density. Tonally I would say the Minimax is left of centre, which is a good thing for me. The cardinal sin in audio for me is leanness, thinness, brightness, coolness or any other adjectives in that same vein. The Minimax isn't bloomy, or thick at all, but it definitely leaves meat on the bone. Instruments which are hard to reproduce in a satisfying way are often things like the clarinet, soprano sax, or muted trumpet. If you can't reproduce the body of the instrument, they can be very piercing and fatiguing. Not the case here. Anat Cohen's clarinet is a thing of beauty. Smooth, whole and sounding like a woodwind instrument should and not like an honorary member of the brass section. Ditto for Wayne Shorter's sax, or Chris Botti's horn. Functionally the unit works well enough. Very quick reading and loading of disks. About 2 seconds. The remote control is a weapon, made of a solid piece of metal. I'm pretty sure I could flick my wrists and put it cleanly through the drywall. The little buttons on it are not my favorite though, and the remote has to be pointed right at the cdp to work. There were a couple of things that I found odd. There isn't an eject button on the unit, just on the remote control. And after the drawer is opened for a minute or so, it closes on its own. I'd rather it didn't. No big deal though. What was a little more worrying was that on a few occasions it seemed to skip during a track. Just a quick little interruption during the track, like somebody whacked it or something. It's only happened a few times, and I've put quite a few disks through it. But I'd rather it didn't do it at all. Not sure what the deal is there. Overall, I'm very pleased with it. I'll do some comparisons with my DAC sometime soon to confirm what I think the differences are. I'll chat with Bill about the skipping thing if it continues. |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 2201 Registered: Feb-07 | Excellent review Chris! Better than I've read in some magazines. |
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Silver Member Username: SoundgameRichmond Hill Toronto, Ontario Canada Post Number: 672 Registered: Jun-08 | Very nice write up with good detail. Now, can you come listen to my system and write a review. Glad to hear the player has worked out for you, we'll wait to see what the comparison reveals. Cheers, G |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 518 Registered: Jul-07 | Thanks guys. One correction, it does actually have an eject button on the unit itself. It's the top button on the right side, in the cluster with the track controls. I never even thought of looking for it there. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 11679 Registered: Dec-04 | Good stuff CH. A pic or 3 of your setup would be great as well! |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 523 Registered: Jul-07 | I'll get a picture or two out soon Nuck. |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 9070 Registered: Feb-05 | Well done Chris and thanks for review. |
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Gold Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 2053 Registered: Nov-05 | Great review Chris. I concur about your assessment of listening to cymbals among other traits. With many players they can sound like a mish-mash. The Naim CD5i seems to get this reasonably right, however I have just improved it so it gets it 'really and truly' right. I had the cdp on rubber door stops with a felt pad on the bottom where it sits on the glass shelf and a glass marble on top that sits in the recess of the CDi's rubber feet. The marble actually makes contact with the screw head within the feet. Next I tried squash balls that sat tightly in plastic cups with about 40% of the ball showing. This produced similar results. Then, I just sat the player on the glass shelf with only the marbles stuck under the feet (still making contact with the screw head) and presto everything is as it should be: seperation and clarity of instruments is sensational and cymbals defined to the point of hearing how and where they are hit, great improvement in attack and decay and so on. I knew isolation/grounding could make a difference but never expected such a good result. Experimenting in this area is quite worthwhile. A real upgrade for a few cents doesn't happen often. Enjoy the Minimax, but I'd be concerned about the skipping even if it's only occassional |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 524 Registered: Jul-07 | I haven't messed around with isolation yet M.R. other than to stick Isonodes under the feet of the amp, dac, and cdp. Definitely lots of experimenting can be done. I'm mostly tinkered out for the moment, but I'm sure I'll be trying some different things now that I'm in MY spot and no longer have to worry about appearances. The skipping hasn't happened in the last few listening sessions so I'm not quite sure what to make of that. There was one CD that it had skipped in the same place twice before, and it didn't when I played it tonight. If it never happened again I'd be delighted. I love everything else about the player. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 527 Registered: Jul-07 | Pictures Nuck.... https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/528020.html |
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Gold Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 2054 Registered: Nov-05 | Sounds like a very nice cdp Chris, glad the skipping problem has disappeared. Fingers crossed. Nice system btw. |
