Dan Wright "Absolute Truth" mod for SCD-1 / 777es

Thanhn387 I am considering the two mods that will run under $1000 with shipping the unit back and forth to Richard Kern.

I am a bang for the buck type of guy and know the Sony mod will provide an improvement after hearing my friends but I did not want to go with a $3000 mod figuring I would keep it simple to see what comes out over the next copule of years and also I want to upgrade my speakers. If the Sony mod gives me 60-70% of the sound of the higher priced CDPs, I will be happy for now and the cost will be much less.

Thanks for the responses so far. for anyone concerned about the warranty maybe someone who knows can answer this question: isn't the sony warranty non-transferable? this might make a difference to all second hand owners. just guessing i would assume any problem created by a mod done by one of the people mentioned above would be fixed faster than sony would fix an unmodified unit and at no cost.

btw, i've read much about the various sony mods on audiogon so if anyone is interested dont stop searching with this post. i was specifically curious about the 'absolute truth' mod since it's a different approach than upgrading components.

I did a lot of thinking about this modding business, as an alternative to an expensive one-box player. Once I found my current GamuT CD-1, all bets were off. New formats, for me, would just be a waste of time and money. Until the new music I want is all release on SACD, I'll listen to my current cd collection.
That said, I think modding is a great idea. It's certainly seems to be a great way to get good sound for very little money (ModWright does work on $200-300 Pioneer players).

Here is for Satto you dont mention how much it cost to MOD
your CDP???and you too BigKid.Satto tell me which manufacturing or company will install the PRECISE part for you?????? let say I want to buy Sony SCD1 or.....I will call Sony to custom blackgate caps and bbb filters??Oh come
on we live on Earth not on the Moon my friend

A cost effective way is to buy a used sony 9000es and get Modwrights level III mods with tubed output stage. Cost is $1200 & the results are outstanding all for less than 2k. The tube stage puts a level III modded player in a totally different class.

I am also thinking about the Kern mod for my Sony 777ES. I have decided to try the SuperclockII and transport mod just because the link noted above said that it was the biggest bang for the buck. I have heard that the full blown tube output mod by Dan is great but I did not want to have any holes drilled into my unit figuring that there will be new combo SACD/CD players comig out in a year or two from the other well know companies. I think the Sony with a mod is a good value if you want a combo player if not, then get a better redbook player.

I compared my stock Sony to the same model with a Jerry Ozment mod. The mod is basically an Audio Logic DAC that is connected to the digital output on the Sony bypassing the Sony's internal output design. Alan Wright has a similiar mod design. Well, the mod was clearly better than my stock Sony from the first notes, making my Sony sound like the music was coming from a cardboard tube. That is the best way that I know to describe it to you. The person who had the Sony with the mod is Rcprince another Agon member who also uses a Forsell Mk.IV transport and dCS Purcell, with an Audio Logic DAC. That set up bettered the Sony with the mod on redbook playback but it was not that dramitic to my ears but it was better. Russ uses the Sony mainly for SACD playback.

So it seems like you have to spend quite a bit of money to beat a Sony with a mod as far as my ears could tell.

Hope this is helpful, Happy Listening.

For those who have not heard the comparison
between a a modded piece versus non modded,you
are not wasting money.Though I am a dealer,I have
a Philips 1000 that basicaly is an inexpensive
SACD player that uses cheap parts.I had Richard
Kern modifify it with Black Gates,Superclock
2,upgraded power supplies,ect.(I have no
affiliation with Richard,though I do know him).I
can tell you ,without question that the player
has been brought up to a new level,and
competes,or
outrightly beats Transports,Dacs,1 box players
costing 3 to 5 times as much (and I have such
pieces)Considering the
resale of a Philips stock version would be 500.00
tops,I find it hard to believe that one could not
get more than that for a modded version.All work
done by Richard,is warranteed,and nowhere have
I read that work done by the reputable modders
have gone bad within the warrantee period
provided by them or even after.The failures that have occured ,wether modded or not,
all seem to be with the stock pieces,Laser
mechanism,sled,ect not with the work done.Even if
the warrantee is voided,units with factory warrantee have been nightmares
getting the piece fixed and back to the customer,
have certainly been less than glowing.

Bottom line is,if you are looking to get a much
improved unit,which in most likelyhood will
operate just fine,you have everything to gain,and
very little to lose.Had the companies installed
reasonably good parts in the first place,this
issue would never be discussed.I am sure there are
more than enough people who are satisfied with
their modded units otherwise none of them would still be around.For those nay sayers,I
really wonder how many have actualy even heard a
modded piece versus stock.

Mejames: Thanks for posting that info. Now if i could just teach you guys how to leave a very simple link for stuff like that, we'd have it made : ) Sean
>

PS... for those that want to learn how to leave "clickable links", PLEASE direct your mouse to the section under the response box that is titled "no html, but you may use markup tags". This shows you step by step how to do this.

interesting article below found searching www.harmonicdiscord.com regarding Kern and Wright mods
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue6/stock.htm

The other mod approach is Richard Kern's stuff. Would be interesting to hear comments from anyone who has compared the two as I am planning to get my 777 modified soon.

adding to Thanhn387's view............losing resale value. Only original gear will be selling at desirable value.

Hi guy,you are wasting the money,think about the cost my friend(CDP+MOD)It is going up to 6000 and no warranty after 3 or 6 month.Money wise.

Can't comment on the SCD-1 or 777es. I DO have the full blown mod on my XA-777ES and highly recommend it if you can afford it. You might check out:

http://www.harmonicdiscord.com

Modwright has a forum where the mods have been discussed.