Question for KeithH, re: 555ES Mods (1 Viewer)

[Eujin]

Hey KeithH,
Since you've already provided so much useful info, I was wondering if you'd done any research into modifications for the 555ES? Specifically, I'm wondering about this company that I stumbled across:
http://www.tweakaudio.com/Players.html
The site is obviously not as professional looking as Modwright, but I was still quite intrigued at the possibilities. Let me know what you think.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Eujin,

I recently picked up a 555ES and was interested in mods myself. After looking around, the only current contenders I came up with were the tweakaudio site you listed, Oade Brothers, and possibly Stan Warren (I didn't get around to calling Stan to confirm).

I wound up purchasing my unit from Oade, so had them do their mods. Pretty cheap--$175, but I don't actually know what specifics were of the mod. I could never quite get that info out of them. My unit sounds great but I don't have another 555 to compare it to. . .

A couple other people used to mod the 555ES, or at least did it one or two times, but aren't currently.

 

[KeithH]

Eujin,
I have never looked into mods. for my SACD players. While I believe what people on Audio Asylum are saying about the improvements that are realized through these mods, I am happy with my stock SACD players. I don't see the reason to spend money on mods that will void the warranty. That's just me.
Now, I have read about SACD mods being offered by various people. Ric Schultz runs the tweakaudio.com site, and from everything I have ever read, he is legit. If I were looking into mods, I wouldn't hesitate in calling him.
Dan Wright of ModWright, LLC is also very well regarded, but I don't think he is offering mods on SACD changers now. I read on his site the other day that he is no longer offering mods on the 'C333ES, for example.
Richard Kern also does mods of SACD players. Unfortunately, I don't have a web site or other contact information for him. All I can say is that his moniker on Audio Asylum is "Audiocrazed". Maybe in doing a search for his posts there you will find a way to contact him. I don't know if he is doing mods on the 'C555ES, but his work has gotten favorable reviews on Audio Asylum.
Www.sacdmods.com is offering mods on the SCD-CE775 right now. I don't know if there are plans to offer mods on the 'C555ES. The 'CE775 mods have been reviewed favorably on this site and Audio Asylum. I believe the man behind those mods is named Matthew Anker. Maybe he will expand his mods to the 'C555ES. He is relatively new in the mods game.
That's about all I can tell you about these folks since I haven't pursued mods myself.
Mike,
The Oade Bros. mods weren't expensive, but I don't like the idea of them being tight-lipped when they are taking your money to do the work. Did they do anything? They should spell out exactly what they did with your money. My guess is that Oade Bros. is being kryptic because of their (current) status as an authorized Sony dealer. It is possible that they could get in trouble with Sony by first selling their products at a hefty discount and then voiding the warranty by modifying the innards. Just speculation on my part.

 

[Eujin]

Keith, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject.

I will most likely wait a while before I do anything. As things stand, I'm still using my 775 which, for the money, is absolutely great. I'll be moving this summer, so in all likelihood I won't be getting the 555ES until after all my moving expenses are out of the way. After I do that, I'll start doing more serious investigation into the mods for it--if I even feel I need them at that point.

 

[KeithH]

Eujin, I have a suggestion. Before you purchase a 'C555ES, you might consider having your 'CE775 modified by Matthew Anker at www.sacdmods.com . There is another thread here where these mods have been discussed. Matthew is a member here, and he has contributed to the thread. A member here stated that the modded 'CE775 outperforms the stock 'C555ES. That's saying something. Matthew's cheapest mod package runs $300. So, for $500 total, you might have a player that would beat the 'C555ES. I have not heard a modded 'CE775, but if I had a stock unit, I might consider the mods. That said, I still love the 'C555ES, and no matter what mods are done to the 'CE775, there is still a build-quality issue there, in my opinion. Still, you might want to give Matthew's mods a shot.
I am not a fan of mods since they void the warranty. However, since the 'CE775 isn't an expensive player, is somewhat lacking in performance in stock form as a budget model, and comes with just a one-year warranty, I would be more inclined to have it modded than the 'C555ES. I love the 'C555ES in stock form and don't want to lose the five-year warranty.

 

[Matthew Anker]

I am offering a 90 day warranty on my modifications. If the modded player runs for the first 48 hours before I ship it out, then it will run for years with no problems. However, I can't be held responsible for lightning damage, surges, and the usual. It's a pretty standard warranty, I just want customers to feel that they get what they payed for (parts and 2.5 hours of labor).
The pricing is around $300 for my lowest cost package which is the best value for your stereo dollar.
See my website for more details: www.SACDmods.com
-Matthew Anker

 

[Dzung Pham]

Keith mentioned that Richard Kern does modifications. His website is www.audiomod.com

 

[KeithH]

Matthew,

Thanks for correcting me on the cost of your mods. I will edit my previous post here accordingly.

Dzung,

Thanks for posting the link to Richard's web site.

 

[Mike Matheson]

I don't believe Richard still mods the 555 (I emailed him regarding such a couple weeks ago). He does still mod the 333ES, however.

 

[KeithH]

Mike, getting mods on the ES changers is not as easy as it used to be. I saw on Dan Wright's web site the other day (www.modwright.com) that he is no longer doing mods to the 'C333ES or 'C222ES. I doubt he is doing mods to the 'C555ES either. Ric Schultz of www.tweakaudio.com seems to be doing mods on the 'C555ES.