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Silver Member Username: NmytreePost Number: 233 Registered: Aug-04 | Chris, if I may make a suggestion. And please take no offense. I'm just making a suggestion and providing some reasons. I would not keep the CDP on that bottom shelf, for many reasons. 1) Dust particles primarily end up and gather on the floor. As does dirt and other particlesm tracked in from the outside. They will build up on the floor/carpet and on the lip of the shelf. Even if you're like me and remove your shoes at the door, not all family members, friends or service guys will abide by that rule. Stuff will be tracked in. CDP's are components that open up and expose their internal mechanisms to those dust and other particles, when the tray door opens up and extends the tray. That action alone could and will cause a unusal amount of dust and other particles to be drawn in, with the tray. And on the floor where so much of it gathers, that's not a good thing. Also, if you don't have a Hepa filter vacume cleaner, it will blow out a lot of particles, which could very well bombard your CDP. 2) The closer to the floor a CDP is, the more likely it is to be on the forefront of the first wave of footfalls and vibrations. Even if a large truck drives by outside your home, the CDP could catch a large portion of that first wave. 3) Your back and legs will be taking a beating as you routinely have to bend over...or squat...or kneel down to change CDs. I learned all of these lessons with my previous Marantz DVD player, back in 2000. Maybe you buy yourself an inexpensive anywhere table and pace it right next to the rack. Just a suggestion. My DVD player started skipping, freezing up and having major problems. I ended up having to open up my Marantz DVD player and vacuming and blowing it clean. Also had to do a lot of gentle whiping and crevice cleaning. It was a major PITA. After the cleaning I relocated it to the top of the new entertainment unit I had just bought and it played perfectly till 2006 when it bit the big one. BTW Chris, what tubes are you using with the Minimax? The stock Electro Harmonix 6922? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 532 Registered: Jul-07 | Good suggestions. Once I wallmount the TT I plan to move the cdp to the top shelf, so that should limit the dust exposure. I have a set of Tungsram ECC88's in it right now. I haven't done any tube rolling...not even to see what the stock EH's sound like. Different folks have recommended I try the Amperex or Siemens 7308's, so someday I may give one of those a try....but they're pricier. |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1800 Registered: May-06 | Nice review Chris. It does get a little trickier to assign what changed what when you make changes that are not single threaded. I am going through a similar experience but with changing out all my ICs, cables, cords, and power conditioner. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 572 Registered: Dec-07 | "What was a little more worrying was that on a few occasions it seemed to skip during a track. Just a quick little interruption during the track, like somebody whacked it or something. It's only happened a few times, and I've put quite a few disks through it. But I'd rather it didn't do it at all. Not sure what the deal is there." That might be enough for me to send it back. There is nothing more blissful interruptus than that. I suggest keeping a record of the discs and tracks where you notice it skipping, and check if it is due to unclean discs or disc condition. Does it repeat on the same disc/track or is it random. If it cannot be grounded to a disc issue, I'd return. Reading good quality discs accurately is pretty fundamental work for a CDP.  |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 536 Registered: Jul-07 | It went all week without another issue, but then did it 3 times today. That's the bad news. The good news....I think....is that it is on the exact same disks, in the exact same place as it had skipped before. So, at least it's consistent. One thing I've noticed is that on 3 disks it skips on (it's only skipped on 4 disks), it's between 0.50 and 1.00 on the 1st track. That seems more than coincidental to me. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 11734 Registered: Dec-04 | Obviously there is no issue playing these 4 cds in the car or another player? How have you cleaned them Chris? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 537 Registered: Jul-07 | I don't have a disk cleaning kit at the moment Nuck, but it's probably a good idea regardless. And yes, the disks play fine on other players. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 11740 Registered: Dec-04 | Without dreging up a huge old thread from Old Dogs, there are many fine solutions to cleaning cd's. And freezing them too! |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1814 Registered: May-06 | The Apollos and Saturns from Rega take considerable time to read a disc. This is because they have multiple coding options to choose from once the player determines the optimal way for the unit to play the disc. What Rega has decided is that it is worth the wait to optimize the playback. I have some CDRs that play sometimes, I have a couple of Red Book CDs that will not play. To me its all relative. I would prefer not to have to deal with the trade offs but for the sound I get from the Saturn and what I imagine it might cost to make it play whatever I put into it but keep all of the optimizatons I don't think so. Cleaning should help Chris, but appreciate the Minimax for what it does and then decide if those four, I am sure will be more someday, offsets that. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 538 Registered: Jul-07 | Yep, I'll give the cleaning a try. Right now I'm not thinking at all about sending it back. It sounds too good. |
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