Great Northern Sound Co. Mods for Wadia


Has anyone had either the standard or reference modification performed on their Wadia 850? If so, how much improvement does it offer to the Wadia and is it a good value? Thanks in advance...
jla
I purchased a standard modification Wadia 850 player from Steve Huntley. I have no reference to what the player sounded like prior to the modifications. They player as modified provides music from a dead silent "black" background; very realistic, very much like live music. There is a 'palpability' to the music that makes it sound very real to me. I use the player driving my amplifier directly, and eliminating the preamp definately increases the immediacy of the sound, and provides excellent microdynamics. Mr. Huntley was extremely knowledgeable, he told me he had worked on the design of the Wadia 850 player when he worked for Wadia, so he knows the unit as well as anyone. It was a pleasure doing business with Steve Huntley, and I feel I really got a bargain on the player. I can not adequately express how much like real music (especially vocals) the sound of the modified player is. I am considering using Great Northern Sound Co. to modify a ARC VT 100 MkII.