Tclipse, I first met Steve Huntley when he did some work on my ARC preamp. Prior to this I had a pretty dim view of CD playback, but I was so impressed with Steve's work on my preamp that I traveled to his shop in Minnesota, where I had a chance to hear his modified Wadia 860. This was enough to get me looking for a CD player of my own, and I ended up paying $2000 for a used 830 off Agon. Six months later, I had Steve perform his "reference" mod on the 830, which at $1500 was not cheap, but still totaled less than a used 860. When I went to pick it up, Steve had just received a stock 860 for modification, so of course we had to compare the modified 830 to the stock 860. Long story short, we BOTH thought the 830 was better in some important ways, and I'm pretty sure even Steve was surprised at this. The gentlemen above have described well how the mod effects the sound. I would simply add that the modified 830 is easy and fun to listen to, which CD playback usually isn't, in my experience. Several years ago the 830 received a very favorable review in Stereophile. If they liked the stock unit that much, I can't imagine what they would do with a GNS modified unit!
Wadia Upgrade Question
I have heard nothing but great things about Great Northern Sound.. I am currently considering having Steve upgrade a Wadia 830... I would like to hear opinions from people who have had Wadia mods done by GNS.. What were the sonic improvements from the mods and was it worth the cost?