[mgalusha]

A few quick words...

I have been fortunate this week in that a friend lent me his Exemplar Audio modded Denon 2900 universal player. The Exemplar mod uses a tube output stage with a pair of 5965 tubes (no idea what brand/vintage).

When I first heard this player at his home I (and several others) thought the midrange and top end sounded wonderful but the bass was on the loose side. A few tweaks to his RM-40's took care of that and the overall sound was very very good.

Inserting into my system produced a very similar result and I was really loving the sound in comparison to a much modded DI/O fed by a Marantz CD-67 with LClock. Much smoother without the aggressive midrange that the DI/O can have on occassion.

The bass did not seem as loose as I thought it might so life was good. I relized I had used a power cord from an old server instead of the Crump/Asylum cord I normally use on the CDP. I swapped out the PC thinking it would be a certain improvement.  What a shock, the bass was mushy and undefined and some of the details seemed obscured. I put the other power cord back and presto, all was right with the world. Bass was much tighter and had more punch and definition, midrange and upper frequency detail was excellent without being harsh. A very nice sound overall. I really like the sound of this player. It absolutely smokes my Stan Warren modded Philips SACD-1000 (before it died) and some have said this is about the best digital available for under 10K. I don't know if that's true but if you have a chance to audition this don't pass it up.

Big thanks to Turk for the loan, I'm not going to want to give it back tomorrow.    On the bright side he's making me a great deal on his other 2900 (modded by Parts Connexion) so with a bit more work perhaps I can have it sounding as good as the Exemplar.

Mike G.

[bubba966]

It absolutely smokes my Stan Warren modded Philips SACD-1000 (before it died) and some have said this is about the best digital available for under 10K. I don't know if that's true but if you have a chance to audition this don't pass it up.

Well, Exemplar does work on a Luxman version of the Pioneer DV-AX10. That mod done to an AX10 might just be a bit better...   And when I gave it (the modded Luxman) a look at VSAC it was a serious piece of work. I started to ask him about modding my AX10. Until I found out the mods were $4K!, and weren't having much to do with HT apps.

I think the 2900 was there too. I do recall seeing a Exemplar Denon at the show, just don't remember if it was the 5900 or the 2900.

Very nice machines. Just not applicable to my uses...

[mca]

Is there any information about this mod on the web?

[zybar]

Not that I can see.

What is there looks very nice (and expensive).

GW

[mgalusha]

Is there any information about this mod on the web?

I havn't seen any on his website. From what I have read on AA and AGon you have to call John Tucker directly. I *think* a fully modded unit is about 3K including the purchase of the Denon. More money that I'm willing to spend but it sure does sound nice. I'm just happy that I've had use of it for a week.

Bubba,

You have a point, his mods on your Pioneer might be even sweeter but then you are getting into serious money. Not that 3K isn't pretty serious, at least for me.

Mike

[Ron D]

John e-mailed me with some details...

"The power supply rectifiers are upgraded and a number of critical caps replaced with Blackgates. The ac power in is hardwired with upgrade wire, replacing the 3 mechanical connections in the stock unit. There are a total of 5 new independent high performance shunt regulators added throughout the unit. The stock clock is replaced with a Tent Engineering reclocking circuit powered by one of the new shunt regs. A new active loaded, shunt regulated tube stage is added with a new set of high performance stereo outputs. All standard functionality is maintained. Everything is installed in the Denon 2900.
 
If you desire an upgraded unit the price is $3,500.00 USD. If you have a unit that you would like to have modified the price is $2,500.00 USD."

There is a thread over at A-gon that an owner chose this machince over even the highly touted SOTA Meitner DAC6. Haven't heard either so I can't comment.

[Sa-dono]

There is a thread over at A-gon that an owner chose this machince over even the highly touted SOTA Meitner DAC6.

Any idea if this was based on CD or SACD performance? There is a fairly vast difference between the two on the Meitner, IMO.

[Ron D]

taken from A-gon
"I had very good redbook with a Accustic Arts Deck One and both the AN DAC4.1x and Zanden 3000 Mk II. I also had a Lindemann and later a Meitner DAC6. The Exemplar/Denon 2900 is better on redbook than all of them. There is an exception of HDCD on the Lindemann, however."

Redbook it is...

[Sa-dono]

Thanks for the info Ron! Interesting that he had the Zanden as well.