To mod or not to mod, dac is the question

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!

I am another for modifications. I have had at least 6 units modified over the years. It started with a very low end JVC dvd player then a Marantz SA12. Went to Denon's after this and have had a 5910CI for the last couple of years. The only issue I have had is a shipping issue.

Oh boy exactly the point read Jp1208's post, 6 units modded!

I made the digital path mod choice mistake once... Never again, as a matter of fact I have built my own digital from the ground up now to save money and time and really do understand what the mods are worth and are actually doing to the sound. Not everyone has the patience or solder/ and tech skills to do this no doubt.

DAC period. Forget modding unless you can do the op amps yourself which is really the only main analog thing that will change the sound in your design, caps yes, but to a lesser degree in a design like that. And don't fall for the 400 dollar digital clock! Get a dac thats reclocking or DIP device to do it with its own power supply for you outside the transport, they hold resale pretty well too.

Also the truth is with all the digital options in music today your not tied to a single machine, a good DAC will always be a good dac with anything you throw at it, so you can have a DVD transport, and still have an input or more to do a music server, and any other device you desire down the road. Plus DACs themselves are far more upgradable very easily over most DVD players with limited space and generic build.

I do agree on modding good gear to better parts, like hi end amps, preamps, speakers etc...Anything thats good analog in the first place. That actually in most cases can only make them better, digital is a different story. Sure a nice Pass or Mcintosh Preamp with some killer caps, and a nice power supply upgrade or something is well worth it, and will actually hold resale in most cases, digital forget it.

Don't get me wrong, not to say that these guys taking a 500 dollar machine and putting 1500 in parts is not making a difference, but for a 500 to 1000 dollar dac can be just as good or better, unless you HAVE to have SACD and the internal DAC of the oppo as the prize possesion than your tied to the internal DAC mods in your stand alone unit if its that important to you.

I have certainly done my share of mods and totally agree with Undertow.

First, if you're going to do any mods it is only going to be cost effective in the long run if you do them yourself. You can usually get back the extra price of parts but can never recoup the cost of labor for this, and that is where you will spend a lot of money.

Second, doing this yourself is a learning experience. You will find out over time what works and what doesn't, what is worth the cost and what isn't.

Third, modding something expensive is a lose-lose situation. Nobody will buy it in the aftermarket and the improvement will likely only be a matter of minor flavoring. Modding something cheap is fun, you don't have to put up much cash and the improvement in sound can be dramatic.

Fourth, digital is constantly changing, so units that are 5 years old and sold for a lot of money can be matched by far less expensive units today. The place to look for upgrades are the power supply (which is always a good place to start) and the analogue output stage. Without completely redesigning either you are looking at caps, diodes, connectors and op-amps probably. Power supply conditioning/filtering also seems to improve digital performance moreso than in other places.

All in all, if you're going to do it, do it yourself and have fun taking this hobby to the next level of understanding and enjoyment.

I have not had a stock player beat out my upgraded Denon 5910ci and I have had the 10k one box player here. It was once called the one box wonder. Ordered the Oppo 83 and will listen to it in it's stock form for a while before shipping it off for upgrades.