Ears, I do know an HCA-2 owner who had the same mods done as the ASI mods with the only difference being Harris FREDS. He had the mods done in steps so he could compare the difference of each mod along the way.
He told me that he heard very little improvement with the Jensen caps, the rectifier change, etc.
He said changing the output wiring was a significant, but the Black Gate caps were the most dramatic change of all. Makes sense to me. And I suspect this is the case since they are directly in the signal path.
My point here is that most anything can make a difference, but to what degree and at what cost? The bang-for-the-buck with the Black Gates is exceptional IMHO.
I did receive an email from ASI informing me of all of their mods. The gentleman from ASI explained to me that each of their mods to the HCA-2 makes a significant difference, but I wouldn't expect him to say anything different. What's he going to say, "Some of the mods don't make a big difference, but ignore that fact because I make more money if I do all of them?"
Look, I'm sure ASI does a fine job and I am not trying to slam them at all. There are many other companies that offer all kinds of mods to equipment. And in the end the consumer is responsible for deciding to have the mods done or not. ASI is certainly not forcing anyone to have all of their mods done!
It's just my opinion that some of the mods probably aren't worth the money. That's just the way I see it.
He told me that he heard very little improvement with the Jensen caps, the rectifier change, etc.
He said changing the output wiring was a significant, but the Black Gate caps were the most dramatic change of all. Makes sense to me. And I suspect this is the case since they are directly in the signal path.
My point here is that most anything can make a difference, but to what degree and at what cost? The bang-for-the-buck with the Black Gates is exceptional IMHO.
I did receive an email from ASI informing me of all of their mods. The gentleman from ASI explained to me that each of their mods to the HCA-2 makes a significant difference, but I wouldn't expect him to say anything different. What's he going to say, "Some of the mods don't make a big difference, but ignore that fact because I make more money if I do all of them?"
Look, I'm sure ASI does a fine job and I am not trying to slam them at all. There are many other companies that offer all kinds of mods to equipment. And in the end the consumer is responsible for deciding to have the mods done or not. ASI is certainly not forcing anyone to have all of their mods done!
It's just my opinion that some of the mods probably aren't worth the money. That's just the way I see it.