[NewMexiCat]

I've been a member here about a month and have contracted upgraditis which I have treated with weekly purchases in the low to mid three figures. The fever, however, is not dissipating!

I bought my source (a gift from my wife, actually) before I became a headphone junkie, so it really wasn't targeted with sonics in mind.

Knowing that I have Denon's bottom end universal player, I need some advice. I could go for the Underwood HiFi mod (which, with the clock upgrade, will run close to $1200), or look for a whole new source.

I really want a universal player, but I'm not going to consider super high-end stuff like Linn (my wife would put me in headphone rehab if I spent those kind of dollars).

Advice from the sage source experts please! Anybody out there with a modded Denon player? Are you happy with the investment? If not, what other uni-players should I consider?

 

[Welly Wu]

I am assuming that if you are even considering a $1200 USD Mod to your Denon DVD 2200 then you can afford a source component of that value as well. Therefore, you could afford to get the Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi. I got mine for $998.75 USD shipped including FedEx Ground shipping from http://www.pcrush.com . It is the cutting edge in the emerging universal source component market; go to http://www.pioneerelectronics.com to get an idea about its' specs. One thing to note: it will in fact play both DVD + / - R/RW Region 1 coded media. I have tested it with my Plextor PX-708UF drive. It is simply astounding! I am going to get an $1100 USD ModWright package deal consisting of select mods done to my stock DV-59AVi in the next few months. That in my humble opinion would bring up the level of audio performance above a Linn Unidisk 1.1 / 2.1!

 

[NewMexiCat]

Welly Wu:

You are correct in your assumptions regarding my budget.

The question I have then, is what scenario will give me the most discernable upgrade in sound quality--modding my existing source or going with the new latest and greatest (DV-59AVi) and keeping it stock?

If I remember right, did you have the DVD-2900? Is the 59AVi a big step up in sound quality?

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Going merely from what they post on their sites, the UnderWood Wally mods are too expensive. Dan Wright of ModWright does almost identical mods for a lot less money. The only difference is the addition of some vibration dampening UnderWood does. ModWright's mods run about $375 for the same thing Wally adds. An LC Audio clock from Dan Wright runs $450 more with the power supply. His total mod package for a unit would run something like $800 versus $1200 from UnderWood Wally. Make sure to check out each site and see what they offer. I think you'll find that UnderWood Wally's price is a bit high for what little extra you get.


www.modwright.com

Email Dan if you don't see the 2200 listed. He'll likely be able to mod, but doesn't list it on his site.

 

[Welly Wu]

I had the Denon DVD 2900. It wasn't anything special in terms of audio performance though the video section was quite good. However, my Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi trumps it in both the audio and video sections combined. Why don't you consider doing this: get the stock Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi and mod it later when you work and save for some sort of ModWright Mod?

 

[Music Fanatic]

I'm with Welly Wu on this one. Something like the Pioneer 59AVi will be so much better than the Denon 2200; and the Denon's limitations, I believe, can not be fully overcome by modding.