hello everyone. To give a bit of background first; i very recently decided to try out Nu-prime for the first time. I purchased a pair of Sta 9's to run in mono with my Rogue 99 super magnum preamp . Ive been extremely impressed with this set up. Ive since decided to move up the line with the Sta 10. Now; what i would like anyone to comment on is whether this TDSS upgrade from coyote audio is worth the expense for the Sta 10. As i have read so many of the threads here, I'm really in a flux as to first whether i will be upgrading with the Sta 10 from dual mono Sta 9 and if so , second, then would the TDSS upgrade also be worth it? I've have NOT made the purchase of the Sta 10 pending some comments from you all , the nu-prime experts. Any comments would, I'm sure , be very helpful in my decision making
My suggestion?... You might want to live with the STA-9's for a while before anything else. Get to know them like they are family.... Then after you know them well? I believe you will be able to see for yourself the differences the mod makes. In the mean time tweak what you have .... experiment with speaker placement, etc. At least, that's what I did. That way I was sure when I heard differences.
As far as the TDDS mods improving things? I have two components from the pre-Nuprime era. When it was still NuForce. I have an excellent NuForce amp and preamp. These had the same design team now with NuPrime. I had them for about a year and a half before moving to the TDDS mod. By then I knew the units very well. That way I easily heard the differences after the mod. A good difference. But first I would suggest you get yourself very accustomed to what you have by listening many times to the music you like. (I believe even without the mod, the ST-10 differences will be made apparent.) Then if you upgrade to the TDSS mod? You can intimately know what it does. Then the improvements will become apparent. Its not some brutal change. Its a somewhat more of a subtle change that gives you a greater sense of the musicians performing in their own space.. and a certain smoothness that was not there before. A clarity. More like real music.
I will tell you one thing that the TDSS mod did that made me really take notice.
I used to always use to listen using the equivalent of the AudioPrism ground controls.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue57/audioprism.htm The ground controls always made the music sound more alive. After hearing what they could do, I did not like listening without them. But, after the TDSS mod? They had no more effect on what I heard. And, it sounded better now without them than they ever did when they would change the sound before the mod. I still shake my head at that one.
The mod (from what I understand) deals with neutralizing internal conflicts of electronic noise generated inside the equipment while playing. Fixing that right away gives you a quieter background.
A while back I auditioned an ST-10 and wrote a review in this forum. I know what the ST-10 can do. And, that is why I am expecting shipment of mine in the next few days. And, since I already knew what the TDSS mods can do? I ordered it with the TDSS mod.
Here is the ST-10 review I did...
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=134516.msg1428384#msg1428384