Mods : Fools Gold or the Real Thing

Other than cost versus price points; another reason manufacturers do not perform many of these mods themselves, is the simple fact that many of those high grade parts are not available in large enough quantities to make enough units, or the supply is unreliable. I can remember a conversation with Stan Warren, where he commented he was backed up because he was having trouble getting some Black Gate caps. If Stan can't get a couple dozen quickly, imagine Sony's problem.
Also in many cases it may take too long to manufacture the unit in that way, so labor cost would be too high.

If you want a YBA made in France, you have to pay up; or settle for the cheaper Audio Refinement made in China. Same for the Creek designed gear for Cambridge Audio.

I can understand why manufacturers don't use the higher quality parts -- the public, including many who purchase higher priced transports, are satisfied with the sound. My take is that the after-market modding in transports is no different than automobiles or even homes. You can buy a new BMW and still change the chips, wheels, tires, exhaust systems, and even crankshafts. The same applies to homes. You can purchase a newly constructed house and then put in custome kitchens, bathrooms and the like. The key is whether your investment in the aftermarket costs show up in the performance department

Sugarbrie, actually Sony would probably have a far easier time getting the Black Gate caps than Stan. I am an electronics engineer and have always worked for small companies. One of the most frustrating things working for a small company is you have no clout with the parts manufacturers. A lot of the time if you aren't going to buy many thousands of something (sometime millions) they don't even want to talk to you. A lot of the stuff is made to order. They aren't going to fire up a production line to make a few hundred of something. The small company pretty much has to rely on distributors which only stock the most common parts. I think it's fair to say that most, if not all, specialty audio companies are pretty small, so their engineers have the same problems I do.

For large consumer companies like Sony, I'm sure the parts are chosen with cost as a primary consideration, so finding better parts for more money is pretty easy. For higher-end companies I'd bet it is a lot more difficult to find better parts than are used in the production units simply because cost is not as much of a factor. You don't see many people offering Levinson or Rowland mods do you?

I'd just like to add John Hillig (www.musicalconcepts.com) to the list of recommended modifiers. He's been in business for a long time (late 70s?) and works his magic on a broad range of brands. He modded my Pioneer 4l4 into something very special, both as a transport and a CD player.

I agree you also Nighthawk. It happens both ways. Sometimes there is no supply because the big boys buy up the supply. But also many new models of gear come out, not predicated on improving the product, but only because of a forced part change, or they figured out a way to make it cheaper to boost profits.

I'll also add Bill Thalmann at Music Technology for internal power supply upgrades and also IEC's. (www.musictechnology.com) Bill was for many years an engineer for Conrad Johnson. Good guy who does good work. Some of his associates modify and refurbish pro audio gear and guitar amps, etc.