Shanling were one of the first Chinese companies to explode onto the scene and create a storm with the outlandishly styled CDT-100 CD player. The budget model, CD-T80 is technically a derivative employing the same circuitry as well as the valve output stage on the DAC, upsampling is also a key feature. The auction does not include the Shanling CD-T80 player which must be purchased separately.

Shanling are conscientious of design and build quality and the CD-T80 gives a clear outward appearance of refinement. Inside design and layout are good with attention to component quality for the analogue power supplies, DAC de-coupling & output coupling. Sonically the player fairs very well and David Allcock’s review in Hi-Fi News summed the player up well when he said; “vocals draw the listener into the music, showing a level of naturalness and fluidity which is still missing from many CD players at twice the price.”

It is only after time with the CD-T80 that its limitations start to bite. With busy and dynamically challenging recording the CD-T80’s sound start to buckle under with the music becoming compressed and edgy. The mid registers are stamped with a rosy characteristic which errs on the side of graininess and “spoils” the sound. High frequencies have limited extension and have a tendency to soften.

Under the Skin

As with all things digital jitter is a persistent problem. Not helped in the CD-T80 by the OEM clock which uses the on-chop oscillator of the SAA7327 digital servo. Phase noise is high since the clock uses an internal gate of the SAA7327 with an external crystal (16.9344MHz) for the master clock. The poor phase noise of this clock is degraded further by noise injection from the digital servo and shared power supplies.

The component quality (electrolytic, op-amps) of the CD-T80 is good, but several areas have been overlooked or left possibly due to cost restraints. Select areas of the analogue stage power supply bypassing and local de-coupling use Nichicon Fine Gold capacitors, although blends of different capacitors have been seen from model to model. The operational amplifiers for I/V conversion and analogue filter are the classic Burr Brown OPA2604, a good op-amp even today but it can be seriously improved upon with the latest high flyers from Analog Device and National Semi-conductor.

The final “buffer” stage is valve based, with a mix of 3 capacitors per channel used for output coupling). Here, cooking grade electrolytic and used in series to form a non-polar capacitor which is then bypassed by a Polypropylene film type.

A New Lease of Life

The modifications we undertook to the Shanling resulted in modification that were far from subtle and really brought home what this player was capable of achieving. We divided the options in to two phases of upgrades; Phase 1 is outlined here with Phase 2 available at a £200.00 premium. The auction does not include the Shanling CD-T80 player which must be purchased separately.

The Phase 1 modification starts by addressing jitter by replacing the OEM clock with Superclock 4. The sub-picosecond jitter delivered by Superclock 4 is a real ear opener in the CDT-80. The sound-stage becomes more accurately focused, expansive with superb depth and width. Lack of bass was never a problem with the OEM CD-T80 but now bass gains a whole new level of control and extension reaching right into the lower registers with improved delineation.

The midrange and upper frequencies lose any etched or graininess heard in the stock CDT-80, and the player is now able to convey a very detailed, open and extended quality which blends effortlessly and coherently with the bass.

6moons audio reviews recently compared Superclock 4 against the previous Superclock 3, the reviewer stated;

“The improvements wrought by the Superclock 4 over the Superclock 3 were not subtle. The version 4 provided this classical workhorse with greater dynamic authority throughout the frequency range, combined with more delicacy in the softer passages and a greater sense of presence. The improved bass power was particularly noteworthy. If you are currently using Superclock 3, do not hesitate for a minute to upgrade to Superclock 4. I think it ranks as one of the most cost-effective sonic improvements you can buy”

After enjoying new found sound from the new clock the next stage of modifications for Phase 1 were completed. The analogue stage power supply bypass capacitors to the DAC & upsampling stage are upgraded to Rubycon ZA capacitors. The ZA series provide ultra-low impedance and have excellent noise filtering for digital circuits. For the PCM1738 DAC we upgrade the local digital & analogue electrolytic de-coupling + reference filter capacitors to Black Gate N & Nx series (BG-N & BG-Nx). The extremely low distortion and low noise available from the Black Gate non-polar capacitors provide the DAC with the best possible de-coupling.

For the CS8420 24-bit/192 KHz up-sampling processor stage, the local de-coupling is upgraded to Rubycon ZA series whose excellent properties and sonics improve the performance from this circuit block.

The current to voltage converter stage op-amps are upgraded to the LM4562; the 4562 provides a remarkable improvement for this post DAC stage. The 4562 has vanishingly low distortion, very low noise, excellent PSRR and high speed; a perfect choice. De-coupling for the I/V and analogue filter stage are upgraded to BG-N series, again a premium choice capacitor for this critical stage.

At the buffer output stage the cooking grade de-coupling electrolytic for the JAN Philips JA-5670 valves are upgraded to Black Gate standard type. The output capacitor coupling (signal) is replaced with a single, BG-N capacitor. The operation of Black Gate non-polar capacitors provides signal coupling superior to any other type of audio grade electrolytic and better than many film capacitors. The BG-N behaves the closest to “no capacitor” we have encountered not adding or detracting from the audio signal.

The Modified CD-T80 Stands Tall

With final result of any modification is a case of, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, or in this case listening. With the Phase 1 modification the CDT-80 finds real magic, it’s highly musical, capable of extracting a wealth of detail from CD without any over emphasis or spotlighting. The player is coherently gifted and keeps the music controlled with dynamic drive that invokes you to listen. The modified CD-T80 seriously embarrassed some far costlier CD players on the rack on audition, £2-3K a piece; and by choice the modified CD-T80 was the preferred disc spinner. The auction does not include the Shanling CD-T80 player which must be purchased separately.

Phase 2...It’s Not over until it’s Over!

Following on from the superb results of the Phase 1 modification we were interested in wringing out extra performance from the CD-T80 while keeping the increase in spend to a minimum. The Phase 2 modification builds on the performance available from Phase 1 by further lowering power supply noise of the servo system, improving the low-pass filter stage, signal coupling and power supply de-coupling, HF bypassing.

Phase 2 is available for £550.00 inclusive or as an upgrade from Phase 1 for £200.00.

How to Order the Modification

The Shanling CD-T80 Phase 1 modification is supplied & installed by Audiocom for £350.00 inclusive (excludes carriage).  We can also provide a phase 1 modification for the Shanling CD-T100 CD player & Shanling SCD-T200 SACD player, pricing and terms are the same.

Once you have purchased the phase 1 modification please contact us to schedule and book your CD-T80 for the installation. We can offer reasonable rates for insured courier collection & return to mainland UK from your home or workplace (excludes weekends).

The modification work is completed with 4-5 working days from receipt of the CD player. The phase 1 modification is covered by a 2 year parts & labour guarantee, this guarantee excludes any OEM parts such as laser & LCD display.