DAC or Upgraded Analogue in SACD units?

I had Richard Kern of Audiomod (www.audiomod.com, located in Oak Grove, Oregon) upgrade my Sony SCD-777ES's audio board and power supply board with, as appropriate, Vishay resistors, and Rel, MIT, and Black Gate caps. This was simply a parts upgrade involving no circuit modifications and cost $480 plus shipping. After a 200-hour post-upgrade burn-in, I moved my external DAC to a secondary system, since the Red Book performance of the 777 alone is now considerably better. SACD performance is enhanced as well. In both modes, there's better resolution, transparency, soundstaging, timbral accuracy, and bass impact as well as definition.

I don't view onhwy61's post as contrarian, since the warranty and resale issues need to be considered carefully, and any decision to mod equipment requires a certain comfort level. So you've raised an important point. In my case, the 777 is a long-term purchase that will likely wind up in my secondary system some years hence. Beyond that, the decision to do strictly a parts upgrade rather than a circuit mod simplifies the task of a qualified tech with access to a Sony tech manual in the event that something goes haywire. But you're right: having a unit like this modded in any fashion is _not_ for the faint of heart.