moding and the inexperienced

I have to agree with Photon , and I will add , unless you have a friend who has had the same mods done to the same piece of equipment , and can give you a first hand view of what to expect , your probably wasting your money .
Some of my friends have had higher end gear upgraded with good results , but it took lots of research and money to get good results and sometimes the gains were marginal at best .

Many people swear by mods but they are not for those just starting out.

I think the best way to get started is find a pair of speakers you like then get an amp that works well with them. Likewise for your source components (cd player, server, turntable), adding one piece at a time.

There are tons of opinions to read on speakers and other components, so if you don't have the opportunity to audition before buying do a lot of reading first.

After you've put together a system you are very happy with, then it's time to consider mods to squeeze a little more performance out.

Well said Tomcy, that's why the mods are for.

And many people swear AT mods. :)

pS. I wouldn't spend allot of money trying upgrade an adcom preamp- it's allot like spending to upgrade a Chevy Vega. :)