Can a modified $300 Phillips CD player equal the performance of multi-thousand dollar digital products? Not yet, but if the $929 Daniels Zero One CD player is any indication, we're coming closer to realizing that dream. Here at long last is a CD player that merits comparison with digital processors/transports costing serious dollars.

Visualizing Speed in a Workhorse Frame
The saga of the Zero One begins two years ago. Butch Daniels, a former high-energy physics graduate student, observed that the phase and amplitude coherence of many CD players was poor. Experimentation led him to conclude that phase anomalies are more noticeable than amplitude distortions and often neglected because they only come into play with complex music waveforms. According to Daniels' literature, "amplitude distortion is just an attenuation of the sine components (no change in the sine wave's shape and thus only appears as a rounding of the edges of more complex waveforms. On the other hand, phase distortion occurs at the nodes, and thus changes the shape of a complex waveform by adding a glitch at a point of zero amplitude. For 10% phase distortion, this glitch will reach 10% of the sine wave's amplitude at a time when there should be nothing."

The Magical Transformation
Not surprisingly, Daniels concentrated on reducing phase distortions when modifying the Philips 921 CD player. His solution? Replace the stock analog filter with a unit of his own design. Now the Zero One is DC coupled from the digital-to-analog converter output to the output. Although Daniels left the digital section unscathed, he did implement other changes to the player's circuitry and parts. For example, the addition of a second D-core transformer allows Daniels to isolate the analog and digital power supplies. Thus, the plus and minus 12 V sides of the digital circuitry and analog section are independently regulated. An additional benefit of using the D-core transformer where the primary and secondary windings are separated is the removal of AC line noise.

Active and passive parts didn't escape Daniels' soldering iron either. Mallory polystyrene capacitors and 1% Japanese metal-film resistors replaced stock power-supply and signal capacitors and resistors. Internal cabling is Daniels' own Epsilon wire. Better quality gold-plated jacks replace cheesy stock jacks. The only major complaint I had with the unit's function is that the newest Philips CDM12.4 drive, which many feel is sonically superior to the older CDM9 Pro, will not play enhanced CDs (music plus video CD-ROMs) such as Sarah McLachlan's Freedom Sessions. (The variable output of the player was the only item Daniels couldn't replace, since it is part of the signal reconstruction chip.)

On the Track
The product of Daniels' time and effort is a CD player that brIngs music to life. Voices exhibit a dynamic realism and ease reminiscent of the better triode amplifiers. Performers are full bodied and rich, with real midrange presence. Male voices on the extraordinary live recording of the Flirtations (Flirt Records FL1001) are more than hollow electronic skeletons. Absent is that characteristic silvery mass-market player coloration that makes male singers sound like female singers. Both tonal rendition and articulation of male voices are good, though a loss of air surrounding performers leads to a darkening of the sound and a perceived lowering of vocal timbres. Daniels' interconnect displayed many of the same qualities, which leads me to wonder if different internal wiring might clear up this wart. At times, there was a disconnect when the volume levels dropped below a certain point between the lead singer and the backup Flirts. Despite this, the unit easily separates a live from studio recording.

A remarkably expansive and transparent soundstage is marred by only a slight veiling of performers. Each member of the Flirts is easily identifiable, although images could be more tightly focussed. This loss of focus, however, never detracts from the feeling of body behind the voice or the sounding board of an instrument. Recreating this realistic soundstage will not occur, though, if the unit sits on the stock feet. For this review, I used the Goldmund cones or Air Pod 1s, though the TARA tiptoes proved to be a capable stand-under.