RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS

Obtain Ultra High Performance which cannot be had from any HiFi Store...

A brief overview of which models have presented the highest results during comparisons. We can purchase and offer any manufacturer's products we choose, but we feel these brands & models offer the highest performance at each price point, with the greatest reliability.

Non-upgraded models,  even at the very highest price levels are not shielded from internal or external radio frequencies or magnetic fields from transformers and power wiring.  This corrupts the ones and zeros in the digital domain which is also radio frequency domain information, and fills the power supplies and analog circuits with a very high amount of radio frequency noise which ends up being reproduced right along with the music and video.  It uses up the power supply storage capacitors and leaves less power on tap to reproduce power demanding signals like bass.  Bottom line:  stock gear is dull flat hashy hazy, weak bass, thin forward midrange, gritty glaring highs,  and washed out in comparison to the same unit which hs been upgraded.  Please visit our PHOTOS page .

No matter how high the MSRP is, the most expensive models always contain low cost generic parts which in comparison to the same model we've upgraded, makes the stock unit sound very dull & flat with a very one dimensional small soundstage.  On the video side of things, stock video always appears slightly grainy and washed out in comparison to the same model which has our "Signature Edition upgrade".  Satellite/cable box SE upgrades offer tremendously higher performance for a small investment.

Our favorite entry-level universal players are the Oppo 93 & Oppo 95.  Above the Oppo 93/95 diminishing returns come about in terms of bluray video performance.  DVD video performance is much better in the higher priced players like the Marantz UD-9004/Denon DVD-AiUDCi/McIntosh MVP-881 (not the 871 that was a bit weak on DVD but suprerb on SACD, CD, HDCD, DVD-A's) To really improve upon the SE upgraded 95's performance one really needs to step up to the Marantz UD-9004 flagship or similar Denon DVD-A1UDCi or the similar McIntosh MVP-881 which make DVD's look like Bluray's then any other players once upgraded, still a tad better on Bluray video then the Oppo 93/95 but MUCH better sonically once upgraded on any analog or digital output. Note that the Maranta UD-9004/Denon A1UDCi and Mac 881 invert polarity on the SPDIF outputs which is a design mistake, so be sure to use HDMI or analog only on these players for the best sound.  These flagship players really shine on the video side and the analog & HDMI sound quality over any other player made.  The lower models by Marantz,and Denon Universal players are very good too, very similar in overall performance to the Oppo's.  McIntosh is coming out with a new $5500 MSRP Bluray Universal player and new $6000 MSRP prepro that promise good value for the dollar once upgraded.

The more expensive Bluray Universal player offerings like the Marantz UD-9004/Denon DVD-A1UDCi/McIntosh MVP-881 sound so much better then Oppo-based players and all other less expensive CD & Universal players.  There is no stock dedicated CD player that beats one of our SE upgraded Universal players.  The Oppo 93 & 95 Signature Edition sound preferrable to stock cost-is-no-object models out today, according to listeners around the world.  Stock CD players are all grainy digital sounding and thin: weaker bass, forward and aggressive and irritating, or way over on the dull and flat sounding side, all mushy and smeared, not precise, lush & liquid, ultra clear, high resolution against an ultra jet-black background exhibited by our SE upgraded players.  These high priced best-to date Universal players made CREAM any Oppo or Oppo-rebadged repackaged tweaked player like Cambridge, Lexicon, Ayre, Theta, etc.  Our SE upgraded Oppo 95 & 93 beat all these "re-badged" but unshielded "For Profit Built" players but our SE Oppo 93 & 95 do not  match the performance of the SE upgraded Marantz UD-9004/Denon DVD-A1UDCi/McIntosh MVP-881 Bluray Universal players.  You really and truly can purchase an SE upgraded Universal player from us that will walk all over your dealers mega-buck digital seperates.  We wouldn't have a 100% Buy Back Guarantee otherwise. We've owned and upgraded the same high priced stuff your dealer has, so we know our claims are true and that you will agree with us once you get a purchase from us home and settled into your system.

