Modwright sony xa5400 vs Modwright Oppo 95

I don't mean to come across as rude, but I don't really see the relevance of Dave_b's comment in the context of this thread. From what I've seen Dave_b has evinced great enthusiasm for any player he has just purchased, including the stock Sony, the Modwrighted Sony, and then a Nad/Yaquin buffer combination.

That said, Sstalwar asked for comments pertaining to both the the Oppo and Sony Mododwright editions, not the Denon.

Anonymoustao .. you are right on!

Please keep this thread only for modwright sony and oppo players as it provides relevant helpful pointers to optimize these units.

Some great information on tube rolling choices. Really helpful.

While we are discussing optimization I am posting some more questions.. I realize some of these could be system dependent but still can help.

1) MAC umbilical vs Modwright umbilical?

2) Changing the fuse to hifi tuning or audio magic nano liquid? Just wondering if that would make noticeable change.

3) What isolation feet work best?

4) Suggestions on power cord?

5) What does ByBee rail do.. sonically.

6) What does Audio Magic Pulse Gen ZX do.. sonically?

Thanks again for all the responses.

Anonymoustao is absolutely right about Dave_b's comments. Every time he buys a new player, regardless of what it is, it's always better than anything he's owned previously. I think he's on his 4th player since I bought my Modwright 5400 a year ago.

Knghifi, I've been using Black Treasure KT-88's in my Cary SLI-80 F1 all-triode and love them. I own four pieces of equipment that use 6SN7's and would like to hear the BT equivalent but they're not all that cheap and I already have a huge stash of some of the best 6SN7s ever made.

Sstalwar, don't waste your money on the MAC umbilical. JWM bought one thinking it might be better than Modwright's; it wasn't!

You can waste lots of money on power cords but I've always found replacing a cheap stock cord(usually 18ga.) with a 14 ga. Belden works better than most. Ditto on fuses. A lot of manufacturers recommend staying with factory fuses.

Don't know about the ByBee but both JWM and I added the Audio Magic and the improvements were subtle; mostly lower noise floor. I think the Audio Magic and ByBee together would be redundant.

I think JWM would agree with me, I tend to like the softer puck type feet under my player rather than hard cones or balls/cups. Duh, YMMV.

I have a MW Transporter and I think the analog section is probably very similar to the Oppo and Sony. I found Elrod Statement II the best PC on the Transporter ... also the Lamp. Improvements are NOT aubtle.

I have the modded one by Dan and love it