Mods in Tube players: list in order

Agree with Tvad & Rcprince, plus a good set of isolation footers under the chassis.

Have had same argument with freidn who is amzed that Music Fidelity's best seller is a tueb bufer.Tube should in his mind (and I agree) used in cicut design not adding "artifacts" which is what you do essentially asdding upper harmonic distortion which we find pleasing as opposed to first order or lower harmonic distortion which we call"distortion".I read interestesting interview in Stereophile a while back with head designer of Pathos who say's in amplification (I think I have this right) hybrid is a great way to go because tubes do a good job at chaninging voltage and ad a nice warmth but solid state does a beter job in handling output because it has bettter control of bass than all tube designs and it's highs do not roll off the way they do with tubes.Made sense and i wonder why not more manufaturers make hybrids.But of course morefolks use tubes in preamp then power amp prefering SS for it's control.I know some folks who reverse it I guess it depends on attributes of pieces and how "dirty" you want sound.But adding a tube in a CD player may sweeten sound nontheless.I just agree with others it's less important then power supplies,caps,fast diodes etc in geting you clean undistorted sound.
Chazzbo

1: power supply: replace/upgrade caps / bridge / IEC / bybee on +
2: coupling caps of signal path: upgrade to best avail
3: chassis: footers / damping
4: connectors (XLR / RCA)
5: wiring

From what i'm gathering from the local tech guy here in Baton rouge, he feels
1) opamps: easy to change/pop out, low cost/$25 each, and make the most significant difference. I agree, it has made the most difference.

2)Tube roll. Not so easy, as each tube will offer noticable character. I'm working on locating a set right now. Can be costly as if you buy used and don't like them, your stuck. So this tweak is risky.

3) caps changed. Though the tech guy feels this is more of a "flavor" change than anything of significant. And its abit costly. Good caps/labor =$200. I'm hesitant here.

4) I guess power cord. Though I'm not much a believer in cord differences.

09-21-06: Bartokfan
From what i'm gathering from the local tech guy here in Baton rouge, he feels
1) opamps: easy to change/pop out, low cost/$25 each, and make the most significant difference. I agree, it has made the most difference.

You agree? Because you have also compared the sound after having improved the power supply and after having changed the capacitors, or because this has made the most significant difference of the other tweaks you have tried thus far?

2)Tube roll. Not so easy, as each tube will offer noticable character. I'm working on locating a set right now. Can be costly as if you buy used and don't like them, your stuck. So this tweak is risky.

This is a tweak. Not a mod. You asked about mods.

3) caps changed. Though the tech guy feels this is more of a "flavor" change than anything of significant. And its abit costly. Good caps/labor =$200. I'm hesitant here.

I'm suspect of your tech guy's expertise. Changing caps generally results in a lower noise floor and better resolution. This is not simply a flavor change, although it certainly results in a change in the sound of the player by reducing noise. Perhaps he's offering lowest cost alternatives at your request.

4) I guess power cord. Though I'm not much a believer in cord differences.

Yet another tweak. Not a mod.

If you want info about tweaks, then ask about tweaks. You asked about mods.

Regarding the info in this thread, which has been consistent, I would suggest you do some thorough research by carefully reading the level of modifications offered by Modwright, Empirical Audio, Reference Audio Mods, and others. All these providers begin with power supply upgrades and move on from there.

On the other hand, if you're intersted primarily in tweaks, then there's a boatload of info in the threads on this topic.