Rather then purchase a very expensive player, if you cannot afford to buy an SE upgraded prepro AND an expensive SE upgraded player, then it makes more sense to purchase an SE upgraded Oppo 93 or 95 and invest the rest into an upgraded Marantz/Onkyo/Anthem/Integra prepro next, for a huge leap up in performance, even on 2ch music only software.  You'll get sound & video that rivals the most expensive stock preamps and players.  Then if you have still more to invest we recommend investing into an SE upgraded power amplifier, TimePortal Reference power cords, and speaker cables and WireWorld Silver Starlight 6.0 HDMI cables.  Only invest in analog cables if you have an analog based system., not a digital-based prepro.  The WireWorld Silver Starlight 6.0 or top Platinum Starlight 6.0 sound FAR better then any analog connection from a player to a prepro, at least once we have upgraded both the player and prepro.  Analog is a much longer circuit path, longer circuit traces which become corrupted with RFI and EMI.  Not good.  

Next topic: power line conditioning. Start by upgrading the actual AC wall outlets outlet(s) to the MIT Z-Duplex 20amp outlet we sell.  Adding a dedicated line to the breaker panel your system is plugged into does next to NOTHING for rejection of RFI and EMI.  Everything in your house connects to each other in the breaker panel anyway.  Get a dedicated ground rod installed outside your home into the Earth itself for your system, that is more important.  It is even more important to get a bona fide power line conditioner to extract RFI & EMI out of the electricity that is powering your system, even better if the powerline conditioner maintains 120v at all times like some top models do.  Dedicated lines are still full of RFI collected out of the airwaves.  ALL wiring acts like an antenna, collecting RFI.  Powerline conditioners that do their job can be had at low price levels, many high priced audiophile powerline conditioners are quackery and bear almost no improvement during measurements or in direct comparisons.  If comparing, plug your TV/flat screen/projector into various powerline conditioners to see if the picture dramatically improves as it should.  The best powerline conditioners will dramatically improve the video and audio. Certain powerline conditioners perform sonic and visual wonders at a modest investment.  No rolled off highs or squashed dynamics or reduced bass some models exhibit.  Some are a waste of money and make no difference at all.

For dedicated music-only 2ch playback quality that is higher then the SE upgraded Universal players provide, we think highly of the upgraded McIntosh MCD-500/MCD-1100 players.  Although, EMM LABS has done wonders with the dac and circuit board design and material on the analog side of their players, they still use cheap noisy switching power supplies that contaminate the rest of the player with a high volume of RFI. Consequently, the EMM LABS XDS-1 is a compromised 1 box player at the $25,000 price level.   Once the XDS-1 and K-01 are upgraded, the Esoteric K-01 sounds cleaner and has a blacker background, with greater inner detail and greater liquidity.  The trick EMM uses to make their players sound better is to crank up the output level at the XLR and RCA jacks.  Be sure to level-match players when comparing using the input trim if your preamp has this function, or simply get out the SPL meter (Radio Shack, others) using a 1khz test tone CD to level match the players first.

NuForce, EMM Labs, Bel Canto and many other brands and models today are saving money by employing less costly switching power supplies instead of a huge copper wired power transformer feeding a pure dead quiet Class A type power supply that does not emit high doses of RFI to contaminate the rest of the player's wiring and circuitry and chipsets. RFI can travel full volume through openings or gaps smaller then the head of a pencil eraser and become collected by ALL circuitry and ALL analog and digital chipsets and ALL wiring.  The sad truth is, the $25,000 EMM LABS XDS-1 uses the exact transport and digital circuit boards from the $5000 Esoteric SA-50.  See our PHOTOS page for proof.  The XDS-1 does NOT use one of Esoteric better VRDS transports, which fully clamps the CD.  It uses a simple transport made by Pioneer.  To get the best transport mechanism,  you'll need to step up to the mighty Esoteric K-01 player or better yet Esoteric's '02 or '01 seperates, which do away with cheap noisy switch mode power supplies.

