Virtually every CDP released in the late 80's was a mod of either the Sony stuff or the Philips/Magnavox CDB 650. Many people realized that there were improvements to be made, and that they would sound good.
Sony and Philips built to a price point. They knew that people would only pay up to $XXX, and that building more into their gear would not be cost effective.
That reason is a lot of what is happening today with SACD. People have found that significant improvements can be made without spending a ton of money. SACD is in it's infancy and as time passes improvements will continue to be made. I'm sure many of the mods available now will be standard soon.
Sony and Philips built to a price point. They knew that people would only pay up to $XXX, and that building more into their gear would not be cost effective.
That reason is a lot of what is happening today with SACD. People have found that significant improvements can be made without spending a ton of money. SACD is in it's infancy and as time passes improvements will continue to be made. I'm sure many of the mods available now will be standard soon.