scd 777es sacd sony mod worth it?


hey. there is a gent (think he's a memeber here) who seems like a straight-up guy over the phone. he does mods for the 777es which, he says, really opens up the sound stage and mellows the highs. his name's richard and his website is http://www.audiomod.com/

just wondering if any people have done this mod and/or have thoughts about doing it. it's pretty cheap. i like the 777es as is but who knows what i'm missing.
equipment used with it:
arc vt100mkII
arc ref1 line
space-tech phono
oracle delphi mkI tt
acoustat mod III speakers
vandersteen 2wq sub

as always, thanks in advance.
kublakhan
Hello Kubla,
I'm opting for a complete mod of the analog stage, would actually have prefered an all tube stage, like RcPrince has reported about, but could not hunt up the man in question .
(cannot think of his name right now). The reasons why were twofold, one obvious, the other one more subtle. I found it lacked in dynamics, compared to other top CD combos I had the occasion to try out and more subtle, I found the resolving power regarding subtle time related cues, you know, those splitseconds when the bow of say a violin hits the string and the tone forms and swells from what is first a minute, somewhat scratchy discord, well, I found that somewhat lacking. That is with rb CD's.
If you want to know about the mods they do, go have a look. Their website is at www.audience-av.com
Cheers
Detloff, ya shoulda contacted me, I would've given you Jerry's number; hope the Audience mod is to your liking, it's gotten good feedback. I had the same feelings about the 777ES, that's why I went for my mod; it was nice sounding but lacked that "aliveness" I get from the Audio Logic. Kubla, Musicslug's advice is worth emphasizing, you'll void the warranty with any mod. Ozment's is reversible fairly easily, but I'm harboring no false expectations about warranty repairs. As it is, given Sony's customer service reputation, maybe I'm not giving up that much after all......
Hi: The best you can do is to search AudioAsylum for this name. In brief, there were about a dosen highly positive reports of modifications of SA-14, SCD-1, 777es and 333es.
I also planning to give his some component (other then 9000es which was already modifyed by Stan Warren excelently). Richard's mod do not change the sonic signature of the equipment, they preserve it but makes it much better. This is my impression after all these positive reports. Simon (If you speak with him again - my regards)
Good luck with whatever you decide!
thanks guys! and as far as sony's 'warranty' goes i'm with you rcprince. and since i bought mine used i'm probably screwed anyway. but let's not scare anyone off this little darling. i love the 777 but there's always room for growth in a relationship.
:)
I had Richard Kern (Audiomod) do a $480-plus-shipping upgrade of the audio board caps (to Rels) and resistors (to Vishays) and the power supply caps (to Black Gates). After a 300-hour burn-in, both SACD and Redbook performance was significantly improved (broader, deeper, and better-defined soundstage all the way to the rear corners, sweeter top, more authoritave bass, more nuanced timbre)...Redbook to the point where I moved my modified Counterpoint/Alta Vista Audio 24/96 DAC to another system.

Note that the mod will invalidate your warranty. If you're comfortable with that, I think you'll find the mod an extremely cost-effective enhancement of the 777's performance. The workmanship is top-notch.