Sony 9000ES: DanWright or StanWarren Mod

I bought a Pioneer 525 full mods from Mr. Wright out of Audiogon @ 6mos ago (Blackgates, gold RCA's, damping,IEC, etc.). Very happy. I use it only for HT, but bass, articulation of voice etc. on audio is quite good. Its pampered w/ Electaglide Ref PC & IC (both very dynamic for HT), Harmonic component cable. It does not feel out of place.

As an Electrical Engineer myself, I can attest to Stan Warren's abilities. He is the only, and I mean only modifier, that is offering a custom designed ,proprietary output stage, that is world class by any standard, in the audio world today.

There are many things you can do to modify these players, different caps, jacks, wires, power supplies. But the single largest improvement in sound quality comes from stripping out the stock output devices, and replacing them with much better performing gain stages.

To my knowledge, all other modifiers are just swapping the output devices with better IC's, or other types of "drop in" replacement gain stages. This is not nearly as heroic, as actually giving you an entirely new esoteric circuit, that has world class slew rates, settling times and symetrical electrical behavior.

If Stan Warren charged nore for his services, I feel that many more audiophiles would take him more seriously. He is that good!

>all other modifiers are just swapping the output devices
>with better IC's, or other types of "drop in" replacement
>gain stages. This is not nearly as heroic, as actually
>giving you an entirely new esoteric circuit, that has world
>class slew rates, settling times and symetrical electrical
>behavior.

To be fair, many of the ICs used as replacements can be said to offer world class slew rates etc. And the modifiers in some cases may also bias the devices' output stages into Class A to further improve performance.

Is there anywhere to go to read more about the general circuit design approach used by Stan Warren? I'm sure you would agree that "esoteric" doesn't necessarily mean "better."

Certainly, though, his work seems to have received unanimously excellent reviews. And I agree, his services appear to offer an excellent value.

Rpell: In case of 9000es (as well as ohter pieces he upgraded for me: MSB Link, Stax headphones, Adcome amp) Stan Warren esoteric design means better (or much better )SOUND. regards. Simon

Simon: I'm sure Stan Warren's modifications are an improvement over the sound of the stock units--as are the less-extensive modifications offered by other modifiers. I would be interested in hearing more about any comparisons between the various modifications available.