Hi guys,
I'd be grateful to know the personal experiences or thoughts of anyone who's had their own standard CD/SACD players or amps.(or any other component for that matter) upgraded or modified by specialists - such as GNSC or The Upgrade Co. etc.
Whilst i've been most impressed with the DCS Paganini CD/SACD transport/Scarlatti DAC/Scarlatti master-clock combo's. performance,they can't be used as the front-end of a multi-channel audio set-up.Thereby,at least to my way of thinking,rendering useless one of the major assets of the SACD or even DVD-A formats.So i've gone back to looking at the single-box players i began with.
Besides,one-box players are a somewhat more compact & neater solution - Helps keep the amount of cabling down to an acceptable minimum for a start.And especially when i know i'll be connecting the player to a pre. & power-amp.,mains re-generator & later a digital multi-channel processor aswell.The last thing i want is for the system to dominate the listening room so much that i'm unable to relax & enjoy listening to the music.
Among the single-box players i have listened to,some impressed me with certain aspects of their performance but,underwhelmed with others.The Esoteric X-01D2 for instance,has exceptional detail & dynamics.Excellent imaging & soundstaging(if a bit on the shallow side).But has quite a cool,steely tonal quality.Presented in such a crisp & almost aggressively forward fashion that it came across as bordering on the analytical,clinical,lean & fatiguing side.It was a similar story with the Wadia 781i.
But a dealer recently suggested that if i was sufficiently impressed with the strengths of the Esoteric or Wadia players,i could always consider sending the stock units to a suitably proficient specialist to upgrade the quality of capacitors,damping,filtering,power-supplies & resistors etc. to achieve an airier,harmonically richer,fuller & more rounded sound.Whilst preserving the positive qualities of the original factory issue models.
I have no experience of dealing with & little knowledge of the work of these specialists - or the potential pitfalls i should be aware of.I'd appreciate the views of those who have.
Thanks.
BABUR.
I'd be grateful to know the personal experiences or thoughts of anyone who's had their own standard CD/SACD players or amps.(or any other component for that matter) upgraded or modified by specialists - such as GNSC or The Upgrade Co. etc.
Whilst i've been most impressed with the DCS Paganini CD/SACD transport/Scarlatti DAC/Scarlatti master-clock combo's. performance,they can't be used as the front-end of a multi-channel audio set-up.Thereby,at least to my way of thinking,rendering useless one of the major assets of the SACD or even DVD-A formats.So i've gone back to looking at the single-box players i began with.
Besides,one-box players are a somewhat more compact & neater solution - Helps keep the amount of cabling down to an acceptable minimum for a start.And especially when i know i'll be connecting the player to a pre. & power-amp.,mains re-generator & later a digital multi-channel processor aswell.The last thing i want is for the system to dominate the listening room so much that i'm unable to relax & enjoy listening to the music.
Among the single-box players i have listened to,some impressed me with certain aspects of their performance but,underwhelmed with others.The Esoteric X-01D2 for instance,has exceptional detail & dynamics.Excellent imaging & soundstaging(if a bit on the shallow side).But has quite a cool,steely tonal quality.Presented in such a crisp & almost aggressively forward fashion that it came across as bordering on the analytical,clinical,lean & fatiguing side.It was a similar story with the Wadia 781i.
But a dealer recently suggested that if i was sufficiently impressed with the strengths of the Esoteric or Wadia players,i could always consider sending the stock units to a suitably proficient specialist to upgrade the quality of capacitors,damping,filtering,power-supplies & resistors etc. to achieve an airier,harmonically richer,fuller & more rounded sound.Whilst preserving the positive qualities of the original factory issue models.
I have no experience of dealing with & little knowledge of the work of these specialists - or the potential pitfalls i should be aware of.I'd appreciate the views of those who have.
Thanks.
BABUR.