Esoteric DV50(s), DV60, SA-60 2ch Modifications: Reference Audio Mods

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	Reference Audio Mods Worldwide 17255 Vista Del Lago Dr. Riverside, California 92503, USA Contact: Kyle Takenaga Tel: 951-454-4842 Email: referenceaudiomods@yahoo.com

Esoteric DV50(s), DV60, SA-60 2ch Modifications

Quantity in Basket:none
Code: EsotericDV50
Price: $0.00
Shipping Weight: 0.00 pounds

Power supply Mods ($500 Installed)

Superclock 4 Upgrade ($295 Installed)

Superclock PSU Upgrade ($295 Installed)

Transport board Capacitor Upgrades ($100 Installed)

Copper Wire Transformer Output Stage/Rebuild
($1000 Installed)

Silver Wire Transformer Output Stage/Rebuild
($1600 Installed)

Send unit to RAM for Installation Services

Esoteric DV-50(s), DV60, SA60 Modification Inquiries:

WorldWide Service:

Kyle Takenaga RAM (Riverside, California) referenceaudiomods@yahoo.com phone (951)454-4842

Note on Return Shipping: Return shipping is free with full mod package. If you only partial mods (ie:power supply mods and Superclock 4 and transport caps) return shipping is extra. Figure to add $40 for Fedex Ground and $95 for Fedex 2-day. If you order the mods from our website, please check off the USA-Shipping for modifed players and we will contact you via email or phone to discuss return shipping options.

Recommended Full Upgrade path:

Power Supply Upgrades ($500 Installed)

Superclock 4 upgrade to unit ($295 Installed)

Superclock Power Supply Upgrade ($295 Installed)

Transport Board Capacitor Upgrades($100)

Silver Coupling Transformer Stage and other Part Replacements and tweaks($1600.00 Installed)

Total: $2790 installed with FREE return shipping

Recommended Advanced upgrade path:

Power Supply Upgrades ($500 Installed)

Superclock 4 upgrade to unit ($295 Installed)

Superclock Power Supply Upgrade ($295 Installed)

Transport Board Capacitor Upgrades($100)

Copper Coupling Transformer Stage and other Part Replacements and tweaks ($1000.00 Installed)

Total: $2190 installed, return shipping is $40 Fedex Ground or $95 Fedex 2-day, Full insurance

Recommended Budget Upgrade path:

Power Supply Upgrades ($500 Installed)

Superclock 4-S upgrade to unit ($295 Installed)

Superclock Power Supply Upgrade ($295 Installed)

Transport Board Capacitor Upgrades($100)

Total: $1190 installed, return shipping is $40 Fedex Ground or $95 Fedex 2-day, Full insurance

A look inside the new transformer coupled analog stage of the DV-50!

Modification Descriptions

-Power Supply upgrades/rebuild ($500 installed)
Replace stock IEC connectors and add a Furutech IEC connector for power inlet, replace all connectors and blocks with point-to-point silver wire/cotton tubing for High Voltage input to supply. Replace all critical diode bridges with RAM custom handmade exotic diode bridges featuring silver wire and ultra fast smd diodes. Replace all key capacitors in circuit with and abundance of Rubycon ZA/ZL series capacitors.

Audiocom Superclock 4 Reference Clock Upgrade ($295 Installed)-
We add a reference quality jitter reduction circuit called a Superclock 4, this a major improvement in overall sound! This replaces the master clock and offers much lower jitter rate than the stock cmos type oscillator. Expanded soundstages and accurate instrument definitions for example are the many outcomes of this major mod component. This also makes the video look better as well. This clock is about 40% better than the previous Superclock 3 and will definiately bring more of everything across the spectrum to the listner/viewer.

Audiocom Superclock Power Supply Unit ($295 Installed)-
We add a discrete power supply for the Superclock 4 that adds another level of performance to the unit. Increased dynamics and resolution is what to be expected. We further modify the power supply with Rubycon ZA/ZL capacitors to take it even further. The clock power supply is needed to truly have a matched package with the SC4 clock!!!

Transport Board Capacitor Upgrades ($100 Installed)-
We replace critical Voltage Bypass and decoupling capaciotrs with the Rubycon ZA/ZL series caps. These are incredibly faster and much higher performing than the stock smd type caps. This gives the critical transport servo and processing chips cleaner and faster power to performance to higher levels.

