Toshiba SD-3960/3980 Modifications & Fully Modified Brand New Units: Reference Audio Mods

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	Reference Audio Mods Worldwide 17255 Vista Del Lago Dr. Riverside, California 92503, USA Contact: Kyle Takenaga Tel: 951-454-4842 Email: referenceaudiomods@yahoo.com

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Toshiba SD-3960/3980 Modifications & Fully Modified Brand New Units

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Code: Tosh_3960
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Brand New Fully modified Toshiba SD-3960 player ($450 W/Shipping Included) 1-2 week lead time

Brand New Fully modified Toshiba SD-3980 player ($450 W/Shipping Included) 1-2 week lead time

Full modifications to your existing Toshiba SD-3950 or 3960 (please contact and send in)
($375 Installed W/Free Return Shipping)

Audiocom Superclock 3 Low Jitter Reference Clock upgrade ($295 FREE INSTALL)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR BEST SOUND!

Set of 4 Herbies Tenderfeet ($45 installed)

Set of WBT NextGen Copper RCA Connectors ($60 Installed)

Set of WBT NextGen Silver RCA Connectors ($100 Installed)

Quantity:

Installation & Questions

WorldWide Service:

Kyle Takenaga RAM (Riverside, California) referenceaudiomods@yahoo.com phone (951)780-2869

Toshiba SD-3960/SD-3980 players (Our Impressions)-
Reference Audio Mods performs High Performance modifications to the ever popular Toshiba SD-3950 and SD-3960/SD-3980 units to take them to a completely different level of sound, embarassing many $600-$2000+ costing players!!! Order this unit with the Superclock 3 option and watch this little unit smoke players costing over $4000 no problem!! We beat a Sony SCD-XA9000ES and a Shaning SCD-T200A (both costing $3000) with this unit! Save $1000's+ dollars today! This is a complete no brainer, its now time to get into much higher end sound on a beer budget. I never thought this was possible and the only way to get great sound is too spend thousands of dollars. Not anymore, Once you hear these units, you will think twice about getting into a fancy cd player....

Talk about a sleeper! This unit retails for $129, and can be found on-line or at Best Buy for around $69. The unit stock sounds as good as any $300-600 I've heard. With these mods, this unit is taken to a very FAR level, embarassing so many other players on the market, it is a complete NO BRAINER and everyone should have one either in their system or as an backup for their main big rig!!! It is comparable to many $1.5-2K costing players or better when modded! Get the fully modded machine with the Superclock 3 option and you will hear more music than out of the $11,000 Linn Unidisc 1.1!!!

This unit plays DVD's, CD's, CD-R's, CD-RW's, MP3's, JPEG's. The only drawback is that this unit will not play SACD's, which is fine. The nice thing is the mods have a good affect on video as well as we focus on the power supply of the unit in our mod package. The end result is sound of a much much more costly and also modified unit. Please take a look at the options as well. Now its time to get that expensive sound for a complete fraction of the cost!
I have compared it to NAD C542, NAD S-500, Cary 308, Arcam FMJ 23, rega jupiter, etc.. and has topped all these in overall resolution/dynamics and clean soundstage! Order one with the Superclock 3 and start SMOKING $3000-5000 players all day long. It might even be better than some other $3-5k modified players from other companys. If fact, not even the acclaimed Mark Levinson 390S has such a large and refined soundstage with crystal clear resolution and imaging. Hearing is beleiving!

Don't own a Toshiba SD-3960 or SD-3980, but want to own one modifed?? Buy our complete package with player included and save the hassles of buying and the shipping charge to us! (We only warranty our own work that we do on the unit) FREE RETURN SHIPPING! Lower 48 USA States.

NOTE: Since the Toshiba SD-3950 has been discontinued for some time, we will try our best to get one for you from Ebay or such if you really want that model. Since the 3960 or 3980 is still current that is the default player that we will purchase for your mod installation if you do not provide us with a unit to modify. Both the 3950/3960 sound similar after mods.
The Performance of these mods is much greater than the posted modifications on Audio Asylum.

