DV 50-S modifications


I'd like to hear from Esoteric DV-50S owners who have had upgrades to this unit. What was the biggest changes you heard in both 2 channel and video applications? Is spending 1200 justified? What can I expect to experience with each of the upgrades? Who is reputable? Thanks all. Dave
canucks0

Showing 1 response by audionut2005

Hi,

I have had my DV-50 (not S) some weeks ago upgraded by audiocom in the UK (I live in Germany). They have I think 5 levels of modifications available. Mine was upgraded to Level 3, that includes a superclock 3 and new regulator boards. The problem in describing the sound difference and what it is worth of course lies in that I don't have an unmodified unit here for comparison and the perception of value would be different for everyone.

Anyway, going a bit out on a limp I would say that the modifications removed any traces of digital sound, improved dynamics, bass impact and resolution. I am leaving out some other things I seem to imagine because I may be just imagining those :-)

Was it worth the money? That is extremely hard to say, but for me to buy player new that would improve over the DV-50 significantly would cost way more than the mods, even factoring in the sale of the DV-50. Then I also liked the DV-50 to begin with and that has not changed since I bought it. It is extremely reliable, quiet in operation, simply a no-nonsense working piece of technology. That was something I liked to keep and a modification would not change that aspect.

My recommendation would be that if you are really happy with everything on the DV-50 (looks, reliability, etc.) a mod is probably a good idea, it will retain these good traits and bring the sonics up a bit. I am not one to say that the mod brings the DV-50 into a new league or makes a whole world of a difference. It is a good player to start with, so how could a mod make it _dramatically_ better? It is better and at this range of performance, improvements come in small but still important increments.

Can't say anything on the video, not used in my system.

Regards,

Joerg