Is the RAM Modified Esound E5 the REAL THING?

Megasam, I was talking about modding in general. There are some audiophiles who think that their expensive unit even when it is spanking new sounds only good when it is modded. So why buying a $7,000 unit when it has to be modded first before it sounds good enough? This is madness! There are some units that are not to be modded (even when it could be improved on paper). Such a unit is the Wadia 7 or Accuphase DP-75V or Goldmund Mimesis 10c+.

Chris

Chris, RAM apparently has done lots of work inside the Wadia 7. I have a friend who has worked over the latest Wadia separates with battery power supplies. It's debatable whether any factory unit is ne plus ultra.

On the Subject of the RAM mods per se, I had a 240V Marantz SA11S1 modified by Douglas Jesse including new clock etc. This was the Superclock 3. Following break in of several hundred hours I took the unit over to a very interested and obliging dealer who arranged for an AB with a stock demo unit. There were three of us present and we all heard the same things through a very revealing system. The RAM moded unit was clearly superior across every performance parameter. A slight harshness in the sound was banished and the placements of instruments in the soundstage was much more precise. It was also a much more natural and involving presentation. Very impressive performance. I would add, however that with the Marantz, the balanced connection was better than the SE. Customer service by Douglas was excellent also.

That is very nice to hear Phaser. I'm also contemplating to have a CEC TL-1X belt drive CD transport modded by a well known technician here in The Netherlands, that means clock replacement and power supply revision.

Chris

If anyone is interested, I placed a RAM review of my (Esoteric P70 D70) on this website. Thanks

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rdgtl&1187878950&openmine&zzMmitch7711&4&5#Mmitch7711