For surround sound prepro's we recommend the upgraded Marantz AV-7005 at the lowest price level over the lesser built EMOTIVA offerings. The SE upgraded Marantz AV-7005 creams the sound of any stock prepro in any showroom today.  The Onkyo Pro 5508 does it even better though, especially on the video scaler side of things.  The SE upgraded Onkyo 5508 provides dramatically improved audio and video performance over anything on the market that's stil in it's stock "For Profit Built" condition.  We like the Onkyo Pro 5508 the most all around because the McIntosh, Denon & Anthem top prepro are all much more money for only slightly better performance once upgraded. Stock, they all pale next to the SE upgraded Onkyo Pro 5508.  We should note that the video is soft on the Marantz AV-7005 due to simple low cost circuits and low cost video chips Marantz went with, which results in low video resolution and a washed out image.  They had to cut corners somewhere. Above the Onkyo Pro we passed over Classe & Krell's prepro offerings as they were not as good once upgraded as the Onkyo 5508.  Above the Onkyo 5508 we'd say step up into the McIntosh MX-120 or MX-150, although neither will pass 3D video, many of you have decided to forgo 3D for the time being.  The top Denon AVR-5308Ci and Denon's AVP prepro can be upgraded with a new $999 kit from Denon we can install to have 3D video capability etc.  If you need 3D and a little higher performance then the Onkyo 5508, then step up to the latest Anthem Statement prepro if you cannot swing a new McIntosh MX-150.  However Anthem's prepro's do not sound as good as the McIntosh prepro's, even the discontinued MX-120 once upgraded.

If money is tight there is no reason to feel bad for purchasing a cost-effective SE upgraded A/V receiver:  the top of the line models still beat stock expensive seperates! RFI & EMI shielding and upgraded parts are the keys...

If you have not tried an SE upgraded McIntosh or Mark Levinson preamplifier in your system, you should.  The sound they provide once upgraded beats out stock top line Audio Research, CJ, CAT, BAT, Bel Canto, Krell EVO and other high end preamplifiers due to their being contaminated wth RFI & EMI and low cost parts and noisier designs and switch-mode power supplies.  McIntosh preamplifiers often have added features such as headphone outputs or dead quiet high performance room equalization, and digital inputs in the new C-48 & C-50 preamplfiers. Most McIntosh preamps start out as passive preamps until the volume is turned beyond a certain point, then active gain steps in for greater gain, greater dynamics, and increased bass slam and top end sparkle.  McIntosh preamplifiers have pretty good power supply designs, not cheaper noisier switching mode supplies other brands get by on to save costs.

If you're only into 2ch analog and have no use for a surround prepro or video, then we recommend that you invest into a brand new upgraded McIntosh C-48 or C-50 w/ Room EQ or step up to the C-500 tubed or solid state 2 chassis preamplifier, or all the way to the mighty C-1000 tubed or solid state 3 chassis preamplifier. The C-48 & C-50 preamplifiers are little different then the tubed McIntosh C-220 & C-2300 preamplifiers, no digital inputs, no Room EQ.  Way down at the low end of 2ch preamplifiers, the tiny NuForce P-8S or P-9 preamp once upgraded presents good value.  One may also consider a used McIntosh preamplifier such as a used C-46 with Room EQ, or the multi-channel C-45 which both sound truly excellent once upgraded and hit WAY beyond their investment level.

Mark Levinson gear we should mention, no longer sounds dark and closed in and and on the dead side.  Clear, lively, accruate and musical after being upgraded with The Upgrade Company's technology.

McIntosh amplifiers are fantasic once upgraded.  The secret to their huge, lush, liquid, high resolution sound they provide is the unique McIntosh AutoFormer output transformer.  This makes the amplifier perform it's very best regardless of the speaker it is connected to, unlike other solid state amplifiers, which do not have an output transformer and modulate during actual listening because all speakers put out a reverse signal called back-EMF that ends up modulating the amplifiers output transistors,  resulting in huge instantaneous peaks of IMD distortion.  Translation:  thin, peaked, irritating sound as you turn it up loud.  Output transformers are part of the reason why many have preferred tubed power amplifiers until hearing a McIntosh solid state power amplifier.

