Summary --
The Modwright level two mod, in my system, does the following (in order of my preferences):
1. Removes the hardness and associated listening fatigue; increases musicality and refinement.
2. Increases tonality.
3. Adds body/weight to instruments.
4. Broadens and deepens soundstage and increases separation of instruments.
If you like the general character of the HCA2 – grain-free transparency and resolution + tonality – but want these qualities at a higher level, or, especially if you are bothered by the hardness of the stock unit, these level two mods are an excellent value.
The Whole Story –
I had been trying to eliminate grain and hardness in my system. Grain was removed by adding a balanced power unit (Equi=tech Q650). Since the HCA2 is efficient, it, along with all my other gear, can be plugged into the Q650 without loss of dynamics (in fact, quite the opposite). The
hardness remained a problem.
After trying no-cost (unbolting and raising the transformer) and low-cost (ERS paper) tweaks described on AA, I bought used quad runs of Jena Labs cryo-treated output wire (thanks Bill). Then I came to my senses and realized that a professional mod was the next logical step and that
I wanted to get all the mods done at the same time. I already had two Dan Wright mods (transport and PT P3A) that were excellent improvements over stock. Dan is known for his musical, impeccable and cost-effective mods. So, Dan installed the wire and upgraded the
rectifier bridges and caps: see
http://modwright.com/products/index.php?product_id=13.
The break-in period is 200 hours. At about 60 hours, noise was reduced, the soundstage opened up and instrument separation improved, as did finesse. Without being able to confirm my theory, I attribute these to the level one mods (wire + rectifiers). These changes were nice, but small compared to the changes after 200 hours. I was listening to Mulgrew Miller’s The Sequel, when full break-in occurred. Formerly, The Sequel, appealed mostly to my brain, interesting arrangements performed by excellent musicians, but suddenly I was riveted to my chair as I
witnessed a live performance. How could I have missed how much these guys cooked? I could go on with numerous examples, but this one illustrates the point – the mod allowed me to get closer to the music.
Caveats –
As you might expect, the modded amp is more revealing of the upstream components. If you feel these are very good, then the result will be very good; if you are trying to compensate for lesser gear, I’m not sure that will work well. As a result of the more revealing character, I’ve
repositioned some gear and reduced the gain on my preamp, with excellent results.
I’m more than happy with the level 2 mod. It transforms good gear into truly excellent gear and at a reasonable price. Thanks Dan!
