Some observations going different ways on your question:
In favor of the Sound Odyssey mods
1. I have dealt with Brice Donnelly and, in addition to being courteous and helpful, he is a stand-up guy. He encouraged me to buy a Music Hall CD-25 for sale here on the ‘gon that he had previously modified, knowing it would cost him a sale to me of a substantially similar unit (I bought the used unit).
2. The MSRP of the stock Jolida 100A is $900. The Odyssey Stage 1 upgrade is $1095. For slightly less than $200, you get a lot, particularly the clock and power supply. True, you may find the stock unit for less than $900 from discount sellers, but the upgrade still represents a bargain in terms of the labor and parts cost. Sound Odyssey also includes shipping in its price. I don't have the technical knowledge or listening experience to comment on Steven's opinion that the clock is not that significant.
Neutral
3. I bought my CD-25 modified, so I never heard the stock unit. Therefore, I can’t comment on the improvement made by the mods. The modified CD-25 is clearly better than the mid-fi, 5 year-old DVD player I had been using as a player, but the units are too different to draw any conclusions about the benefits of the modifications. (I would like to compare my CD-25 to a stock unit and to other CD players in its price range to get a better idea of its absolute quality and its relative value.)
4. As Readster suggests, the improvements aren’t likely to be as dramatic as the Sound Odyssey ad suggests. Like a lot of modifiers’ ads, the copy has a breathless quality and slightly over-the-top claims.
Against mods (in general)
5. A number of posters here on AudiogoN have suggested that modifying the Jolida changes, rather than enhances, the qualities that make it an attractive unit to begin with. I suggest you track down these comments and e-mail the posters for more information.
6. The people who argue against the mods say that simple tube-rolling is less expensive and doesn’t permanently change the unit. Don’t like the new tubes? Try different tubes or go back to the stock tubes.
In favor of the Sound Odyssey mods
1. I have dealt with Brice Donnelly and, in addition to being courteous and helpful, he is a stand-up guy. He encouraged me to buy a Music Hall CD-25 for sale here on the ‘gon that he had previously modified, knowing it would cost him a sale to me of a substantially similar unit (I bought the used unit).
2. The MSRP of the stock Jolida 100A is $900. The Odyssey Stage 1 upgrade is $1095. For slightly less than $200, you get a lot, particularly the clock and power supply. True, you may find the stock unit for less than $900 from discount sellers, but the upgrade still represents a bargain in terms of the labor and parts cost. Sound Odyssey also includes shipping in its price. I don't have the technical knowledge or listening experience to comment on Steven's opinion that the clock is not that significant.
Neutral
3. I bought my CD-25 modified, so I never heard the stock unit. Therefore, I can’t comment on the improvement made by the mods. The modified CD-25 is clearly better than the mid-fi, 5 year-old DVD player I had been using as a player, but the units are too different to draw any conclusions about the benefits of the modifications. (I would like to compare my CD-25 to a stock unit and to other CD players in its price range to get a better idea of its absolute quality and its relative value.)
4. As Readster suggests, the improvements aren’t likely to be as dramatic as the Sound Odyssey ad suggests. Like a lot of modifiers’ ads, the copy has a breathless quality and slightly over-the-top claims.
Against mods (in general)
5. A number of posters here on AudiogoN have suggested that modifying the Jolida changes, rather than enhances, the qualities that make it an attractive unit to begin with. I suggest you track down these comments and e-mail the posters for more information.
6. The people who argue against the mods say that simple tube-rolling is less expensive and doesn’t permanently change the unit. Don’t like the new tubes? Try different tubes or go back to the stock tubes.