We really like how well the upgraded McIntosh MC-2301, MC-1.2Kw & MC-601 monoblocks perform, and even the little MC-302 has the familiar McIntosh sound: big clear airy and musical. Great bargains can be had now on used McIntosh amplifiers such as the 402, 252 and 501 monoblocks.  Keep in mind that amplifier manufacturers including McIntosh, use cheap unshielded low cost wiring that's crimped with corroded aluminum connectors instead of being silver soldered due to time to manufacture constraints.  Manufacturers cannot duplicate The Upgrade Company's shielding.  The power cord wiring inside amplifiers is always unshielded and is contaminated with both RFI & EMI, ruining the amplifiers true potential because it's reproducing radio frequencies & EM right along with the music, creating excess demands on the amplifier's power supplies as well as the transistors and vacuum tubes making the music.  The wiring carrying the power out of the main power supply to the actual amplifying circuit boards is also always unshielded and contaminated with RFI & EMI, regardless of manufacturer.  This lack of shielding makes the amplifier sound dull and flat, and actually reduces the amplifiers power output having to reproduce "out of band" signals right along with the music.

For those who desire a simple player-amplifier system devoid of a preamplifier, clients like the lush & liquid, very musical and involving yet incredibly resolving, McIntosh MCD-500 or MCD-1100 both of which can drive power amplifiers directly with thier 12 volt internal preamp XLR & RCA outputs other brands simply cannot match directly into power amps.  McIntosh did the variable volume outputs right!

 Low priced models - Too many to name them all, but here are some brands listed alphabetically that are worth upgrading if you cannot afford to buy new & upgraded:

• Arcam -prepro's, amplifiers, CD/SACD/DVD/Universal players alphebetically listed
• Benchmark DAC's
• Bryston - amplifiers, CD player is not bad but no match at all for the 32bit Oppo/NuForce 95, upgraded vs upgraded
• Denon -  All models upgrade very well

• Eastern Electric
• Emotiva - very cheaply built, lot of room for improvement.  Go with Marantz
• Havana DACs - single ended or balanced, both offer USB/Coax/toslink digital inputs
• Marantz - upgrades to higher performance then Denon, Sony, Pioneer, NAD, EMOTIVA due to better build quality from the start
• NUFORCE - Monoblock & Mutli-channel amplifiers, preamplifiers, dac, music server, 
• Oppo BDP-93, BDP-95 3D Blu-ray Universal players, BDP-83 BDP-83 "Special Edition" players
• Onkyo & Integra prepro's, guaranteed to outperform almost all stock high end 2ch preamps and prepro's, video
• Pioneer Elite -  BDP-09 Bluray player & A/V recievers have a lot more performance in store 
• Rotel -  Decent but stick with Marantz, far better designed and built, better sounding
• Sim Audio - older used models that can now be had cheap in the used market
• Sony ES - some models
• Theta - used older Theta dac's like the Gen Va, Pro Basic llla, Prime lla. 

Mid priced models - Too many to name all, here are some brands that upgrade well, call us for more exact model recommendations

• Anthem - prepro's and amplifiers
• Audible Illusions - tubed preamplifiers, not as good as others though
• Ayon - Well designed capable of far higher performance
• BAT - Well designed capable of far higher performance 
• Bryston - Amps are star of line, magazine raves over player and dac are out of line, others cream them like McIntosh & Oppo
• Classe - Well designed capable of far higher performance
• Conrad Johnson -
• EMM Labs - used older models, transorts will need replacing they die preamturely
• ESOTERIC - Well designed capable of far higher performance 
• LINN - Well designed capable of far higher performance 
• Luxman
• Marantz - upgrading removes the veiling and mushiness, haze and low resolution of stock models. 
• Mark Levinson - Used. We can repair as well as upgrade, including problematic transports.  Night & Day on latest Mark Levinson
• McIntosh - Our favorite line to upgrade.  Huge improvements over stock, most musical and trouble free, holds value well. MC-402 great amp to upgrade, C-45/46
• Meridian - Well designed capable of far higher performance  
• Musical Fidelity 
• NAIM 
• Primare - Well designed capable of far higher performance
• PS Audio- PerfectWave transport & PerfectWave dac are stars of the line, capable of far higher performance
• SIM Audio - Well designed capable of far higher performance 
• Theta Digital - In many instances we can repair and restore older models.  Gen Va dac is a great dac to upgrade.
• Wadia - Way overpriced for performance.  No high end parts, no shielding over wiring or parts, huge room for improvement

