"Own the very best!"

Reimyo CDP-777 Signature Edition upgrade by The Upgrade Company - November 29, 2007

I've lived with my Reimyo 777 CD player for 2 years now. To say I'm familiar with it would be an understatement. It's a testament to how good it is that in more than a year I haven't had that audiophile itch known as "upgrade-itis". But, perhaps call it sheer curiosity, that I began wondering how much better it could get. I had heard of David Schulte and The Upgrade Company by word of mouth regarding their upgrade to the Reimyo CDP-777. Intrigued, I contacted David regarding my own.

First off, I have to mention what a great pleasure it was talking to David. I've had the good fortune of meeting several truly good people in the audiophile industry and David is right there with the best. It was clear that he is a person who is both passionate about his work and about audio. After I sent him the Reimyo, it was a week later when I wrote to see if the player had arrived, only to find out that David had already completed the upgrade. I know not to give the accolades to the shipping companies, so kudos for David of doing such great work in such a short amount of time.

The player arrived just a few days ago with only a few hours burn in. David stresses that however good it is out of the box, the player requires many hours of burn in to reach its full potential. 300 hours is apparently the magic mark, but improvements can supposedly still be heard after 1000 hours. After its arrival I set it up, went to bed, and woke up prepared to spend all day with it.

That day was yesterday. First CD in, and right away I was greatly impressed. It's odd to know your system's sound so well, because any change feels like a monumental one. But right away I heard improvements both great and small. The first and most obvious improvement was a huge leap in clarity, detail (both micro and macro), and overall musical "ease". The Reimyo was already perhaps the most natural digital player in existence. But the upgrade took this naturalness to a much greater level. I'd compare it to a release of whatever bit of tension the player might have had. The upgrade released that extra tension, allowing the music to flow with a greater fluidity and ease.

The clarity was also increased. Everyone has an idea of what words like clarity and transparency means, but I equate it with looking at the music through a veil. The darker that veil, the harder it is to "see" the music. Great components - and with this case, a great upgrade, removes layers of that veil. Creating a greater sense of the music being right there in the room with you. With great headphones, they can shine a spotlight on this clarity.

Detail is another trick word that covers a lot of areas. But with the"Signature Edition" upgrade, I was clearly able to hear micro dynamics I'd not ever heard before. The pluck of strings, the smallest inflections in phrases. This extra micro detail did not come at the sacrifice of the big picture. While it was much easier to pick out individual instruments, the whole was enhanced as well, seeming more coherent.

To me, it's always the great test of any change in an audio system to throw a difficult disc at it. One that turns to sludge on a lesser system, but shines on a greater one. I from my collection Alter Bridge's "One Day Remains" to test Upgrade Co's SE upgrade. To my great surprise, the upgrade was not only able to sort through the sludge, but clean it up in such a way that it was almost like an entirely new album. The guitars were huge and crushing, but they were locked in place with clearly defined edges that didn't smear into other instruments. And I have to mention the improvement with vocals - one flaw with my system with the stock Reimyo was that vocals could often seem "off". The SE upgrade cured all that - the upgrade brought a brand new sense of rightness and realness - as if the singer were right there in front of me.

Another flaw with my previous system was in the treble. While the Reimyo's treble is world class in its extension, the highest registers could often become harsh. But this upgrade smoothed out the treble to such a degree that discs that I'd previously grit my teeth at when the high notes came, I now found myself loving them. The treble was now not only extremely fluid, but whatever harshness and glare there was gone. It was like going from old Analog TV to 1080p, to "High Definition".
With Upgrade Co's SE upgrade, every audiophile's "checklist" can be immediately checked off:
The soundstage got even bigger (already my system's greatest strength), but add a greater sense of airiness, focus, and depth. Dynamics - another strength of my system - increased as well. The tone was dead on with every instrument I heard - making the music sound a lot more like real music.

So, what about the price? In the world of audiophiles, unless you're truly rich, price is a major factor. And with so many snake oil salesmen in the business, it's a tricky business sorting the "worth its" from the "rip offs" from the "fairly priced". But this upgrade is the first time where I almost felt like I was the one doing the ripping off. At $1500 for Upgrade Co's Reimyo 777 SE upgrade, that's just 10% of the Reimyo 777's MSRP. If the upgrade had increased the performance of just 10% it would have been well worth it. However, we are way beyond that before burn-in, I'd say 25% with easily another 25% in store after the new parts have burned in and seasoned, based on my experience with new equipment.

Ultimately, I could not be happier with my decision to upgrade. A testament to the greatness of any audio upgrade is how you find yourself wanting to listen to it. I spent nearly 14 hours listening to it yesterday alone, and plan on listening more today after writing this. Everything the upgrade did was positive- which is precisely what an upgrade should do. I lend my highest recommendation.

JOHNATHAN HENDERSON, OKLAHOMA

UPDATE FROM CUSTOMER in late 2008:

It's doing excellent. I probably have close to 1000 hours on it now. The high end really opened up, and whatever fuzz the stock Reimyo had is completely gone and now the highs are better than any I've ever heard. The bass has also refined a lot. I've also been mightily impressed by the increase in detail and clarity. I mean, the upgrade was superb out of the box, but burn in has really brought an even finer level of overall transparency and detail and dynamics.

Overall I couldn't be happier! Thanks for the terrific job as I've been enjoying it immensely.

Johnathan