CD-Pre24

CD-Pre24 CD-Pre24 Level-2 mod - $1,190 + freight retro-fit ($1,590 with upgraded LC Audio clock) or $2,290/2,690 for new machines while they last

This modification installs the following:

  • 8 x oltra-fast soft recovery Vishay-Telefunken Fred diodes in the power supply
  • 17 x Black Gate Standard, N,FK and C grade electrolytic capacitors around the coupling caps and throughout the power supply
  • 24 x Riken Ohm 1% precision Carbon-comp 0.5-watt resistors with gold-plated leads in the signal path
  • 12x Polystyrene film and foil caps in the analog filter
  • 2 x REL-CAP TFT grade, 0.022uf Teflon film and tin foil bypass capacitors for the main coupling caps
  • 6 x Burr-Brown OPA627-based opamp assemblies mounted on single-to-dual adapter PCB assemblies for I-V conversion stage, analog filter, output Buffer and preamp
  • 6 gx old-plated machined 8-pin DIP IC sockets
  • 2 x sheets of SoundCoat damping material to internal chassis
  • 4 x large EAR compliant Sorbothane isolation feet to absorb vibration
  • 1 pr. Vampire RCA jacks for pre-outs, OFC copper body gold-plated
  • 2 ft. DH Labs pure 99.99% solid-core silver, foamed Teflon dielectric as preamp output wire
  • TRT Wonder solder throughout
  • approximately 6 hours of installation labor

Sonic improvements of the Level-2 mod are:

  • The unit is quieter, silences are blacker to resolvie more low level detail, ambience & 3-dimensionality
  • It's also smoother while remaining very detailed. The upper midrange is a little softer and more tube-like
  • It's more dynamic, seemingly playing louder with more dynamic contrasts
  • Imaging is better defined and the soundstage is wider and deeper
  • Bass is improved, with fuller weight and authority like much more expensive machines.
  • Transparency is much improved to see farther into the soundstage
  • Images are sized better and more defined
  • The modified unit is now akin to a killer upsampling CD player with an exceptional preamplifier.
  • $1590.00 for a Level-2 retrofit with upgraded LC Audio clock. While they last, new CD-Pre's with Level-2 mods are $2290 and $2690.00 with an upgraded clock.
Musical Fidelity