High priced "Cost-is-no-object" models - Alphabetically listed,  we've had great customer feedback on:

• Accuphase
• Accustic Arts
• Audio Research
• Ayon
• Ayre
• BAT 
• LAMM
• Burmester 
• Conrad Johnson 
• Convergent Audio Technology 
• dCs 
• EMM LABS - XDS-1, CDSA-SE, CDSD-SE, DAC6e-SE, DAC-2, DCC-2SE, Switchman, etc
• ESOTERIC - All models even their preamp and amps are capable of tremendously higher performance.  Including Esoteric's flagship $64,000 P-01/D-01/G-0Rb 5-box CD/SACD player
• Gryphon
• Krell
• Mark Levinson 
• MBL 
• McIntosh 
• Meridian 
• Reimyo
• Theta - Casablanca (all variations) Gen 8 dac, Casa Nova,
• Wadia 
• Weiss

The Upgrade Company "Signature Edition" upgrade dramatically improves stock flagship,"Class A rated", "Editors Choice" top rated models .

Typically you can expect to reap a minimum of 10 times your upgrade investment in terms of buying a more expensive model. 

For example, our SE upgraded Oppo BDP-95 32 bit Universal players directly competes with the finest music-only players available.  We know they do, we've had most every high end model here.  An upgraded mid-priced or flagship preamp made within the past 5 years can cream stock "cost-is-no-object" preamps appearing today in magazines as a top pick.  The Upgrade Company has made tremendous advances that result in the very best S/N ratio and frequency response measurements in the industry.  The very highest priced models still have higher performance in store given the best parts/wiring/dampening and shielding inside.  Again manufacturers do not do everything they can possibly do.  I know you're sure we're telling a big fat lie here, but we're not. We put our money where our mouth is.  The Upgrade Company continues to remain debt free and highly profitable, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in upgrades year after year.  If we did not provide our clients what we claim, that would not be the case at all.  we would not be A+ rated by the nationwide BBB. 

Starting at just $299 we can update any previous upgrade we've performed to keep it current and ensure that it meets today's performance standards.  The Upgrade Company continues to innovate and improve both audio and video reproduction through our innovations in RF and EM shielding and attenuation, to parts selections and combinations, to high cost dampening materials like the $100 an ounce brush on RF & EM & vibration dampening product we use.  You can expect a much larger more 3D soundstage, much blacker background, far heftier bass output, silkier more lush mids and highs, improved S/N, THD and IMD figures, greater liquidity and transparency. Much more musical and engaging, zero fatigue, zero glare, zero etch, zero grit.  We can install an entirely new transport & laser aseembly, all new mechanicals, to make an older player new again. Once we've certified an upgrade to "Signature Edition", you can expect it to perform to "cost-is-no-object" levels.  We want our customers to know we stand behind our older upgrades even if performed 5-10 years ago, which are not even near todays standards: We'll help keep performance current with the finest equipment made today by updating the older upgrade with our new RFI/EMI shielding and parts selections starting at just $299+return shipping.  Units purchased in the used marketplace may have been tinkered with by their owners or other modifiers and are no longer working anywhere near our performance levels. 

The Upgrade Company LLC continues to earn high praise from audiophiles the world over & a few couragous reviewers from time to time.  We enjoy helping consumers get the most bang for their buck.  Manufacturers want consumers to stick with them and purchase their new models.  This makes sense with digital components where firmware and chipsets are ever evolving, then send it into us to get the unit properly shielded and dampened, and high cost parts installed.  Amplifier & preamplifier analog circuits and power supply designs have not really improved over time except to get less costly, they continue to be built with "For Profit Motive" parts and wiring with little if any RFI/EMI shielding, which has an even greater impact then the high end parts do.   We've pioneered many approaches to improving audio and video performance over the past 30 years which many manufacturer's have started employing on flagship models to a small degree.

Our warranty period matches the manufacturer's warranty on new sales and provides a total of 5 years parts and labor on upgrades.  The Upgrade Company is the only aftermarket modification firm that provides a 100% Buy Back Guarantee even when we upgrade a model you already own.

SEE PHOTOS