I can't comment on whether any of the various upgrades are cost effective from the several places who do them. It looked to me as if the biggest bang for the buck might be in replacing the opamps since they're such a critical piece in the signal path and there's such a huge spread in the price ratio between the relatively inexpensive ones in the stock player and the high end ones. Many of the other upgrades require soldering, as well, but replacing the opamps doesn't.
I bought a pair of AD8066 opamps from soundodyssey.com for $54 and the swap was no more difficult than replacing a fuse, as long as you pay attention to the pin orientation. The difference in sound is amazing, particular in bass articulation. Blindfolded, I would have thought I was listening to a more expensive pair of speakers rather than to an upgrade of a couple of fingernail-sized chips.
I bought a pair of AD8066 opamps from soundodyssey.com for $54 and the swap was no more difficult than replacing a fuse, as long as you pay attention to the pin orientation. The difference in sound is amazing, particular in bass articulation. Blindfolded, I would have thought I was listening to a more expensive pair of speakers rather than to an upgrade of a couple of fingernail-sized chips.