I am a bit gun shy with mods. You may be aware of the horrible experience I had with one nameless modder and my Sony NS500V dvd player. For the $ spent I can say it was not a great value. It still sounds like an under $500 cd player. And the delay of 9 months was a very hard to stomach.
No, I didn't hear about it. But there's no need to elaborate...most of us have probably been there at one time or another.
The Sony mod from EA seems like a nice way to go but then I have to sort out a DAC. Now I have an ack dac and I think it is good for the money, but I am not sure of how well it will work with a new tranport. It does well with my NAD in the office system but I am not sure it would replace the Cary overall when used with it as a transport. Maybe a Benchmark?
FWIW, I use the ack dAck! with mine and am perfectly pleased. I haven't used the other equipment you listed.
It would be great if someone north of Denver had one of the EA modded Sony's to bring over. Perhaps I can burn in some cables for them with my Mobie.
Have you checked with Mike (mgalusha), Wayne1, Tyson or any of the other members of the DAM? I could be wrong, but I it seems reasonably likely that someone in the greater Denver area would have one of Steve's units. If not, Steve has spare reference units that he's willing to send out for a 21-day audition...you just have to pay a refundable deposit.
I have seen lots of mods on the Jolidas and Music Halls and other lower cost machines. They all have the right parts list I guess, but I have never heard one. Is there anyone doing 30 day trials?
Well, I already mentioned the option with Empirical Audio. Other than that, if you're interested in looking into one of the Jolida CDPs, I'd begin my search with
Response Audio. I've never used any of his products, but Bill has an excellent reputation.
Any thoughts on DACs for the modded transport route and how do these machines hold up reliability wise? And any other folks thoughts on the Jolida type mods?
Like I said, I use the ack dAck! with my modded S7700. All I know about the modded Jolida units is what I've heard from others, which is what led me to recommended
Response Audio.
Good luck in your quest.
DU