Unsolicited Customer Testimonials
The majority of our testimonials were emailed directly from the customer on their own merit. Some are merely excerpts from online posts, used with the customers' permission.

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NEW April, 2010

Oppo 83 Special Edition and NuForce Oppo 83 Special Edition

David,

I'm writing this and including a picture we took because I'm still flat-out amazed.

I made an appointment with David to trek 5 hours up to Harbor Springs to spend an afternoon at The Upgrade Company comparing the stock versus upgraded Oppo 83 Special Edition and NuForce Oppo 83 Special Edition players. I was contemplating purchasing one if I liked what I heard.

David put on a new OPPO 83 Special Edition player he'd just upgraded. We double blind A-B compared it against an entire Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0Rb 3 box digital CD/SACD system worth about $40,000 when you include the Transparent Reference cabling to hook it all up. The "upgraded" Oppo beat it bad. Right off the bat. Since I'd just met David an hour earlier I was in disbelief and had to literally pull the interconnect cables from each one as it was playing to believe it.

When I arrived I'd offered to help David unbox the heavy Esoteric P03/D03/G0Rb set that had just been delivered earlier that day. I helped him carry it inside and set it on the demo rack. The P03 transport weighed about 70 lbs alone, the D03 dac not far behind. The 3 Esoteric boxes were all still sealed, I actually broke all the tape myself with the box cutters. Each box had his customers shipping labels on them, so I asked David to track the shipments and show me when they arrived. UPS.com showed all 3 boxes had just been delivered less then 2 hrs ago that day. I had David pull the tops off he 3 Esoteric pieces to see if they were indeed still stock, and they all looked original, and the screws showed no signs of prior removal, and I looked close.

I think anyone would agree with me that the upgraded Oppo creamed the Esoteric P03/D03/G0Rb set. My girlfriend sure did. Not only did we both find the sound of the Oppo to be far larger and more open and more musical with much higher resolution, the Oppo's bass was real quick and deep and just slammed. The Esoteric had very weak bass, a small soundstage and it sounded aggressive, forward and harsh sounding. When we switched to the OPPO 83SE, the treble and mids were clear as a bell, intelligible and detailed. I checked behind everything to see if there were different power cords or analog interconnects. Everything looked the same. David offered to switch the power cords and interconnects on the OPPO and D-03 dac around just to further eliminate variables. He did so, I heard the exact same results. We then switched duplicate discs back and forth, same results. We swapped various power cords and interconnects, still the upgraded OPPO always was way ahead sonically. Volumes were level matched as to within 0.1dB using a digital tripod mounted SPL level meter.

We let both the Esoteric and OPPO play on repeat using identical discs, power cords and interconnects for a couple of hours on that demo system while we hung out and checked out his place and the other systems. Couple of hours later, the OPPO ended up pulling even farther ahead as it warmed up. The Esoteric set was reported to be 2 years old and well used, so it had plenty of burn-in on it. David said the Oppo was brand new & shipping out to it's new owner shortly. So clearly the Oppo had a disadvantage being brand new. The Esoteric's Transparent Reference AES-EBU and MIT BNC-BNC clock cables were reported to be 4 years old, so in my eyes the cables were not holding the Esoteric back at all. Switching to the upgraded OPPO was like letting the dog off the leash. Woosh!

David switched, I listened. I switched and listened. David paused each player to show which one was playing after I had voiced my preference as to which sound I Iiked better. This way it was truly double blind.

We also put in and double blind A-B'd an Upgrade Co. upgraded NuForce 83SE that had about 40 hours of burn-in on it, and we double blind AB-'d some other "modded" players, some older Upgrade Co. upgraded players, and yet more stock expensive players including an $11,500 EMM LABS CDSA player which I expected would easily surpass the upgraded Oppo 83SE, but it did not, not in any way whatsoever. However when David pulled out his upgraded EMM LABS CDSA it creamed the NuForce, as would be expected out of an upgraded $11,500 player with a pricey upgrade.

I'd heard about Denon 5910's being popular to mod so I asked to hear one. David had on hand a 2 year old SE upgraded Denon 5910 that was traded in, and it too was also better then the stock P-03/D-03/G0Rb and all of the other players we tried including the stock EMM LABS CDSA and the other modded & stock players. I got the sense that Upgrade Co. has improved a whole lot over the years, because the 5910 was clearly not in the league of the Oppo/NuForce 83SE's that were upgraded.

I wanted to demo the upgraded McIntosh MVP-881, but unfortunately they did not have one in stock the day I was there. David claims the upgraded McIntosh 881 player is even better sounding then the NuForce 83SE. They did have a new stock Denon DVD-A1UDCi, but not an upgraded one on hand. The Denon didn't sound very good at all stock, rather poor. David says the Denon performs slightly better on video then the Oppo/NuForce, but I'm more interested in sound then video performance.