The Mod package
$375 You send in your 3950/3960 player to RAM East, FREE RETURN SHIPPING! USA Only
$450 We provide Fully modified 3960 or 3980 (about 1-2 week lead time) FREE RETURN SHIPPING! USA Only

Rubycon ZL/ZA capacitors-
We replace an abundance of voltage rail decouple/bypass capacitors in all critical areas with Rubycon ZL/ZA series caps! Very Very Nice improvement! A HUGE change in total sonic tonality and character, the stock caps are very bad! The Rubycon ZA/ZL sound superior to even the very best Blackgates (offering more speed, openness and vividness in the soundstage) and offer more ripple current and less impedance which makes them optimal in this use.

Custom RAM Exotic Ultra High Speed Diode Bridge-
We replace the stock noisy/glary/grainy rectifiers with a handmade RAM Exotic version made out of ultra fast SMD diodes. These are superior sounding to the Harris versions and offer Less glare, grain and harshness! Nice sound! Better Video as well! These are wired into the circuit with Audio Consulting Silver Wire. Very little metal is used, this helps out the eddu current issues and give better resolution and bass.

Exotic Jensen 4-pole Electrolytic cap in power supply-
We install an Exotic Jensen 4-pole Electrolytic capacitor in the power supply to replace the stock smoothing cap. This cap has an unique ability of reducing power supply distortion while at the same time remaining very fast and natural. Such a clear and audible improvement delivering more resolution, texture, dynamics, and liveliness. We wire this with Exotic Audio Consulting 24awg silver wire w/natural unbleached cotton tubing. The cap betters the best blackgates and any other cap on the market used in this particular position in the mod. This cap costs more than half the cost of the acutal stock player!!!! This even makes video looks better as well!

Analog Output Stage/High Speed Buffer Mods-
We delete the stock Analog Output stage (all caps, analog filtering, etc) in favor for our own version using Rubycon Capacitors, and High Speed Signal buffers. The new buffer circuit gives the units more drive and dynmaics, with better control and authority. The presence factor is also increased with this extra boost in sound. We do not heat any discernable issues with using these buffers and offer the most transparent sound (with no sound of their own). Incredible results! The R&L audio stock jacks get disconnected and replace with high quality verisons mentioned below.

High Quality Vampire Gold Plated RCA Jacks-
We add a set of High Quality Vampire RCA jacks to the rear of the unit for the 3960 to increase the signal integrity to your RCA cables. The stock cheap versions are made out of cheap stamped metal and plastic and is not good for quality signal transfer.

Chassis Dampening-
We apply damping material sheets to the top lid to further reduce vibrations in the unit. Since this unit is so small, any vibration help is huge. (Look at our Herbies feet upgrade option for this unit for even more vibration isolation)

EXTRA PERFORMANCE OPTIONS FOR EVEN BETTER SOUND!!

Audiocom Superclock 4-S Reference Clock Upgrade ($295 Free Install!!)-
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! THIS WILL TAKE THE UNIT FAR BEYOND $3000 PLAYERS!
We add a reference quality jitter reduction circuit called a Superclock 3 , this a major improvement in overall sound! This is like adding Nitrous to a car, huge improvement!! This replaces the master clock and offers much lower jitter rate than the stock cmos type oscillator. Expanded soundstages and accurate instrument definitions for example are the many outcomes of this major mod component. Breathtaking performance is now possible!! Please give the unit well over 300 hours to break-in with this clock. Bonus!

WBT NextGen Female Copper RCA Connectors ($60 Installed)-
Instead of using the Vampires in the mod package, we can use the WBT NextGen Copper connectors for $60 installed. This takes the sound even further.

WBT NextGen Female Silver RCA Connectors ($100 Installed)-
Instead of using the Vampires in the mod package, we can use the WBT NextGen Silvers connectors for $100 installed. This takes the sound even further than the copper WBT's and the vampires. These connectors are the closest to "no connector at all" from our listening test, going back and forth, we were stunned. These are the very best RCA connectors we use in our projects.

