Bargain Priced SACD Giant Killer?

Speaking of TRL, if you can get your hands on a Sony DVP-NS900V the new TRL mod will take you past the SCD-1. You're probably looking at an investment of $1000 including the mods. The news from CES on this player was very positive.

Bob,

The player was used with a Bruce Moore amp and preamp, as well as VMPS speakers. A $12,000 player that will remain un-named was also used in that set-up. I spoke to 4 people (3 of them in the industry) who were in that room and the news I received was that the TRL Sony was a giant killer. The word most utilized to describe it was "musical". I heard the line to get in the room was pretty long. Mine is on its way to TRL right now. I can't wait to hear it.

You can email me if you like.

Bob,

I don't do SACD and I haven't listened to the stock redbook play back. I'll probbaly get my modded unit back in a couple of weeks and will post my thoughts then in a separate thread.

Warrenh,

Trust me, Brian was impressed alright, he was very impressed.

Jack,

Wonder where all the units came from ;)

UPS and I are getting pretty friendly.

BTW - each of the people in the VMPS room who purchased the unit had almost the exact same thoughts on the player. The consistency of their listening experiences were uncanny. Normally, you get a variety of opinions on the sonic signature of a unit, but not this one.
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Hi Alex - sorry I haven't had time to respond to your private email to me disparaging the work of TRL, but it was nice of you to read my review on the TRL Audio Mirror. I feel somewhat flattered and if anything it shows you're literate.

The TRL mods are definitely on the less expensive side and provide significant bang for the buck, which fits in with the theme of the thread. However, I would not under estimate the amount of work that goes into the mods, especially with the DVP-NS900V. Based on my conversations with TRL there appears to be 25+ hours of work in modifying this player. Using $40/hr. as a base (it's $80/hr. where I live) thats $1000, for labor only, no parts. Already that is nearly twice the $550 standard mod fee TRL charges (BTW - a certain poster to this thread would lead you to believe that TRL mods are nothing more than dropping some magnetic material on the DAC chips and then covering it with epoxy - I don't think TRL would have been able to do over 600 digital mods with not one customer taking them up on their money back gurantee if this was the case).

While I respect what other mod shops charge for their services, it would be foolish as a buyer to equate price with quality. Like buying unmodded new or used audio, there are bargains (to me where benefit to cost ratio is extremely high), fair deals, and deals to good to be true (which is normally the case).

As a final note the suggestion to modify the SCD-1 is a very good one.

I also have dealt with the person that Lkdog knows. He introduced me to the TRL sound. While he preferred the Reimyo to the TRL SA-14, the TRL NS-900V was another story altogether, which was enough of a statement for me to make me find a used NS-900V player and send it to TRL.