Overall I liked the NuForce Oppo 83SE with the Signature Edition upgrade the best of all the players I heard that day. The NuForce 83SE Signature Edition upgraded had the most bass slam and overall clarity. It threw a humongous soundstage, had great bass slam and definition, and it sounded the most musical and analog. I also liked your upgraded EMM LABS CDSA and upgraded Esoteric DV-60 players, they were better then the NuForce but out of my budget.

I heard clear and utterly convincing sonic variations between each and every player. Some were clearly worse and some were clearly better. There was not one stock player that I could live with after hearing the upgraded players. Only when heard next to an upgraded player did I find that stock players have a characteristic "whitish" hazy background and overall lack of clarity, lack of bass weight, veiled ill-defined mids and scratchy/screechy highs and mids, a characteristic lack of musicality, lack of dimensionality, generally flat, small, rolled off, and boring sounding. I don't want to slam manufacturer's or other modders, but I can tell you it was a real eye opener. I can now see why Upgrade Company is the only one who can provide a 100% Buy-Back Guarantee and still stay in business after all these years. They had lots of customer's stuff in there waiting to be upgraded.

If Upgrade Co. was not so far off the beaten path so that others could drive up and hear what I heard, there would be a lot less skepticism.

The work you do at The Upgrade Company stands alone and is unmatched in my eyes. It is quite impressive to see you take a stock $899 Oppo 83 Special Edition and far surpass the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0Rb set wired with high dollar Transparent Reference cables. Most people do not believe in upgrades/mods. I too was skeptical and did not believe your claims until I performed live double blind A-B comparisons myself and checked all the wiring and eliminated every possible variable I could.

For roughly $2500 you are giving the audiophile community an incredible deal in the Oppo/NuForce players.

Thanks for everything. You are truly a gifted man.

Anthony Beauchene

Kalamazoo, Michigan

New March 2010

David,

I was happy to refer Gabe to you. Like I told him, The Upgrade Company´s products and services are truly a "Best Buy" in the High-End Audio market. Especially today when so much of the advertising and reviews of products is just pure hype.

Your Products and Upgrades speak for themselves. (Onkyo/Integra prepro's especially) Your guarranty? What can I say "It's the best you can get". It's a win-win scenario.

I know that Gabe will be as happy as Rick and I have been with the actual quality of the product. Have a great vacation.

Ron in CA

NEW December 22, 2009

OPPO BDP-83 "Signature Edition" Upgrade

I wanted to get back to you regarding the Oppo BDP-83 you upgraded for me with your Signature Edition mods. You know the history I have with you and your mods over the past nearly 5 years and you know the equipment I've had on hand here which includes an APL modded Esoteric, Underwood "Ultimate Edition modded" Marantz SA-11 with the tubed ultimate mod that Underwood charged big bucks for, and the highly regarded EMM CDSA-SE SACD/CD player stock I have also owned a few mid-fi components in the likes of Marantz SA-1, Sony SCD-1, Arcam CD-92, Arcam CD33t.

The first piece I had you upgrade for me nearly 5 years ago was a Marantz SA12 S1 SACD/CD player and I very much liked what you had done to this unit . After a year or so went by you sent me an Upgrade Co Denon 2900 to try out because you said you had found more ways to improve upon digital players. As you know I bought the Denon 2900 from you and I ended up selling the Marantz SA12 to a good friend of mine who still uses it to this day. He has also demo'd a few of the latest high dollar players wondering if he got his money's worth but your SE upgraded Marantz has stayed in his system and he loves its performance. Well about two years ago you told me that I should try moving up the ladder and find a good deal on a Denon 5910Ci and then send it to you for your latest upgrade so I did and then sold the Denon 2900 which I understand is still playing great for the owner of a major big name veteran speaker manufacturer. When I had the 2900 I had the opportunity to listen to the APL Esoteric, Underwood modded Marantz SA-11 and the EMM CDSA. Your SE upgraded Denon 2900 easily outperformed the first two but the EMM was a struggle. It did hold it's own which was an amazement to both my wife and I. The APL and Underwood went out the door and the EMM CDSA stayed a little longer. I decided to send you a Denon 5910Ci to upgrade and you promised me that the 5910 would surpass the EMM with ease and it did. This was done two years ago and I have been a very happy listener ever since!

Two years go by and you tell me that your parts selection and techniques have further improved but I was just happy with what I had and didn't want to invest more money at that point. I was just to busy to do too much. Well, Blu-ray came on the scene and was growing rapidly.so I knew I wanted to get a Blu-ray player next. I'd been reading about the Oppo BDP-83 and the price looked great in regards to the reviews. But you know I had really been looking at the Denon 3800BDCi Blu-ray and almost pulled the trigger at one point on one but never did. Then one day you emailed me and asked If I had seen the new Oppo and I told you I had and you said I really needed to hear one of these upgraded. As you know I decided to buy a new Oppo 83 online and play it for a while to hear what it was like in stock form. It wasn't bad for a $499 player. RBCD was pretty weak and strident and SACD was better than I thought it was going to be. Perhaps close to a stock Denon 5910. One thing I noticed about the stock Oppo in regards to its house sound was it's texture and bite. The stock 5910 is more of a pansy in this area. Perhaps a bit more listenable at higher volumes but I think the Oppo has more detail retrieval and is better at lower volumes. But, as you turn up the volume on the stock Oppo the sound gets pretty bright and hard which fatigues the listener fast. I ended up putting about 500 hours on the stock Oppo which did help it relax a bit, but it was still miles behind the upgraded Denon 5910Ci you did a couple of years ago for me.

