Magnavox CDB 500.......

Well, got my other CDB500 today and quickly did the muting transisters surgery (I just heated the collector joints and rolled them back. 7684 near the dog leg corner, 7685 near the second pic corner.
Both Maggies sound wonderful, but I wouldn't be typical unless I said the bass of the moded unit did project a more real picture. Gary Jess's 'Lady of the Lake' relies much on the 'bass' riverboat horn.:music:

Cool.

If you have some 10µF or more film capacitors, you could replace the two 10µF electrolytics at the output as well, very quick and easy to do.

Another mod that could be done on this unit is to fill the empty spaces in the chassis with blocks of dense open-cell foam. While I find my CDB-502 to be quiet enough, my Philips CD921 had even more empty space inside and I could hear the spindle noise resonate in there, about as loud as an amplifier fan! The foam block helped a lot to quiet things down. I guess it depends on if you can hear that noise and if it bothers you.

az
 
So what's the difference between the CDB500 and CDB502? I have a CDB502 and I could not find the TDA1543 chip like what was mentioned here, only TDA8809T. So I'm guessing the CDB500 is better? Or did I not look hard enough for the TDA1543? I think I just answered my own question :) But someone please explain if they know. Thanks!
 
If memory serves, the only difference was that the 502 had remote control and the 500 didn't. The machines are otherwise identical. Both of them use the TDA 1543 DAC chip with the 4x oversampling digital filter.
 
If memory serves, the only difference was that the 502 had remote control and the 500 didn't. The machines are otherwise identical. Both of them use the TDA 1543 DAC chip with the 4x oversampling digital filter.

Indeed, the 500 and 502 share the same service manual and I will at least confirm that the 502 does use a remote control and does have the TDA1543.

az
 
Alright, thank you guys. I do notice now, when I look closer in the picture on the first thread post, the 500 doesn't have the IR symbol where there is one on the 502. I'll look a little harder for the TDA1543 chip on my board. Kind of embarrassing I didn't find it in the first place ;)
 
My $20 CDB 471 plays like a dream and it's stock. Don't think i'll risk any mods to it. Congrats on the score. Got mine thru CL. Owner said it was originally a GW buy. He had black faced gear stacked to the rafters in his place.
 
When I power up my CDB500 there is a very slight, quiet 'clunk' sound. I think it might be the swing arm 'swinging' into place.

I'm thinking I might just leave it on 24/7 to prevent any problems during 'ignition'!

Is this a normal sound? If so, should I leave the thing in stand-by or?

Thanx much, Chuck:scratch2:
 
When I power up my CDB500 there is a very slight, quiet 'clunk' sound. I think it might be the swing arm 'swinging' into place.

I'm thinking I might just leave it on 24/7 to prevent any problems during 'ignition'!

Is this a normal sound? If so, should I leave the thing in stand-by or?

Thanx much, Chuck:scratch2:

Yes, it's the swing arm moving to it's end stop position. Don't worry about it.

Marc
 
Just picked up one of these at the GW as well. I'd gone out there last night & written down the model numbers of the CDP's they had then thanks to Google & AK was able to ascertain that this was a good unit & clearly outdistanced anything else they had there. It does sound really good. I was comparing it to a Kenwood DP-R4430 w/ a 1 bit converter that I had picked up at a garage sale. I'd promised the Kenwood to someone in need of a player before actualy listening to it & finding out how good it sounded, hence the GW trip to find a replacement. The only CD I could find on a quick search that I had the original plus a burned copy was Soulive's "doin' something". I thought the CDB 500 sounded a little crisper than the DP-R4430. The snare had a little more snap & you could actually hear the effects on the drum kit clearer than on the Kenwood. It does have a problem with the display though. It is barely working. Does anyone know how to go about troubleshooting that? I'll pop the cover to see if it's just a loose connection but strongly doubt the solution will be that simple. Still it is a great sounding little unit so it was well worth the $15 spent on it. Actually most of their players were $20 & Google/AK research showed them to be not as good. Also do any of you have links to some of the mods discussed previously? My soldering skills are minimal but if there are some easy to do tweaks it would be interesting & appreciated to find out what they are. TIA.

Ben
 
[My CDB-500] does have a problem with the display though. It is barely working. Does anyone know how to go about troubleshooting that? I'll pop the cover to see if it's just a loose connection but strongly doubt the solution will be that simple. ...

IIRC, the CDB-500 and 502 use an LCD display with a small incandescent bulb or two for backlighting. The bulb may be weak, or someone may have replaced the original with a lower-candlepower part.
 
Cdb-502

I just this past weekend picked up a CDB-502 for real cheap.

Tried it at the flea marked and it player a 78 minute cd on the last track with no problems.

I have it at home now (actually it's still in the car) and will try it out later on.

The Philips based Magnavox CD players are truly high quality in every sense.

Cheers
 
I have the Philips CD-50, Arcam 8SE, Magnavox 500. I just gave a Magnavox CDB 492 to a friend at work.

I found a Nakamichi CD4 last week.....I think it is comparable to the Maggies in sound.
 
About a month ago I walked into my local thrift store and as I walked into the electronics dept a black cd player immediately caught my eye. It was a Magnavox CDB500. With my over 50 store discount I got this for $7.50. Got it home hooked it up to my Carver HR722 threw Adele 21 in and wow this thing sounds really good. Its been my go to CDP since then. This has been the first CDP with the swing arm unit into the transport tray. Not particularly a heavy CDP but still has a very solid feel to it. I'm not completely sure when this CDP was manufactured. But I'm guessing around the late 80's.
 
I absolutely love my recently added CDB-502. I'm always on the lookout for Philips swing arm players because that usually indicates a desirable DAC chip (just as a quick rule of thumb while in the thrift aisles).

Played with it for a day before cracking it open. Here is what I did right away out of the spare parts bins....
  • Recapped power supply
    (upped capacitance by ~20%)
  • Added bypass caps to main PS filter caps
  • Removed headphone output completely
    (in theory it removes dirty noise and take some of the load off of the PS)
  • Replaced output coupling caps from 22uf BP Electrolytics to 10uf Films.
    (added russian 1uf K40y PIO bypass caps too)
  • Added a bunch of chassis damping
  • Added some damping to CD clamp

  • Next I may swap out the NE5532 op-amps in the output for something more modern.
For now it's a great cheap and cheerful CD player for a vintage bedroom system (HK 430 receiver with Epicure Model 5 bookshelf speakers).

Interested in hearing more about the muting transistor mod? What is it supposed to do?
 
Is there any way to add a digital out "easily" to a CDB-502? I picked up a new in box one last year for $100 since it was my childhood cd player and I really missed it. It's analog out can probably be improved by my higher end DAC in my system But I wasn't sure if adding digital out on the 502 is easy, cheap, who does it, etc... Anyone here try it?
 
I have a Magnavox CDB 496 Compact Disk Changer. Can anyone help me with the part # for the remote and where to buy. Thanks in advance.
 
If memory serves, the only difference was that the 502 had remote control and the 500 didn't. The machines are otherwise identical. Both of them use the TDA 1543 DAC chip with the 4x oversampling digital filter.
I believe the 502 has a headphone output too
 
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