Tweaking the Quad 67 CD Player
Whilst this little and very simple tweak was carried out on my Quad 67 CD player, it may be possible to adapt it for other machines. As you will see from other articles about granite, it has become readily available in supermarkets for use in kitchens etc. One of the most common granite items available at the moment is a 15mm 400 x 300 mm worktop saver which makes a superb hi-fi equipment isolation plinth.
However for this tweak we are going to use a 15mm 200mm x 200mm granite trivet available at Morrisons for under £4.00 which really is a bargain and it can also be used as a speaker plinth. The only other parts we need are some blutak and a screwdriver to open the case. The principle behind this tweak is to make the outer chassis of the Philips CDM9 more rigid and then add mass (granite).
Once the case has been removed by unscrewing the four underside corner screws , add 3 layers of blue tak where i have circled below taking care that the blue tak does not run into the magnetic spindle cap. The blue tak will allow the transport chassis to come into contact with the top plate of the Quad 67. Then all you need to do is screw the top plate back and then place the trivet on top of the Quad 67 CD efectively sandwiching the Philips CDM9 transport (you can use blue tak here as well) .
The improvents in sound quality by implementing this tweak are quite dramatic - deeper soundstage, more articulate midrange, controlled bass, sweeter treble - just basically altogether a more coherent realistic sound.
It may be that this tweak can be used on other machines and if anyone is apprehensive or skeptical just try placing the trivet on top of your player and see if that improves the sound. Mass really does help to dampen equipment and given the plasticky quality of the majority of transports can really have dramatic effect
This entry was posted on Saturday December 9th, 2006 at 10:45 AM and is filed under Tweaks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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9 Responses to Tweaking the Quad 67 CD Player
Peter h.a. los Says:
February 5th, 2007 at 9:03 PM
Good evening,
A question: can above mentioned tweak be performed on th Quad 66 as well? Futhermore I don't really understand the sort of material: what is blue tak?
Can you explain the following "Once the case has been removed by unscrewing the four underside corner screws , add 3 layers of blue tak where i have circled below taking care that the blue tak does not run into the magnetic spindle cap. The blue tak will allow the transport chassis to come into contact with the top plate of the Quad 67. Then all you need to do is screw the top plate back and then place the trivet on top of the Quad 67 CD efectively sandwiching the Philips CDM9 transport (you can use blue tak here as well) ."
thanks in advance
Peter
Jan jedlinski Says:
February 6th, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Dear Sir/Madam,
Searching the internet in quest of an information on the famous Quad67 CD player I've come across your interesting article on tweaking the player with the use of granite. Unfortunately no personal details of you were attached, hence I use this way to contact you. My question, which I hope you might want to answer, is what the exact version of the CDM9 mechanism is utilized in the player 1995 year of manufacture? I badly need that information as I am about to become the second owner of the Quad CD67 player manufactured in 1995 and I realize that sooner or later the exchange of its mechanics will prove unavoidable. What's worse I was told the CDM9 is becoming still more and more difficult to acquire independent of version. Could you help with the info, please?
Jan Jedlinski
Warsaw
Poland
Hi-fi insight Says:
February 6th, 2007 at 2:14 PM
Jan,
I was not aware there are different versions of the Philips CDM9, although it is a sensible precaution to have a spare transport.
I have owned the a 1994 Quad 67 from new and it has had a lot of use and the transport is well made and is in good condition although you need to be aware that it does have one known fault which I cured earlier this year.
The brown plastic cog which controls the loader tray uses a grease that eventually rots the plastic causing the teeth to break off as seen in the picture. Fortunately there are replacements available through Ebay which use a silicon based grease that replace the damaged part.
Jan jedlinski Says:
March 5th, 2007 at 3:03 PM
Thanks for your response. And also for this invaluable warning on the cog's failure. I wonder whether I could ask you to look into the instruction maual's Technical Data section, or better still, inside the machine, to establish the version in question? I remember your machine is of 1994, and I am almost shure the CDM9's version had not changed in 1995 year of manufacture.
Russell reid Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 AM
Very interested in your comment re the disintegrating cogwheel. I have an AVI Ref S2000MC CD player which AVI tell me uses the same mechanism as Quad and which has developed this identical loader tray trouble. However, while Quad happily replace and repair this problem, AVI tell me there is nothing I can do apart from opening and closing the drawer manually.
I should be very glad to know how to source a replacement cog and synthetic grease - I have tried e-bay, as you suggest, but am not sure how to describe the component, or where to look, and would be very grateful for some guidance.
Thanks for your excellent and interesting info. - Russell
Hi-fi insight Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 AM
A search on ebay for "CDM9" usually returns the information you require
Tom binns Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I had "cog rot" on my quad 67 ,I tried every where for a replacement cog and was told it was unavailable. I decided to look at ebay and discovered someone selling them in Teiwan of all places,cost; £ 10 . sent off for it,( not expecting it to arrive coming from all that way.) It arrived in good condition.After opening player decided to ask my brother-in-law to fit it,he is a computer repairman and is familiar with disc drives.I would recommend that you seek professional help as the fitting requires removal of circuit boards/disc transport........Tom.
Patrick singmin Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 AM
Quad CD67 cog successfully replaced today.
Cog sourced from Classic Audio Services in Germany.
T10 srewdriver needed to remove pcb.
Quad said don't do it!
For any other advice, please ask.
Martyn howells Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 5:52 AM
Thanks for the invaluable advice about the shonky cog.
Got my 67 successfully repaired, sourced from ebay.
Will also try the granite slab idea.
Kia ora
Martyn