As you know I still was not sure I wanted to pour money into my new Oppo, but I was really wanting to know what it's true capabilities were. The Oppo BDP83 plays all of the formats even HDCD and the video is outstanding, so with your 100% money back guarantee, I pulled the trigger and sent it off to you. The whole time it was gone I was listening to the Denon and saying to myself there is no way the Oppo is going to be better than this but you kept telling me that I am going to be very surprised.

When the OPPO arrived there was excitement in the air. I took it out of the box and let it come up to room temp and then plugged it into an outlet for a little longer and spun a disc. Once it was warm I put it on the shelf by the Denon. The Denon was playing this whole time as well. I then unhooked all cabling from the Denon and put it on the Oppo and went through all of the settings. Now I was ready to throw in a disc. The Denon was playing Dixie Chicks on HDCD so of course this is what I was going to put in the Oppo. I wanted this disc because of the female vocals and is recorded well. Their voices on some songs are very peaky in the upper midrange and the stock Oppo absolutely fell apart at moderate volumes (70db at listening position). Same thing on the higher notes on a piano. The stock Oppo would just really ping and harden. Well, when I hit play I was not expecting too much at first because it has only been in the house for a couple of hours. When the first note played there was a bigger sense of liveliness that was more revealing than the Denon 5910. Within the first 10 seconds my skin crawled and chills went up my spine. The vocals were very immediate and big and the hardened glare was completely gone which was so prevalent in the stock Oppo and to a similar degree on the stock EMM Labs CDSA. The Oppo was playing bigger and more forceful than the Denon and EMM and the detail retrieval was already better. The soundstage had great layering. Then it really hit me when I put on few tracks with heavy bass and percussion: The bass had massively changed and the music became tremendously more involving.

I am absolutely stunned by the transformation over the stock Oppo. Your upgraded 83 just crushed the already superb performance of my TUC SE upgraded 5910Ci sitting right next to it.
And the Denon beat the EMM LABS CDSA!

Now that I've had the TUC Oppo 83 for a month all I can say is how do you do it?
Not that I really care how, but it is amazing what you have achieved out of a $499 player.
I know that my Denon 5910Ci has a two year old Signature Edition upgrade, but it bettered the stock fully burned in EMM CDSA SE I demo'd in my system right next to it. I have no idea what digital at any price could rival your upgraded Oppo 83, and personally I don't really care. The fact that you can transform a $499 player to this magnitude is beyond me and must say it is worth much more than the Signature Edition upgrade investment.. All of money I have spent on cabling and the speakers I bought have not come close to the performance leap I got out of this Signature Edition upgraded Oppo 83.

Great job and of course I will send my Denon 5910Ci to you for your newest work!

Best Regards,
Paul Canady, Nevada

NEW November 2009

Nuforce/Denon Upgrades

Been a while since I've written you. Three weeks ago I visited a Hi-End store in San Antonio Texas. I had the chance to hear a $200,000 stereo system, latest top of the line all McIntosh. Huge speakers with three piece amps per channel to drive them.

McIntosh transport and DAC, and their beautiful top line tubed preamp. It sure looked awesome, the sound was incredibly loud, loud enough to drive a football stadium, but my system around a pair of your upgraded Nuforce amps, matching upgraded Nuforce preamp and your upgraded Denon 3910 from way back, played through my Wilson Watt Puppy 5.1's or even my B&W 802N's, sounds a lot better! Much more realistic, better separation between the instruments, darker background, less haze and noise, far more musical.

I would not change the sound of my system for the sound of the $200,000 top of the line McIntosh one.

Thanks a lot.
Sincerely,
Alfredo Piñeyro-Garza

NEW September, 2009

A/V Computer "Signature Edition" upgrade w/CD, SACD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD playback capabilities:

After talking on three occasions with David Schulte about my system I made the commitment to send in my dedicated A/V computer to the Upgrade Company for the Signature Edition modification. He told me that he had achieved substantial improvements through replacement of the wiring and addition of shielding. Being a former member for twenty-two years of a major symphony orchestra I consider myself discriminating when it comes to instrumental and vocal timbre, so I must admit a small part of me wondered if I had made the right decision. The long and short of it is...did I ever!!

From the very beginning I was able to pick up on nuances I had never noticed before, particularly in the area of percussion instruments. Each drum head had its own character and level of resonance; and yet something was not quite right with the whole picture. It was as though the system was trying to find its voice, but was not successful in doing so. The bass, while much more present than before the modifications, was not always well-defined. Certain frequencies throughout the spectrum would assert themselves in ways that seemed out of balance at times.

