purk

I agree given the state of the economy. RAM is not a bad modder but their quality of work can be alarming. Ram left a loose screw in my modded SCD-1 that I sent to them. The player kept blowing the fuse luckily I found the problem. Tom Hankin is having a bad luck with them right now with his mod Shanling CD3000 that never seem to work right.

The 840C is pretty good source for the money and probably the best buy for a new source at that price. I would rate the overall performance to be better than my old SACDmods Sony SCD-C555ES in redbook playback.

I will try to answer this a bit since I owned the 840C for about a month. Basically, the Exemplar 2900 just have better tonality with better bass and nicer midrange than the 840c. It is also a good bit more refined over all. I felt that the 840C is very good redbook unit but it slightly harsh around the edge, while the Exemplar is smoother and more fluid. The Denon is also more engaging and more musical than the 840c.

Congrats Laine! The Exemplar 3910 should be one heck of a unit. The redbook on my Exemplar 2900 is almost as good as the Cary 306 SACD and a significant more refine than the Cambridge 840C that I used to have.

i bought one for less than 900 usd awhile back. i tried this amp w/ my w2002, w11jpn, w10vtg, and l3000 w/ great results. the ha2002 seem to work better w/ lower imp headphones, however. you might want to pm agile_one as well b/c he also own both the l3000, w11jpn, w2002, as well as the ha2002.

If you can find one, get the Audio-Technica HA2002. This amp was made to drive the W2002 but also does an excellent job with the W11JPN. I've had great results with the W11JPN + HA2002. Plus the HA2002 also sports the same lacquer finish.

The L3000 is pretty impressive indeed. Not to mention that for the current going price, the L3000 is much better built, sound better to my ears, and more luxurious and more comfortable than the PS-1 to boot. Has the L3000's price reached 3k?

Wow...wish I can attend the Southern Cal meet. Andy, enjoy the meet for me.

Yep, I am. I have a soft spots for those W2002 and W11JPN. I would love to own the W11JPN again one of these days if the funding permits.

I have tried both of them with the HA2002, DHA3000 and the L3000 is noticably more superior to my ears. I would suggest you go for the L3000 and spend the money on much better amp. The W11JPN is nice but clearly is not the same class as the L3000. I owned the W11JPN three times actually.

Very interesting DAC and very nice price to boot. I will likely be getting one when it comes out.

Wow....$3400 for a pair of PS-1? I once sold one my R10 for that price!

Todd, So what do you think of the Modwright 9100ES? Love to hear your impression.

This model also features a pair of balanced output! Sony Unexpectedly Releases Super Audio CD Reciever - SCD-XA5400ES | Sony Insider (beta)

IMO, the problem is the DAC not the sound of the amp. With my own source, the SQ. Wave was one of the best SS amp I've heard to date under 1K. Of course using the DAC, they don't sound that good at all. If Mikhail just use a better DAC and revise the design, he can have a very nice amp/dac in hand that can seriously compete with Headamp, HR, and RSA. Purk

l actually told mikhail to omit the dac out of the sq. wave after i heard it a year ago. The dac in sq. wave was not even as good as the Corda Aria. OTOH, the balanced sq. wave was right there with the best of HR offerings. Of course, the beta22 is my current favorite among SS amps.

I had the same problem with that DAC as well. It was bright and thin when Mikhail let me on loan for 3 weeks. The amp itself sounds pretty good but using internal dac doesn't produce a good result in my experience.

beta22 is my vote as well.

Yes, the Pico didn't out perform my maxed out PPA either with the HD-650, but it did with the L3000.

Happy Birthday Todd!!! Thanks for bringing us Headcase!

Well...I will be overseeing the construction project so it will be o.k. and I will have a small office there anyway so the pico + L3000 will keep me sane. Of course, I might just bring the HD-650 out there instead. That is actually true. That's one of reason why I bring my L3000 to work everyday. First they sound pretty darn great with the DHA3000 and second is I spend most of my listening time at work so I like to listen to one of my favorite setup.

I got lucky with my work actually. My boss doesn't mind me listening to headphone at work and I have an office. I use my L3000 and DHA3000 at work everyday and when at the end of the day I place the DHA3000 in a case and leave it at work and take the L3000 home. I re-purchased the Pico b/c I will have to be on the road a lot starting next month and the Pico has a very nice synergy with the L3000. I can relate to why Irondremer liking his Pico+L3000 a lot. Of course, my DHA3000 is better but I'm not going to be bring it out to the construction stie with me. When I'm on the go, I don't use amp. My E500+MP3 player does a great job. Purk

I think its superman's ears. He is a long time headfi member who has sold many high price headphones in the past. His stuffs are good though, but quite pricey.

I just re-purchase another Pico. The Pico sounds great with my L3000. Very nice synergy.

One review (might be Stereophile) said that the E530 is not the same as the E500. Has anyone compared them side by side? Thanks