@soix Synergy was the first aspect I talked about it just didn’t make to the snippet you used here. But regardless…
Think about this…the stock 0.5, 125 and 225 sounded amazing, the X250.5 fit right in. However the modded 225 didn’t gel with the rest of my gear, my room and my ears. You can definitely stick to your guns and call the smc mods an improvement.
I call the modded amp colored, no longer neutral, and with a hump in the presence region that was very fatiguing. It didn’t show anymore of the character of my speakers or any other component. There’s no reason to screw around with a perfectly seasoned dish. But that’s what those mods did.
There may be systems and listeners that can benefit from this type of sonic change, without a doubt.
I still consider DNA-225 in its stock form to be one the best amps I ever owned though. Totally loved it.