This all changed dramatically after about fifty hours of break-in and continued to improve long afterward (as David said it would). The sound in my room took on more flesh and muscle with each new selection on the hard drive, and it did not matter whether I was listening to the Tales of Narnia soundtracks, the Dale Warland Singers, James Taylor in live concert, or Christopher Parkening and Jubilant Sykes revealing their gifts in intimate ensemble in a recording studio. One could always sense the characteristics of the venue in which the recording was made, and the ability to have "the best seat in the house", receiving all the detail I could ever process without getting bleeding ears, is something that draws me back again and again to the music room.

For those of you that are sitting on the fence trying to decide if Signature Edition upgrades are for you please trust David Schulte and you will be rewarded with countless hours of enjoyment from your components. If the pursuit of musical realism without listening fatigue is your primary goal, then you should seriously consider the Upgrade Company as the first step in getting out of the “Gear of the Month Club".

Thank you, David, for your passion for music and your standard of excellence!

Lewis Rosove, WI

NEW July, 2009

David,

Here are some comments for Upgrade Co's website on the Nuforce P-8 and Ref 9.V2 monoblocks:

My system now contains the following SE upgraded units from Upgrade Company:
-          Esoteric X-03 SE
-          Nuforce P-8 pre
-          Nuforce Ref 9.02 V2 SE monoblock amplifiers
-          SIM Audio Moon LP 5.3 LP phono stage

Other equipment:
Speakers:  Audio Physic Calderas, Vinyl:  Rega P-9+Rega Apheta ,

I have already given feedback on the wonderful "Signature Edition" Upgrade Company performed on my Esoteric X-03 SE I purchases directly from David brand new from Esoteric last year.  This player is now the cornerstone in my set up together with the Calderas, that never change.  The X-03SE was the first product I upgraded with David Schulte& Upgrade Co. It never disappoints.   The SE upgraded Esoteric and the Audio Physics Caldera's show the tiniest changes in the setup.

Now to the NuForce's:  when David Schulte first recommended the SE upgraded NUForce P-8 and REF9.02 SE V2's,  at these products I was a bit skeptical;  could these products really even stand  a chance against the big boys?

Well, I read some reviews and saw that NuForce was not typical class D stuff.   My amplification at the time was a  Gryphon Diablo MSRP $15000.  I was hopeful the NuForce would be better, but I was not prepared for just how good these little boxes are.

Well,  I purchased the NuForce.  Cold out of the box, I could hear there was a great potential!  I let them play a couple of days, then let them have some decent power cable which resulted in a big soundstage.  Wonderfully relaxed but dynamic, clear, very deep bass and beautiful velvety sound. Out went the Gryphon…

The sound was so good, that I had to bring the upgraded P-8 preamp and the upgraded Esoteric X-03SE to a friend who has the stock Esoteric UX-01 and the Evolution 2 pre monos that cost usd $20,000 each. The P-08 alone not even warmed up was damned close to the Krell pre, and together with the X-03SE this combo smoked the UX-01/Evo 2 set up!  I am to this day still astonished, frankly shocked and glad at the same time.   My friend could not believe his ears, and thanks David, you really do something to the electronics that shock the established high end companies.

Paul Fløholm, Norway

NEW July, 2009

For the record, I've owned an Upgrade Company Denon 2900 for 3 years, an Upgrade Co. Forte 4A Pure Class A amplifier, and Upgrade Co. AES AE-3 tubed preamp.  I have heard direct A-B comparisons directly against many very high priced models that Dave has upgraded.  I was very fortunate to live within an hour so when The Upgrade Company was down in the Kalamazoo area before relocating 4 hours to the north, so I'd stop in now and then to hear different pieces Upgrade Company had from customers or on hand for demo's.

I have been able to hear my SE upgraded Denon 2900 player compared to the stock and Upgrade Co upgraded $10,000 EMM Labs 1-box player CDSA-SE, the stock and upgraded Reimyo CDP-777, the stock and SE upgraded Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition, a stock Wadia 581SE, to be honest you would be totally wasting your money to pay $5000-$20,000 for a player.  My inexpensive SE upgraded Denon 2900 has made every stock player I directly A-B'd on the same power cords and interconnects and software in double blind A-B comparisons sound thin, gritty and dull and flat, exactly as Dave describes it.  Dave is a good person that believes in giving his customers State of the Art sound without taking out a 2nd mortgage on their home.

  As for Audiogon they have been pressured by EMM Labs and other company's to remove The Upgrade Company, so much for free enterprise and freedom of speech!
 