Customer Reviews

Send us a review and share your thoughts with other customers

Reviewer: Gmoody1
Date:Jan 9, 2005
Click here for this review and shootout at AudioGon

RAM SC3 Toshiba 3960 ($745) vs Arcam FMJ DV27 ($2600)

Well after several hours of listening and equipment comparisons. The vote is in on the winner straight from the owners mouth. We have in this corner the well known award winning Arcam DV27 (retail $2600). Terrific DVD player with tons of features. It also has upgradeable software.Go to the link for more details.

In the budget corner we have the RAM Modded SC3 3960 Toshiba ($745.00). This unit comes with the newAudiocom Super clock 3 upgrade among other things. Go to the link for more info.

After pulling this mass market player out of it's carton I was underwhelmed by it's size. This player isn't quite 2 inches tall and weighs a little less than 9 lbs. It is basically a cheapo dvd player. I have seen postings about this unit on Audioasylum for months.It wasn't until recently I stumbled on the Reference Audio Mods version of the unit. I had considered a Dac but figured I could use the other player in the bedroom if I found a good dvd/cd player for the great room. For the price I figured.. what the hell! I will give it a try. I emailed Doug Jessie over at RAM and ask a few questions. After his great responses, I ordered a unit.

Burn in is a must with this player. The clock needs to sinc with the transport. This takes time.I may have 75 hrs of burn in on it now. Some say 300 hrs is the leveling off point. At first it had a hard time with CDR/Ws. It plays them without a hitch now..hence clock burn in.

Right out of the box this player sounds extremely good. It's timing and rhythm are amazing.It is being used with a BvAudio SR 10 on the analog outputs.

Today I used it on Cain&Cain Abbys, Big Bens, Eminent Technology 8As and several models of Omega speakers.Amplifiers ranged from a modified Forte SS to Antique Soundlabs Orchid and a pair Grommes tubed mono blocks.Also used was a Eastern Electric Mini Max preamp in one setup.

It only took 30 seconds for my friend to realize his Arcam had been retired by a Toshiba dvd player ! The first words out of his mouth were " My Arcam cannot go there!" It was kinda funny. After seeing the player and putting it on top of his Arcam..he said" Man look at that little sh@t".

After this initial listening test, we took a trip to Earth Shakers in the ATL. We spent 3 hrs plus listening to all they had to offer with the Toshiba and it's sidekick BvAudio SR 10. The sound coming from that room just draws you into the music. Never have I been so mezmerized. Before I knew it 2 hrs had passed and we were still listening.The sales person who is a touring guitarist was there the entire time tapping her feet.She also agreed the player out performed their modded in store player.

The player has the uncanny ability to unravel recorded live performances with out being brittle or cold. It is a vibrant and spacious machine.All my friend could talk about after we left the dealer was how good that player sounds.The only fault I can find in the unit is load time. On some cds it takes a little longer to load.Once loaded it works flawlessly.I suspect my buddy will be ordering one in the coming weeks.I have no affiliation with these companies. Just trying to save some audiophiles some hard earned cash and get a cheap ticket to nirvana.

There have been reports from other owners of some serious high dollar machines that the RAM Toshiba has smoked or equaled there reference players in audio performance.Some of these players are the Meridian G08,Sony SCD-9000ES, Shanling SCD-T200A SACD/CD tube cd player ,Meitner/philips SACD combo, Linn CD-12, Wadia 850,Audiomeca Mephisto II.X ($8500 retail) and a Mark Levinson 390S.

I still have a hard time believing what my ears are telling me.The designer commented" the reason why these 3950/3960 machines sound so damn good is the minimalistic circuit paths, and only ONE point of AC-DC recitification, thus the Switch Mods Power Supply. I am finding that conventional power supplys are good, but SMPS with some type of mains correction control can be better for much cheaper".

This maybe hard to believe but listen for yourself. I have a feeling you will come to the same conclusions.The thing that matters most is what's inside. Here's one review on the previous Super clock 2 .Just copy and paste. www.stereotimes.com/acc102403.shtm This review pretty much sums up what we all heard today!

Happy Listening!