Originally Posted by
Svend N
Phil, just a thought...I have obtained the biggest bang for the buck by modding what I already own with carefully chosen upgrade parts. If there are any inherent weaknesses in, say, your amp or speakers as a result of the manufacturer building to a price point, then you may be able to make some real improvements by working with a skilled technician who knows what to selectively replace. E.g. op amps in the Brio? Caps in the crossovers and/or the amp?
In my case, I had work done on a Teac VRDS-10 cd player, which has a great transport but was lacking in the clock chip, op amps, and caps. These were all replaced with a discrete clock board, discrete op amps, and selective cap replacement in the signal path, plus other minor mods. The difference in sound quality was huge, and cost was many thousands less than buying a machine that would equal it in sound quality. Likewise my Sony TA-E86B preamp -- fully modded, all caps replaced, and many other tweaks -- and it now sounds outstanding, whereas before it merely sounded very good. The mods transformed the sound, and for very reasonable cost.
I am not familiar with the build of your components, but perhaps others here may have insight, or at least can recommend a knowledgeable tech who is experienced with such work. A consult with such a tech may be well worth a small fee, or may even be no-cost.
Finally, you don't mention if you have any upgraded interconnects or speaker cables. While the improvements here will be more subtle than a new component or the mods described above, they are real and apparent in a good system. And hey, every little bit helps bump you up the ladder. If you're handy with a soldering iron, making them yourself is very inexpensive.
Good luck in the quest!
Svend
PS -- how did your plinth project turn out? What did you end up using for the final finish? Wax or more Danish oil?