Recieved the MadMax modded 3960!!!

scottvamp
scottvamp Posts: 3,277
edited September 2004 in Electronics
I got my 3960 yesterday from MadMax. I hooked it up to my reference HT for a couple hours last night. I just worked a 58 hour work week and I don't set behind a desk - beer - BEER!!!

Anyhow Max did an awesome job on this unit - tranaction went smooth - easy payment - great work - very trust worthy - and excellent shipping. It could not have gone better.
The quality of Max's work is very clean and professional.


How does it look and sound?
As you guys know I am not into specs and intelligent reviews.
With that being said, I ran the Tosh for a couple hours.
My current player is the Denon DVD 2800 ($800).

***CD analog - Monster reference 3 cable
I sampled Fleetwod Mac's Greatest and Heart's greatest. I heard details in the music I have never heard before. The sound is amazing. The largest improvement was in the Bass. It was tighter and more refined. It had a very natural "airy" sound which was very pleasent.

***DVD - Well like most new players on the market thier was no Optic cable inwhich I am fully invested in. I found a quality Monster "rca" cable to try out of my large box-o-wires. This is my first venture into "digital" coaxial cable.
((Wondering if a "digital coaxial" cable is going to be an improvment over what I am using?)))
In comparision to Optical the sound may have been abit softer (tad less volume) but still sharp, detailed and solid bass responce.
The sound and picture quality are outstanding. May have to do with having a Toshiba player with a Toshiba HDTV. Both use thier patened Pro Component Color Stream Technology.

The display on the actual unit is geniric as hell but the on screen menu system is very nice. Like the bells and whistles on this unit.
The tray has a quiet solid slide action. Sometimes I have to enter a disc a couple times before it will take but my Denon has the same issue. The unit is very small and light. Max supplied it with a nice thick detachable power cord that seems to weight as much as the unit.;)

This modded 3960 had better picture and sound than my Denon.
Even though this unit was modded with CD analog playback in mind, i will be using it as my DVD player also. I hope to get many years out of it..........

Many thanks to MadMax for his time and efforts - he is a stand up guy and a great Polk forum member. It's people like this that make it worth hanging out here.

Scottvamp
Post edited by scottvamp on

Comments

  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2004
    Scott,
    I thought you would be very happy with the unit. The 2 channel sound you are hearing is not cheap and to match it you would have to spend a LOT.

    That said, no, the toshiba is not as perfect as we would like. Your unit is like all the others. I've found that most discs que up well but some don't. I've not found any that wouldn't play yet. I also get a little pfttt sound between tracks with the analog output. If you can live with little things like that the toshiba is a hell of a good deal. In the end it is the sound and pic of the unit that really draws people in. Personally I'm willing to put up with a few quirks to get this level of performance.

    The smooth quiet tray action: That is my doing, the stock unit is nasty.

    On picture quality: This week I finally got a real HDTV monitor and got a chance to watch some movies through the componet output. It is awesome! I did not expect to be impressed but I was. I will try a stock one later but I'm thinking that when I beefed up the power supply I probably improved the picture quality as well. While watching I kept thinking the picture is as good as the sound.

    I gave the unit about 100 hours of burn in so I would suspect the unit will last for years to come. Most failures of a new unit would happen during that time period.


    Thanks for taking the time to do the writeup Scott. It appears you are finding the same results as I did. Pretty freakin amazing for a modded $70 unit isn't it!

    Enjoy!
    madmax




    BTW, the unit weighs about 4 times more than stock. Just think how light weight that would be. :D


    EDIT: If you are watching on a high def tv set be sure to enable progressive in the menu then push the "progressive" button on the remote. That changes from interlaced to progressive. Also set the unit to 16:9 if that is the type of monitor you have. I didn't know about these before shipping to you and I think I have progressive disabled. Of course you probably already did this. BIG difference in pic quality!
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited September 2004
    What do you charge to mod them? We sell the 3960 for $55 at work now... might consider it while I wait for HD DVD...
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

    Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.

    Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener.
  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2004
    $250 which includes shipping to you. If you have your own unit I knock off $65. Of course you would have to ship it to me at your cost. Pretty much it is easier, cheaper and safer if I pick it up myself and check it out before modding. That way if I have any problems I can deal with the store myself and you never become involved. If somehow I mess up the unit and have to buy another, well, that would be my problem. If it were your unit it would not be so clear cut.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D