micaela Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 Ok - its time for me to spend a little $'s on my hobby. I'm trying to decide what I want next. I bought the Sony c555es with the intention to have it modded - but it hasn't happened yet. Instead I ended up with a squeezebox & a DA100 DAC. Now I'm wondering if the modded 555es will best the DA100. I don't have lots of experience with sources so hopefully someone will have some good suggestions for me. My amp is a SP PPX3 slam & my cans are RS1, Darth Beyer V3 & AT 900 ltd.
humanflyz Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 Ok - its time for me to spend a little $'s on my hobby. I'm trying to decide what I want next. I bought the Sony c555es with the intention to have it modded - but it hasn't happened yet. Instead I ended up with a squeezebox & a DA100 DAC. Now I'm wondering if the modded 555es will best the DA100. I don't have lots of experience with sources so hopefully someone will have some good suggestions for me. My amp is a SP PPX3 slam & my cans are RS1, Darth Beyer V3 & AT 900 ltd. What modding company do you have in mind? And are you into hi-res formats?
micaela Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Posted June 14, 2007 I was looking at SACD mods. I do like the SACD format but I don't have very many disks yet - can't say that I'm really into it, but I could be in time. Any other suggestions for mod companies?
Dusty Chalk Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 RAM (Reference Audio Mods) are supposed to be good, and Hirsch swears by someone -- I think it's ModWright. Hirsch, feel free to correct me. I'd say go for the Sony, methinks. You'll get addicted to SACD like Peanut Butter Samiches.
n_maher Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 Ok - its time for me to spend a little $'s on my hobby. Just one alternate suggestion, why not upgrade the DAC to something like a DA220 and have the option of going balanced? I don't know about any one else but I find myself listening to less and less redbook stuff and using my squeezebox or PC as my source. What can I say, I'm lazy but if I were spending money it'd be focused or more flexibility. That's just me though.
NotoriousBIG_PJ Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 I would sell the cd player. SACD is a limited format and your dac gives you more flexibility. Biggie.
postjack Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 The biggest question you have to ask yourself when considering SACD is "do I like classical?" FWIW, I went from a DA100 to a Modwright 999es, and the 999es does everything better. Better soundstage, detail retrieval, more warmth, blacker background, etc. I can't comment at all on the 555es though, I know nothing about it. Nor can I comment on any other modification company except Modwright.
micaela Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Posted June 14, 2007 Thanks for all the replies! I'm interested in finding out which company does the best mods. I've been told that the modded c555es is a very good source. I love the fliexibility that the DA100 offers. I do listen through the squeezebox a lot and I also like my redbooks. The DA100 outdoes the stock 555es IMO. In fact right now I listen to redbook through the DAC most often. I want to do the mods but I don't want to waste money if its not going to be an improvement over the DAC.
n_maher Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 One other thing worth noting, the money you spend on mods is likely money that you'll have a pretty hard time recouping later on where something like a DAC is going to maintain much better value. Not that you ever buy equipment with the idea of selling it but it's not something that I ignore either unless I'm comfortable with the loss.
micaela Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Posted June 15, 2007 is that my old 555? the SACDmods 555ES sounds quite good, but the DAC is going to be more flexible. Yep - as a matter of fact it is your player! I'm enjoying it! If I mod it, I will still keep the DAC. I like using it with the squeezebox and sometimes with my H140. But I want to make sure it will be better than the DAC if I'm going to put money into it.
micaela Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Posted June 15, 2007 RAM (Reference Audio Mods) are supposed to be good, and Hirsch swears by someone -- I think it's ModWright. Hirsch, feel free to correct me. I'd say go for the Sony, methinks. You'll get addicted to SACD like Peanut Butter Samiches. I went to the modwright page & I think I contacted them once before & they don't do mods on the 555es. Anyone know about this for sure?
deepak Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 RAM (Reference Audio Mods) are supposed to be good, and Hirsch swears by someone -- I think it's ModWright. Hirsch, feel free to correct me. I'd say go for the Sony, methinks. You'll get addicted to SACD like Peanut Butter Samiches. A company that sells a $500 wooden knob (with an audiophool bullshit description) doesn't inspire much confidence.
deepak Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 Never mind they have the parts upgrades listed, so they're not just spraying the players with pixie dust
PFKMan23 Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 Keep in mind SACD mods does offer a balanced out option for their mods
DigiPete Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 A company that sells a $500 wooden knob (with an audiophool bullshit description) doesn't inspire much confidence. Yeah, plenty of snake oil at RAM. That alone turns me off from them. That's what I like about SACDMods (Matt Anker), his mods only consist of what he thinks/hears is poividing a bang-for-your-buck improvement.
postjack Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 Nor can I comment on any other modification company except Modwright. I know Modwright doesn't do the 555es, but while we are talking about it, the "signature modwright sound" is full and warm. I wouldn't describe it as analog sounding, more like a full, warm, digital sound. SACD sounds superb, and redbook playback is also very good, but there is a hint of sony treble harshness still present. This is why I am considering either more mods or a separate dedicated redbook player. The only Modwright mods left available to me are to convert my power supply to a tube rectified one, aftermarket clock, and of course the bybee filters, but reks shit all over them real fast.
KenW Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 I have experience with a direct comparison between the SB3/Stello DA200 MKII and an SACDmodded 555ES. Sonically, if I could have only one, I'd go with the Sony. The Sony had a bit more of everything than the Stello. It also sounded more "analog" to my ear than the Stello. Still, the SB3/Stello was very nice and very convenient. Having my entire collection available at the whim of my remote was great. The balanced question is rendered moot due to the fact that Matt is offering balanced outs as part of his offerings on the 555ES IIRC so it really comes down to a slight but noticable sonice superiority of the modded 555ES over the convenience of the SB3/dac combo. Only you can make that choice I guess. Of course, there's a third option......get the SB3 and an Opus 21 which has that sweet coax input. You have CDs AND FLAC files at your fingertips......and yes, that's another pretty good jump in price but the performance boost is worth it IMO.
micaela Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Posted June 15, 2007 I have experience with a direct comparison between the SB3/Stello DA200 MKII and an SACDmodded 555ES. Sonically, if I could have only one, I'd go with the Sony. The Sony had a bit more of everything than the Stello. It also sounded more "analog" to my ear than the Stello. Still, the SB3/Stello was very nice and very convenient. Having my entire collection available at the whim of my remote was great. The balanced question is rendered moot due to the fact that Matt is offering balanced outs as part of his offerings on the 555ES IIRC so it really comes down to a slight but noticable sonice superiority of the modded 555ES over the convenience of the SB3/dac combo. Only you can make that choice I guess. Of course, there's a third option......get the SB3 and an Opus 21 which has that sweet coax input. You have CDs AND FLAC files at your fingertips......and yes, that's another pretty good jump in price but the performance boost is worth it IMO. hmmm.....thanks a lot for that input - thats kind of what I was looking for. Now I have to decide if a "slight difference" is enough to spend for - or if I'd rather go another direction entirely with a different set of cans. The Opus 21 does indeed look sweet, but I don't have that much to give to my hobby!
JBLoudG20 Posted June 15, 2007 Report Posted June 15, 2007 The Opus 21 does indeed look sweet, but I don't have that much to give to my hobby! You are just not dedicated enough teasing of course!
micaela Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Posted June 15, 2007 You are just not dedicated enough teasing of course! I am dedicated enough, its that damn MAN that lives with me that limits my dedication
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