 Brian Borgman, Grand Rapids Michigan

NEW July, 2009

Carlos,

I completely understand your concerns…

I carefully researched the work that all the modifiers were doing and The Upgrade Company was clearly the only one that had the right approach for me…

I have been in “High-End” audio for over 30 years and worked in the industry as a retailer and a distributor. I have seriously auditioned, serviced and/or sold: Mark Levinson, McIntosh, Linn, Naim, Quad, Theta, Stax, Denon, Sumiko, Ayre, Sequerra, Rega, SME, Mitchell, Thorens, Marantz, Sony, Yamaha, Klipsch, JBL, Nakamichi, Ortophon, Magnepan, Luxman, Onkyo, Parasound/Halo, Krell, Vandersteen, Threshold, Nelson Pass Labs, Wilson Audio, Audio Research, Bryston, Conrad Johnson, B&W, PS Audio, Roland, Canton, Gale, Thiel, PSB, Snell, Dyna-Audio, KEF, Revel, Pioneer, Rogers, Lexicon, ProAc, Avalon, Focal, AKG, Sennheiser, Grado, Headroom, Etomotic Research, Velodyne, Acoustic Zen, Audioquest, DH Labs, Cardas, Spendor,… and those are just the ones I can remember…  
The Denon 3910-SE in question made my Levinson/Theta combo it replaced sound broken.
I can tell you with 100% confidence that when you put one of Dave’s mods in your system (not matter how good you may think the rest of your components are…) the superb performance of any SE Digital Player from the Upgrade Company will stand-out and you will immediately notice where you have real weak links in your system. For me those weak links were a Levinson Digital Transport, a Theta D/A converter, a BIG Levinson power amp, expensive A/Q cables…

My current system is Magnepan MG 20’s, (2) Vandersteen 2Wq Subs, Parasound Halo JC-1’s, Parasound Halo JC-2, McIntosh MVP-871-SE, Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II’s IC’s, Cardas Golden Reference Blacks SC’s, Exact Power EP15A , PS Audio Outlets, PA Audio Noise Traps and Cardas Wood Blocks. I have listened to many systems and some way more expensive than what I have… and I still find my system to be superior in definition, superior in frequency response and tonal range, much lower in distortion and absolutely transformational in its’ three dimensional presentation…

In addition, Dave makes a total commitment to you when you are one of his customers… Where can you find that in audio today? Where can yon find that in any business today?
Do yourself a BIG FAVOR… You have found what you are looking for… So get to know Dave and get one of The Upgrade Company's "Signature Edition" mods…!!!

Good Luck,

PS, The 6’ long true ribbon tweeters in the MG-20’s or 20.1’s are much more revealing, lower in distortion and more accurate than any dynamic tweeters ever made… And that is how I critically listen to and evaluate equipment and recordings… And in my room… anyone, including my wife and friends, can tell how good Dave’s mods really are… it’s very, very simple for me…

Doug Reller, Florida

May, 2009

Dear David,

Thank you so much for SE Upgrade work that you have done to my Toshiba SD-9200 player. Not even close to the break in period you had recommended, it is  way better than my Jolida tubed CD player I have. I'm loving it. Now I am wishful to upgrade my Eastern Mini-Max pre-amp if you can give me a quote.

Again Thank you so much. Wonderful job.

Regards,

Glen Onato, Hawaii

December, 2008

Name: Dan Thomason
Subject: Signature Upgrade on Simaudio Moon lp 5.3

Dear Dave,

  I just wanted to write in to say what an outstanding job you've done on my LP 5.3 phono preamp. Now that it's got a few more hours of break-in time, what I'm hearing is reminiscent of some of the absolutely best-sounding analog front ends I've heard, not a Signature Scout with a good cartridge. (Dynavector XX2MKII). I must say, I'm not surprised, since my entire system is beyond belief, to me, for what it is.

  I'll list the upgrades:
  Marantz DV8300
  Musical Fidelity A3/24 DAC
  Genesis Digital Time Lens
  Aragon 3002 power amp
  and now, Simaudio Moon LP 5.3

All this drives a pair of Dynaudio Contour 5.4's, and I'll add that I'm using a passive pre, a Sonic Euphoria.

This system, in spite of its modest components, is a tremendous performer. I have no desire to change anything. Audio satisfaction, a seemingly rare commodity, is at hand, and here to stay.
 

Thanks David, for all you've done, and all the free advice!
Dan B. Thomason

Hi Dave,

Sorry for the delay in responding.
Please feel free to include the following on your website:

My Audio Note 3.1x balanced Dac came back to me a few days ago, following my upgraded Spectral SDR-3000 transport a few weeks earlier.  Both were upgraded to Signature Edition. 

The transformation of the upgraded machines is really remarkable.  The most striking improvement at first was the quality of timbres: because of the vastly increased level of detail, timbres are much more natural, with a more "concrete" presentation. The dynamic range seems larger than before, with increased resolution of finer details throughout. The background is cleaner, and the separation between instruments better than ever.  After a few days of breaking-in, stage depth seems to increase.

There is no trace of harshness or hardness (not that there was much before, but I had noticed the occasional glare) in spite of the increased extension in frequencies.

