Lately, I have really been trying to figure out what to do about an SACD player upgrade for my 2-channel audio system in my living room. I have a Sony SCD-XE670 single disk SACD-only player there now, and I really don't like the sound of those so-called 'universal' players that seem to be festering the hi-fi world today.
Since I can't justify a Krell, Accuphase, or other insaneophile player, I have decided to have my Sony modified by Matthew Anker at SACDmods.com ... who specializes in Sony players. At this point, the player only plays in 2-channel mode but I think that I will have his multichannel mods done as well, since I may move this player to my other system when DVD-Audio finally dies and real SACD players begin to be manufactured more readily.
The player only cost me about US$150 and the mods and shipping will amount to pretty close to $500, but a "trade-up" of $500 would barely get me a reasonable 'universal' player whose sound quality is at best inferior to the stock SACD-only player anyway. Because of the wonders of far-east electronic mass-production, the SCD-XE670 apparently shares many components (including a transport) with the higher-priced ES line, and Matthew's modifications are supposed to exceed the sonic performance of even these $2,000 units.
I think that it is sad that the "HIGH" fidelity industry has embraced such mediocrity that causes this 'mods' sector to flourish, but more power to them. As long as there is such a gap in models between lo-fi plastic DVD-based players and the $10,000+ madness of esoterica, then my thanks goes out to Matthew and his genre. I will post the outcome in about a month, when I have had the opportunity to compare the modified unit in stereo and MC modes against my unmodified SCD-CE775 unit.
Sorry for the rant, but I hate when companies force me to accept mediocrity to make it easier for them to sell crap to the masses. Cheers, Mike.
Since I can't justify a Krell, Accuphase, or other insaneophile player, I have decided to have my Sony modified by Matthew Anker at SACDmods.com ... who specializes in Sony players. At this point, the player only plays in 2-channel mode but I think that I will have his multichannel mods done as well, since I may move this player to my other system when DVD-Audio finally dies and real SACD players begin to be manufactured more readily.
The player only cost me about US$150 and the mods and shipping will amount to pretty close to $500, but a "trade-up" of $500 would barely get me a reasonable 'universal' player whose sound quality is at best inferior to the stock SACD-only player anyway. Because of the wonders of far-east electronic mass-production, the SCD-XE670 apparently shares many components (including a transport) with the higher-priced ES line, and Matthew's modifications are supposed to exceed the sonic performance of even these $2,000 units.
I think that it is sad that the "HIGH" fidelity industry has embraced such mediocrity that causes this 'mods' sector to flourish, but more power to them. As long as there is such a gap in models between lo-fi plastic DVD-based players and the $10,000+ madness of esoterica, then my thanks goes out to Matthew and his genre. I will post the outcome in about a month, when I have had the opportunity to compare the modified unit in stereo and MC modes against my unmodified SCD-CE775 unit.
Sorry for the rant, but I hate when companies force me to accept mediocrity to make it easier for them to sell crap to the masses. Cheers, Mike.
