[Early B.]

I purchased a used PS Audio Perfectwave Transport (PWT) and it had already been modded by Reference Audio Mods, but that dude went out of business a couple of years ago (a good thing, perhaps). As a result, I'm not convinced that his work was professional. I'm looking for someone who can make corrections, if needed, and/or further improvements. Any ideas? Thanks.

[YoungDave]

For FM tuners (a rather specialized item), Joseph Chow and Bill Ammons.  FMtunerinfo can provide more. 

I was a customer of Bolder Labs for a long time.  Wish he was still around.

It's not exactly modding, in most cases, but Soundsmith (Peter Lederman) can do just about anything with cartridges.

I can certainly dis-recommend ASI-Tek.  I had him mod a DEQX a couple years ago and can truly state he does not know what he is doing.  He has no test equipment.  He does no testing, either before or after.  I had to send the unit back twice it was so completely unsatisfactory, and I was flabbergasted to learn that he had no idea his product was not working right.  I never got any refund from him and had to disassemble and repair (SMD soldering, too) his work.  I believe his name is Doug something-or-other, and was at one time a partner in Reference Audio Mods.  Bad business.  That was a couple-thousand $ lesson to me.

Be careful who you deal with - get references where possible, get detailed explanations of the mod approach, and ask about bench equipment, bench testing, and turnaround time.  And even then, think twice before you entrust what should be a properly-engineered product to a person that may be a rank amateur!

[JLM]

Have only read their site and talked with others who have dealt with them, but recommend looking into:

upgradecompany.com

They seem willing to take on almost anything.  Last I heard they were buying McIntosh gear, modding it, and returning to the company (uninvited) to show them how to improve their product (which they do like).  They're big into internal shielding, rewiring, and replacement of cheap parts.  And they offer 5 year warrantees with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and A+ national Better Business Bureau rating. 

[WireNut]

Musical concepts does mods, drop them an email.

[Early B.]

Have only read their site and talked with others who have dealt with them, but recommend looking into:

upgradecompany.com

They seem willing to take on almost anything.  Last I heard they were buying McIntosh gear, modding it, and returning to the company (uninvited) to show them how to improve their product (which they do like).  They're big into internal shielding, rewiring, and replacement of cheap parts.  And they offer 5 year warrantees with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and A+ national Better Business Bureau rating.

I did some quick research on these guys and they appear to have questionable business and marketing tactics. It's summarized with links here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=80191.0

[Syrah]

Dan Santoni does great work.  Plus he's honest and charges fair prices.

http://www.dtsaudioelectronics.com/about.html

The only problem could be shipping into and out of Canada.

[JLM]

Wow (regarding what was written about the Upgrade Company, didn't try to read much of it).  But I must say that few (if any) companies reveal all their details and that modders have the challenge of working around the existing guts.  Like any other company they have the right to protect intellectual property.  And obviously paying an American technician to hand re-build with boutique parts on a custom order basis is very expensive compared to a 3rd world assembly line worker using cheap parts (if that's truly the case).

So who does one trust, especially in this modern world (where proper auditioning isn't easy and face to face relationships with neighbors is almost impossible)?  I've had mostly positive experiences in my audio related business dealings over 40 years, but the worst by far was a long time AC sponsor who highly modded one piece with highly questionable workmanship (would not stand behind his work when the same piece broke twice during shipment) and the other piece offered none of the advertised sonic advantages (all this verified by others here at AC via PM).  That same sponsor is apparently successful and reasonably well liked (or maybe we're all too nice to call him out in forum).

The internet is a place where exaggeration (or predators) can run wild.  Buyer beware has never been more true.

[jarcher]

Bill Thalman @ Music Technology in Springfield VA. 

http://www.musictechnology.com

Bill was employee #2 at Conrad Johnson and did some of the design work for their amps.  He's been doing repair + mods at MT for at least two decades that I can remember. Music Technology on the whole tend to focus on the pro and musician market, but Bill is the man for high end home audio gear. 

I just had my CJ MV75A1 restored / upgraded and am trying out his Oppo 105D modifications. The man clearly knows what he's doing.  But, be prepared for a 2-8 week lead time, then another 2 or more weeks for work completion.  That's par for the course for in demand qualified workmanship. 

[Folsom]

Ric Schultz has been a member here for awhile.

[Noseyears]

Parts ConneXion
http://www.partsconnexion.com/modservices.html

They have modded several gear (headphone amps, dacs, cdp) with the best parts available.  Very professional guys.

[steve in jersey]

We also have Red Wine Audio & Modwright circles here !

Ric Shultz's website can be found by typing in Tweekaudio.com (hope he does'nt mind my posting that here; His descriptions & explanations of how he carries out his "mods" have always been very interesting to me (& he was right about ripping the optical input out of the Oppo 95 that is currently just my Blu Ray player; The Oppo's are only mediocre Audio players w/o being modded) (that Sabre chip everyone raves about is way overrated "as implemented by Oppo")

[stvnharr]

It's tweakaudio.com.

[steve in jersey]

It's tweakaudio.com.

I thought that's what it was, but I was too lazy to check!  My Bad ,!!

(I just noticed I almost have 200 postings here, Do I get a free piece of equipment when I reach 200,
A free Sony HAP-Z1ES would be nice ) (or even a new engine for my car, which is now "Deader" than Jerry Garcia)

[Folsom]

Ya, it's the link I provided, has been the whole time...

[JohnR]

(I just noticed I almost have 200 postings here, Do I get a free piece of equipment when I reach 200,
A free Sony HAP-Z1ES would be nice ) (or even a new engine for my car, which is now "Deader" than Jerry Garcia)

No, that's at 300. Well, the Sony is at 300, and the new car at 10,000.