All in all, I am very satisfied with the results. I look forward to further improvements as the machines get broken-in, but right out of the box, the Signature Edition upgrades were nothing short of spectacular. 

Joel Durand

*UPDATE*

Hi Dave,

Well, it wasn't all that hard after all: the sound has indeed quite improved, probably not exactly at the 300 hour-mark, but definitely since I got the dac back. There is now just as much detail and transparency as before, but the whole perspective has been enlarged: further back, further on the sides, just really really spacious; the sense of space is quite phenomenal. I believe there is also a bit more extension in the high register. Musicians are locked-in in position, stable and very clearly separated. Lovely, really.

Thanks again!

Joel

Denon AVP-1HD Preamp Processor

When I first purchased my Denon AVP I was happy with its functionality, and it had a crisp detailed dynamic sound.  But it was also thin, somewhat gritty and had no bass.  After David did his magic it became something entirely different, with a rich full sound, deep powerful bass, plenty of dynamics and much smoother than before.  It also has plenty of soundstage depth and focus.  It completely walks all over the Theta Casablanca I had, which I used to believe was the king of pre/pro’s and could not be touched.  Highly recommended, but only if you have David make it what it can be. 

Pioneer 95 Blu-ray player

When David sent me the modified Pioneer 95 to try, I had been using a stock Denon 2500 Blu-ray player and thought it was very good.  But the Pioneer 95 with his signature upgrade was just amazing.  Both picture and sound were dramatically better.  Even on older standard definition DVD’s I saw a huge improvement in picture quality and also heard better sound in every way.  And this is in comparison to the previous king of the hill, my Denon 5910, which is no slouch as a DVD player.  The Blu-ray discs are completely amazing on this player.  It also makes an outstanding CD player to boot.

Bill Hilleary |  Manufacturing Manager  |  Microsoft corporation 

I decided to drive up to The Upgrade Company way up in Harbor Springs Michigan to pick up my newly upgraded equipment in person, rather then risk shipping damage. I ended up spending a couple of days there with Dave Schulte comparing the sound of several of his upgraded DVD players against some really high end Esoteric pieces they sell as Factory Authorized Esoteric dealers.

They had on display the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R combo and a stock Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition among many other stock players.  We listened and compared the sound of the several customers CD players that were due to ship out the following Monday.  We used the same power cords and interconnects for all of the DVD and CD players and adjusted the volume of the units to make sure that all of the listening tests were fair.   

The first unit that I listened to was an upgraded McIntosh MC-205 CD changer player versus the stock Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition on one shelf and the stock P-03/D-03/G-0S on the same heavy duty 400+ lb gloss black acrylic rack Dave says is better then the granite/wood/steel racks.   Acrylic racks make sense to me, that's why the best turntable platters are made out of pure acrylic: low resonance.

All players used the same power cords and interconnects, all balanced, with dual or triple copies of the same discs.  I don't know how much burn-in time the McIntosh player had, but I could tell right away the upgraded McIntosh player provided far more detail, with pristine highs, open & detailed midrange, unusually strong and deep bass along with a very holographic soundstage & imaging that either of the high dollar Esoteric's could match, even with very expensive cabling.  Though the Esoteric units sounded acceptable to someone unfamiliar with the Upgrade Co's "house sound", they just did not have the detail, body, transparency nor level of resolution the SE upgraded McIntosh player exhibited.  Additionally, the stock Esoterics tended to sound more flat & constricted, more “nasal”, harsher, and a bit more strident than the upgraded McIntosh player.
 
Next, we swapped out the Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition player and compared an upgraded entry level Denon DVD 2910 against the McIntosh 205 player.  The Denon DVD 2910 basically outclassed the McIntosh player to the same degree the McIntosh 205 had outperformed the stock Esoteric X-01LE and to a slightly lesser extent the P-03/D-03/G-0S.  This was due Dave says to the McIntosh not being burned in, while the Denon had about 350 some odd hours on it.  However, not burned in, the upgraded McIntosh 205 still outclassed the stock X-01 Limited Edition by a huge margin.  It's a shame what these manufacturer's are charging.  I witnessed firsthand an Upgrade Company Denon 2910 and McIntosh MC-205 surpass the $40,000 Esoteric setup by a healthy margin, and they only cost peanuts in comparison.  Almost a crime.  And the Esoteric required 3 expensive power cords, plus (2) MIT 110 ohm AESEBU digital cables and (2) clock link BNC's to operate.  Thousands more just for cabling.  I can appreciate the fact that the Esoteric players once upgraded will beat the McIntosh and Denon players I heard, but at a monumental price difference.

