To mod or not to mod, dac is the question

Hey Audiogon,

Thanks All, some good words of wisdom by all, and some quite eloquently put I might add.

I have many room treatments, so been there done that, got the T-shirt.

I have even thought of just picking up a gently used Azur 840-C, which would be in the price range of the mod or DAC for my redbook playing, which is the bulk of my library.

My favorite listening practice is with the lights out at night so I can really "see" the imaging of the instruments/voices. That said, I have found that I enjoy a good dvd/blu-ray music performance disk much more that I expected, so I really would love to improve those sonics as well.

Of course I could be really audiophilly and get a modded DAC.... (-:

However, I do understand the civic/ferrari analogy. But I would intend to keep the Oppo for many years so investment/getting my money back on a resale is not an issue.

Thanks again and eargasms to all!

The Civic/Ferrari analogy is not a great one, unless you are starting out with very inferior gear. Say a no name DVD player. Let's get closer to your Oppo-Mod with a car analogy.

Any Ferrari is a great car, but just as a car, it's not 400% better in performance than a modded more reasonably priced car. Say you bought a Corvette for $65k new, and added $25k in mods (Supercharger, chassis, steering, transmission, suspension) and tuning. You have a $90k car that will go over 200mph, and corner with anything on earth. One of the best performace cars on earth.

Will the Ferrari still be worth more as far as market value? Yes, it's a Ferrari. But will it perform better? No, not anymore.

Modding audio gear can be the same way. I have heard some of the mods from Modwright and Reference Audio Mods that have been truly amazing.

I think you would be shocked how good your Oppo would sound, especially with the analog output stage modded.

ugh, now we have another vote for the MOD squad...mebbee I will just get my ipod and westone3s and sit in the dark.

Thanks all, we want some mo...we want some mo!!

DAC. I modded my NAD C541i /w a few things but was never satisfied until I got a VALAB NOS DAC.

NAD mods = http://home.comcast.net/~omaille/audio/NADC541i/nadC541iMods.html

NOS DAC = http://home.comcast.net/~omaille/audio/valabdac/valabdac.html

Dear Kyneo, the MOD Squad includes Theta, Wadia, Mark Levinson, and just about every Silver Disk spinning High End Manufacturer Out there. All of them use Disk Drives made by Pioneer, Sony, or Phillips. Either you MOD for yourself, or you pay some High End Manufacturer a stiff price to MOD for you! You can also pay someone to MOD after your purchase. Perhaps you can explain exactly what the difference is, since all three are MOD's!