Resale value of modded CD players?

That pretty much sums it up: some people don't want to even begin to deal with mods. Others are cautiously interested, depending on whether the mod was done by a "name" (Mitch Sugarman comes to mind for me), or whether the mod was very simple and obviously a benefit.

Also there are certain components that are very frequently modified and the nature of the mods has become fairly well known. I purchased a modified EAR 834 phono stage, compared it to my unmodified one, and was frankly blown away at how much better the modified one was (even that I loved the stock model). HOWEVER, the price I paid for the modified one probably had a premium of maybe one quarter or less the likely cost of the mod (getting around to your actual question!).

Art

Traditionally, mods don't recoup much of the investment on resale. I've been on both ends of it, selling units I had modified and buying units modified by someone else.
First, who performs the mod is critical. For instance, a Steve McCormack mod of a McCormack amp will bring back more of the money invested than a mod by just a mod company. I've been invloved with deals involving units modded by EAD, Mod Squad, and GNSC, in each case the resale recovered about 20-40% of the money invested in the mod. Not a particularly good investment.

I do feel the mods make a sonic improvement, but I won't eat the cost of having the mod performed, any more than I will pay full list price on new. It's just not a good investment. I will buy used equipment that has been modded by a professional that I respect. I wouldn't look twice at an amateur mod though.

Cheers,
John

Interesting question, it depends. Let's say you bought a stock player then sent if off to one of the well known modification guys. Add up everything and well, you'll be hard pressed to recoup your investment.

What if you someone bought a stock player, then bought top drawer parts and had the ability to do really good work? Would you should be willing to pay the cost of the unit plus the cost of the parts?