Some comments from our satisfied customers :-

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...on his modded Marantz CD4000

     The Marantz CD4000 I had was bought as a second hand unit. I bought it mainly for the famous Philips Transport which couldn't really be faulted for that price. The CD4000 was an entry level CD player which has been discontinued and replaced with the CD4300.

      Technically, the CD4000 was not bad sounding. Bass sounded like bass and treble like it is. But it felt lacking. My Diana Krall CD played like it was on a mini-compo. There was simply no depth in the sound reproduced. The CD player is matched to a Marantz SR-4200 AVR and Monitor Audio Bronze 3 speakers. Low frequencies are helped by a JBL active subwoofer low-passed at about 80Hz.

     When I spoke to James, I highlighted the issues I had with the player and asked for suggestions on what could be done, based on my measly budget of less than $400. Anything beyond that, I thought, it would be better to go for a higher end model. James suggested an opamp and caps upgrade, together with a dedicated power supply. (In actual fact more is done by changing of the diodes and further power supply filtering, as well as grounding improvements----james) In addition, the change from the conventional 2 pin integrated power cord to to the IEC type was also recommended. The RCA connectors were also upgraded for a good measure.

     My thoughts on the modifications? In James exact words, "Nothing below $1000 will sound better than this". As a novice who has just started playing with audio equipment, I must say I am impressed with the level of improvement achieved through the modifications. CDs played back now have more depth. Bass and treble stands out. The lower frequencies no longer break when they are played together with other complex sounds and the high frequencies are no longer harsh. Each instrument being played can be heard distinctly and at the right levels too. Even my wife who normally cannot be bothered, was pleasantly surprised with the performance. In her own words, "I've never heard Celine Dion's voice like that before". So there you have it, a job under $400 for a CD player that costed me only $100 now sounds better than many others twice the total cost. I have auditioned several other players when I took a walk around Adelphi for speaker stands and I think my CD player still sounds better :)

      In conclusion, a must have, if you are on a budget and want to explore other avenues of making your system sound better.

...on his Arcam DV78 with EA clock installed and lightly modded analog stage

The mods are burning in well this time. Here's my review:

     The stock Arcam DV78 can be described as having a very warm but veiled sound. You need to strain to hear details and separation of instruments was nothing to shout about, with various instruments blending together. Soundstaging was excellent though and it was easy to place where various sounds were coming from. The top end was smooth as chocolate. The stock
player makes all your discs sound good, even the badly mastered ones, but made you feel like there was something missing. The sound was slightly congested and the bass sounded fuzzy, especially on cello recordings.

     The clock modded player removed the veil and brought forth a swamp of detail. The lowered jitter removed what was perceived to be warmth and made the player very analytical and bright. In fact, too bright, as listening fatigue set in quickly. The congestion was gone, but so was the bass and warmth. The player now sounded bright, cold and analytical. Apparently, the Arcam analogue output stage was tuned for high jitter, and the clock mod threw the balance out of whack.

     The player was sent back to James for an analogue stage upgrade, with Blackgate caps and new op-amps. This time, the player sounded much better, and after burning in for over 100 hours, the sound continues to improve even further. Details were now very clear, with various instruments clearly separated. The sound stage was slightly smaller compared to the stock
player, but more clearly defined, with the veil of the stock player lifted. The bass was back, only this time more defined and tighter. The biggest change though, was to timbre. Drums now sound ultra realistic and cymbals almost as good as live. The only downside was that poorly mastered CDs now sound horribly bright, but well mastered recordings are pure heaven.

     The video performance also improved. The most noticeable change was in the contrast. Blacks were really much blacker, and colours more vivid. I know because I had to lower the contrast on my screen after I got my player modded. There also appears to be less noise in the picture.

     James's customer service is exceptional. His skills in tuning the sound of the player and his patience in making so many trips back and forth really made the experience a pleasant one.

...on the clock installation on his Cayin Tube Upsampling CDP and his Momitsu V880 DVI DVDP

     The clock mod to my Cayin achieved what I hoped it would.  Imaging was more precise than before.  I can hear more details as compared to before.  Sound staging has improved as well, more depth, better extension.  

      The clock mod to my Momitsu is more subtle.  Sound wise I cannot hear much difference, maybe I just didn’t spend enough time to have a good listening.  Picture quality wise, I can see more fine details at the background.  Those details that were previously ‘hidden’ in the background are more obvious now.

.... on his modded Cambridge Audio A640C amplifier.

Hi James,

     After listening to my amp, I can hear the cleaner & quieter background. Fantastic!! The soundstaging is awesome... it feels like i'm listening in widespread "surround mode".

     The bass is now taut and precise to the point that where the CD player is able reproduce. (I think i will sell my subwoofer away but my girlfriend is going to kill me as its my Valentine's Day gift from her.)

     The high frequencies are...oh so sweet and not excessively brash. Best part is the vocals! It sounds like the singer is trying to break free from within the speakers. Try to think of Sadako trying to come out from the TV... hehehe.

     Once again, thank you James!! Hope when I send you my Cambridge Audio CD player, you can transform it into a Wadia... Just kidding.

Regards,
Jeffrey"

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