Copper Wire Transformer Output Stage Mods/Rebuild ($1000 Installed)
This is a complete rebuild of the stock analog output stage. We can totally redefine the Esoteric 2ch output sound to create a much larger, livier and authoritive output stage with loads of dynamics, speed and resolutiuon that not even the Top of the line UX-1 or X0-1 can even come close to matching. We replace an abundance of low quality capacitors with the Rubycon ZA/ZL series caps for both the RDOT and DAC. We Completely eliminate the output stage, and rebuild it using the Audiocom op-amp modules, High Quailty Caddock Resistors, Audio Consulting Copper Wired Coupling Transformers, and various amounts of Audio Consulting Silver wire and natural unbleached cotton. We add a set of high performance Copper WBT Nextgen RCA connectors for the closest to "no connector" connection possible. These are the best sounding RCA female chassis connectors on the market!
Now Music is so much quieter, cleaner, clearer, more vivid,more resolute with no lack of dynamics! Much more music, emotion, and drive over stock.

Silver Wire Transformer Output Stage Mods/Rebuild ($1600 Installed)
This is the ULTIMATE analog output stage. We can totally redefine the Esoteric 2ch output sound to create a much larger, livier and authoritive output stage with loads of dynamics, speed and resolutiuon that not even the Top of the line Stock UX-1 or X0-1 can even come close to matching. We upgrade a very critical voltage regulator for the RDOT circuitry to the new Audiocom Invisus regulator and replace an abundance of low quality capacitors with the Rubycon ZA/ZL series caps for both the RDOT and DAC. We Completely eliminate the output stage, and rebuild it using the Audiocom op-amp modules, High Quailty Caddock Resistors, Audio Consulting Silver Wired Coupling Transformers, and various amounts of Audio Consulting Silver wire and natural unbleached cotton. We add a set of high performance SILVER WBT Nextgen RCA connectors for the closest to "no connector" connection possible. These are the best sounding RCA female chassis connectors on the market!
Now Music is so much quieter, cleaner, more resolute with no lack of dynamics! You will be stunned! Absolutely positively a whole different world of performance. Much more music, emotion, and drive.

Customer Reviews

Send us a review and share your thoughts with other customers

Reviewer: J.Price
Mods done to clients DV-50s: Superclock 3, Superclock 3 PSU, DV50 Power Supply Upgrades ($1090 + shipping)
Date: July 15th, 2005

A couple of months ago, I had my Esoteric DV-50s (already a very good universal player) modified by Doug Jesse at Reference Audio Mods in Warren, Michigan.

Is my modified Esoteric the best in the world? Is it better than the highly touted modified Denon units? In truth, I don’t know, I haven't heard all of them.

I have heard a couple of the modified Denon units and my Esoteric is decidedly better.

I do know for certain, and can state unequivocally, that my modified Esoteric DV-50s is better than any CD, SACD, or Universal player that I have ever had in my system - - - - - period.

I have owned the Accuphase DP-85, Sony SCD-1 and Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD players - - The modified Esoteric is better than any of them.

I bought and quickly sold the McCormack UDP-1 - The Esoteric beat this unit by a wide margin.

Recent CD players made to sound inferior by the Esoteric in my system were the Lector CDP-7, Musical Fidelity A-5, Levinson No. 37 & 360s, Krell KPS 28C, Ayre CX-7.

My system consists of Spectral amp (DMA-250) & pre-amp (DMC-30SL) Basis Debut Vacuum turntable with Graham 2.2 arm & Graham Nightingale cartridge. Pass Xono phono stage, Magnepan 20.1 or Verity Parsifal Encore speakers all connected by MIT Oracle & Spectral (MIT) cables.

The areas where the modified Esoteric really shines are.

1. Soundstaging - Imaging specificity - image width, depth, and height are astounding.

2. Holographic - you are there - presentation of the music- No digital player has ever come close to presenting a true picture of the music as it is presented by the Esoteric. My turntable has a hard time equaling the presentation of the modified Esoteric DV-50s. (I'm being kind to vinyl freaks - sometimes I think that digital on my Esoteric is better than LP)

3. The sound of music - transients, attack, bass, treble, mids - all exact and real - sound like the actual instruments are in the room with you.

4. Vocalists - the right size, shape, even the right height - Singers just stand in the front of my room and start to sing. Uncanny.

5. CD, DVD-A. SACD all equally well played.

CD’s have never sounded better on my system. In most cases, they are the equal of SACD or DVD-a discs.

I am hugely impressed with the work that Doug Jesse did on my stock Esoteric unit. It sounds extraordinarily good.

My question is - Is the Esoteric DV-50s as modified by Doug Jesse at Reference Audio Mods - the best universal player in the world?

Not to re-hash an old topic with hundreds of responses.