The next test was to listen to a recently upgraded Pioneer Elite 94 Blu-ray player and we compared it to both the upgraded Denon DVD 2910 and also against the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R set.  Initially, we thought that the upgraded Pioneer 94 Blu-ray player sounded better than the Denon and it most definitely sounded better than the stock Esoteric P-03/D-03/G-0R . As the Denon, Esoteric set and the Pioneer 94 Blu-ray played on repeat for the next 24 hours however, we both found that we thought that the upgraded Denon DVD 2910 sounded the clear winner over all of them, with more detail, highs, smoothness, midrange, imaging, bass, etc. than the upgraded Pioneer 94 Blu-ray and way ahead of the  P-03/D-03/G-0R Esoteric set now with 24 hours of continuous play.  This is a minor miracle in my book.  I was amazed.

Next, we listened to one of Dave’s upgraded Denon DVD-3910 players which had about 350 hours of burn-in time on it.  Without question, it bested the Denon DVD-2910 and all of the other players. Now, the upgraded Denon DVD-3910 sounds great, but it was not quite to the level of my upgraded Denon DVD-5910 that Dave upgraded, nor his McIntosh 871 player that's even better yet. I understand the Esoteric's once Dave gets a hold of them are in an entirely different league above everything we heard, but there were none on hand at the time to A-B.  

I am now listening to my new Denon DVD-3800BDCi Blu-ray player that Dave has upgraded, versus my 5910Ci that Dave did a while back. The upgraded Denon 3800 Blu-ray player sounds even better then the upgraded 5910Ci which was already far better when I A-B'd it directly against the $40,000 P-03/D-03/G-0R set, which makes my new upgraded Denon DVD-3800 truly world-class, absolutely phenomenal, with Standard DVD and Blu-ray DVD picture quality that I think is just to die for, and the unit is just starting to burn in.

Hi Dave:

I am so glad I followed your suggestions.   Your are a real gem in the Audiophile hobby: honest, credible, and genuine in your advice.  In a hobby full of companies trying to rip us off, charging mega bucks for cables, tweaks, snake oil, isolation platforms and etc. YOU ARE THE REAL DEAL!    I will never ever purchase gear without you adding your magic to it again.  I was initially in the market to purchase a separate preamp and amp to replace my DK Design MK II Integrated Amplifier.   Hearing some very expensive separates in my home caused this "upgraditis".   When listening to my stock DK Design MK II Integrated Amplifier, something was missing.  My system sounded good, but was lifeless and could not convey the soul of an artist.   Listening sessions began to turn into a science project (Dissecting problems). But I am so glad I stumbled upon you by way of Audiogon and Google.   After reading many excellent customer reviews, I decided to give you a call.  

  To make a long story short: Only thing I can say is WOW!!  This amp is truly amazing now.  You have transformed my system to something really special.  My wife, who is not an audiophile,  hears a huge improvement, stating "Oh yeah... it is way clearer".  I will not bore you with audiophile jargon to explain what I am hearing because I'd like to get back to listening.  Only thing I can say is "live in concert" in my house @ 8:00 PM sharp, the first act, Jonathan Butler "Surrender",  next Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" .  We (My wife and I) can finally enjoy our music time.  Matter of fact, I find she is listening more than me now!  

Thanks again,
Ron Barriere
New Orleans, LA

PS
I tried posting comments on Audiogon several times, but none of my posts were let through by Audiogon.   I may have to take another approach.  They are not letting me express my views. 

Dear Dave,

I wanted to let you know how happy I am with the upgrade you did to my Samsung Blue Ray Player.  After having purchased the unit over the internet, I sent it to you and can truly say that the results are just spectacular.  I wanted a top performing audio section and have not been disappointed with the results which really come out on my LegacyWhisper system.  Further, the video performance is stellar.  We all love it.

As the burn in continued, the player opened up more and more just as others have experienced and reported and it is clear that for the cost of the upgrade, I now have a world class player for both my audio and video for a fraction of the money that might otherwise be spent.

Thanks again for your outstanding service,

Rob Rasbach
New Haven, Connecticut

May 11, 2007

The Upgrade Company

Dear Dave:

I recently got back my Consonance CD-120 which I sent to you for modification. I mainly heard about your company from other very satisfied customers on Audiogon. I must say at first I was skeptical as to what improvement you could make to this CD player.

Well… from top to bottom this player far exceeded my expectations as to how great this player can sound. There is much more detail in the midrange and treble. The bass is tighter and more controlled. I am experiencing even a darker background, thus better air between the instruments. For the money I spent with you it was well worth my investment. I have owned the more expensive Consonance players like the Droplet, Ref 2.2, and Classe CDP 10. I even owned the $5000 North Star DAC and Transport combo which in my opinion doesn’t sound nearly as good as my now modified CD-120.

I hope others will give you the opportunity like I did to improve there current equipment without spending tons of money to do so. Keep up the great work!

Regards,

Doug Brink

You'd be a little nuts to expect two "top-of-the-line" components like the ARC Ref 2 Mk 2 pre amp and the Reimyo CDP-777 could be improved. But that's exactly what David Schulte's, Upgrade Company achieved with a little bit of technical magic. For considerably less than buying new, David truly "upgraded" almost $24,000 (when new) units. The enhancements include expansion of the musical space, dead-quiet, far more detail in the most complex musical passages and, that foolproof marker something's a lot better: "old" CD's suddenly seem new and exciting. I'd recommend Upgrade Company without hesitation! Jon F.

