Stan Warren / Dan Wright Modifications


I'm planning on upgrading my CD player which is a Pioneer DV-525 DVD/CD player. I was planning on the usual upgrade path....buy a better CDP and spend up to $1K used (I don't want to go to a transport plus DAC yet). Now I'm having second thoughts about my plan and I'm thinking about having the 525 modified by Stan Warren or Dan Wright because it is a reasonably good transport.

Does anyone have any experience as to the results that can be expected? Better bass, high frequency extension, soundstaging, imaging, etc.? The mods would cost anywhere from $200-$300 depending on what I have done.

Any comments are appreciated. Thanks, Dave.
milo
I have a Stan Warren modified Pioneer. Well worth the money spent IMO (in my opinion). Never had a problem with it. It seems these things usually break right away, so if you have a good history with yours already, you are hopefully safe. Stan gives a warranty on his mods. Stan does not warranty the stuff he does not mod like the laser assembly and transport, etc. He related to me that although in theory the warranty is voided, he knows of authorized techs who have fixed various things under warranty he has modded over the years. The manufacturer has to rely on the tech, if the tech does the repair. If it is still under the warranty period the tech gets paid by Pioneer for the repair. Only he (and you) know it has been modified. If he won't repair it under warranty you just walk away and he does not make any money. There is of course still some risk I guess. But even at double the cost the Pioneer is still a great deal the way it performs after it has been modded.


The modified player is better accross the board in the areas you mention IMO. It is also more "analog" sounding.

Warning, Milo. The laser thingy in my 525 took a dump last month and I just got it back yesterday. Putting 3 or 400 dollars into that cheesebox doesn't make sense to me. And the mods would void the warranty. Pioneer had to send to the Home Islands for a spare. I paid zilch. You're modded unit would cost many thousand Yen.