I just want to state that the Esoteric that was beaten around so soundly in the previous posts on Audiogon, may have a new lease on life and can be an outstanding player with well planned and well executed modifications.

My stock Esoteric was very good. I was not prepared for the improvements that I found in the modified unit.

Reviewer: Tgun5
Mods done to DV-50: ONLY SUPERCLOCK 3 at time of review!
Date: January 22, 2005
Click here for this review at Audiogon

I previously posted a short review in response to what I thought was a large number of DV-50’s for sale on Audiogon. Since that posting, I’ve had many emails asking whether I felt the same now. My answer has always been yes. I’ve also had many questions as to whether I would ever change players, to which I have responded “maybe to the Esoteric X-01”.

Since I have owned a number of high-end players and prefer the sonic signature of the DV-50, the logical step would be to the X-01. That train of thought is based on the reviews of these higher priced Esoteric units. The consensus has been that each is essentially a refined form of the DV-50 with better resolution.

I have also been following the current rage about the modified Denon 3910. I believe many of my emails have to do with the modified Denon being compared to the Esoteric. To date there are at least 5 people and/or companies doing these modifications. Having owned a 3910 for use in my theatre room, the modified unit is quite an accomplishment. The stock Denon is quite simply…dead. Why not modify the Esoteric? Upon researching possible mods for the DV-50, four of the five people doing mods weren’t interested. I was actually told the DV-50 was inferior by one person.

Along comes Douglas Jesse of Reference Mods in Warren, MI. He made several recommendations to possible modifications but the one I opted to try first was the Audiocom Superclock 3. Doug indicated the Superclock 2 had improved almost every unit they ever installed it in. “The Superclock 3 is supposed to be a dramatic improvement“. He stated. This would be his first DV-50 upgrade, so he was also interested in the outcome. At $295 installed, this was a very cost effective attempt at improvement.

The theory behind the Superclock is a reduction in jitter. This is also a complaint that I heard about the Esoteric during my mod research. Supposedly, even the most expensive CD players have inferior jitter reduction circuits (clocks) and the Superclock remedies this. If the high jitter factor in the Esoteric was true, the mod should make as big of a difference as in the cheaper players.

I called Reference Mods this morning to see about picking up the completed unit. Doug said that he had listened on his system and thought there was a dramatic improvement. There was surprise in his voice as to the extent of the change. I was fortunate not to get a speeding ticket on my way to Warren.

The unit is now burning in and is at about 7 hours. The full burn-in period is 200 hours. In its current state, the improvement is very evident. More musical with better timing, air, transient attack (it was already fast), and definition. Should I dare use the word analog? – It has moved two levels up on the goosebump scale. The only negative thing I have noticed during this break-in is the extended high-end is compressed and changing by the hour. Soundstage width is slightly thinner and also getting better with each CD.

As always, the music used to evaluate my equipment consists of both SACD and Red Book, covering the gamut of musical categories. Specifically this evening, I have evaluated with Joe Sample “The Pecan Tree”, Boston Pops “Summon the Heroes”, Joyce Cooling “This Girls Got To Play”, “The Very Best of Dave Grusin”, Peter Gabriel “ Shaking the Tree”, Bob Baldwin “Standing Tall” and Keb Mo “Keb Mo”.

This modification may put the DV-50 ahead of the X-01 in performance. The mod is that good. Before you sell your Esoteric to get that newest rave unit, I recommend spending the $295.

Associated gear
Aesthetix Calypso Preamp w/Tungsram NOS
Sierra Denali Monoblocks
Magnepan 3.6 with Mye stands
Aurios bearings
Kimber Select interconnects
Monument Stage 3 speaker wire
Richard Gray 600
Supra Lorad Power cords
Zsleeve Ultras
Walker SST
Cable Risers

Similar products
Lector
TriVista
NuVista
SA-1 Marantz
& more

Feb 16, 2005 update
The player has past the 220 hour point and has not gone through any other changes. It is, as expected, just slightly better than at 50 hours. VERY Impressive. Doug did a great job on the install, and has many other options in mind. Power supply mods will be next.

Although the unit has become a little more refined, the original improvements outlined in the first post stand as stated. I'm anxious to go to the Chicago "shootout" hopefully scheduled for Feb 5th. Also hope to find someone with a UX-1 or X-01 to compare with.

Response from other Agon member after shootout:
Tgun5,
It is truly amazing that your slightly modded Esoteric DV-50 was neck-and-neck with the FULLY MODIFIED APL Denon and Modwright Sony in the shoot-out! Wow! Thats saying something!

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