Hello David.
I apologize for not writing you an email before now praising the far improved sonic virtues of my upgraded Pioneer SA-9800. I have found it difficult to pull myself away from listening to this amp to describe the improvements. I would have never thought that such wonderful, pristine sound could be produced by this 20+ year old amp. Your upgrades are truly world class. The sonic benefits are not at all subtle but immediately discernable. It was a pleasure doing business with you and I look forward to having all of my other Pioneer components upgraded too.
Thanks,
Jim Wilbur

dave, i can not tell you enough the sonic transformation of my entire system since you upgraded all my equipment in my system. expensive stock gear does not come close to the level of improvement that your upgrades do. this all started with a dvd player upgrade and finished with the upgrade of my speaker crossovers. your speaker wire and interconnect cables certainly finished off the final piece of the puzzle. its good to hear that even reviewers of equipment and the owners have heard about your work,and from what i understand are experiencing the same improvements. i highly recommend your upgrades to anyone that is thinking of improving the sound of their system.

BILL L

Dear David, you recently upgraded my Melos dac/transport and after a week of listening I wanted to get back with you about my experience. Granted, I do not profess to have "golden ears", but I am blown away. First and foremost is the naturalness and emotional involvement of the music. I listen primarily to jazz and blues and not only I am hearing more of the music, but the inner detail and huge sound stage is amazing. And what I did hear before, I am hearing as if for the first time. There is an effortlessness about the music, and there is more "there", to use an overused notion. This results in significant reduction in listener fatigue. I am totally drawn into the music. The musicians and instruments have so much space and air around them which allows low level detail to be heard as never before. Gone is a brightness and digital glare that on some recordings was to the point of being irritating. Bad recordings now sound so much better, while good recordings are amazing! When I was inquiring about your service I mentioned that I had auditioned several highly praised players in the $2500-5000 range, and all I can say is my "old Melos" absolutely blows them away. My wife who has some musical training, was stunned from the first note. She not only echo's my listening experience, but added that the rhythm and pace is spot on and the speakers disappear like never before. You said I would not be disappointed and you could not have been more right. Thank you and I hope to do future business with you. FYI- System is Spectral DMA-150 Series II amp/Spectral DMC-12 pre/with phono, VPI Aries/JMW arm/BenzMicro Woodbody M2, Melos dac/transport, Thiel 3.6's with MIT/Spectral interconnects/speaker cable and Cardas digital cable, Synergistic Research power cables amp/dac/transport, MIT/Spectral Z Cord II power cable on preamp.

Robert Hack
Muncie, IN

Audible Illusions L-2 preamp upgrade

"After playing the Purist Audio System Enhancer for a few hours, I sat down last night and spun a few Redbook CDs..
And here's my initial assessment....SWEEEEEEEET!!!!
I'm sure it will only get better from here. The top end and bottom end improvements are nothing short of stunning. Even the midrange, which got me hooked with the Maggies had made a leap as well. This is the first time I've heard the Maggies produce this kind of bass. I've heard Jennifer Warne's "Blue Raincoat" LP played on a truly high-end analog system and after that experience, I get disappointed whenever I listen to its Redbook CD version....that got all changed last night. Not sure if you've listened to the Eagle's "Hotel California", it's intro has some really good bass... again, it was stunning! "
Thank you, Ben L.

Henry Diller on his Krell 300CD and 300i Upgrade:
"The upgrades were tremendous and saved me thousands I was going to sink into a Gryphon. I am very satisfied with the performance and the customer service was fantastic. Thank you very much."

David,

I was able to get the Ikemi plugged in and running with the burn in CD at around 2:00 Friday afternoon, and got back to hook it up to the amp around 8:00 last night.

First impression INCREDIBLE! ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!

It is organic.  I can't think of a better word to describe the sound.  It is smooth, yet extremely detailed.
No smearing at all, very well balanced from top to bottom, and voices, oh the voices!! They hang eerily in the air from a jet black background.  I have never heard the human voice sound so texturally right, so intimate, so REAL!

It is as if I can reach out and touch the singer. I am absolutely blown away. I can in no way detect my speakers existence from my listening position. No right or left just music.

The transport is smooth and quiet and I actually find the Ikemi very attractive. It looks much better in person than in the pics I have seen.

Thank you so much for suggesting this unit and for the modifications that you have performed. With only a few hours on it, the organic presence in general and on human voice in particular the Ikemi already blows away by a large margin every player I have ever heard, even over 2 other tubed modified players I owned.

P.S.

As I am typing this my 17 year old son who plays jazz and blues piano in his own band is playing right out side my office door, so I have the real thing right here for reference. The Ikemi has taken my system much closer to live music. Thank you.

All the best,
Russ Garrett
Audiogon ID "Leatherneck1812"