"In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. On the sixth day, God created the first human being Adam with perfect hearing.

Where do we get the perfect sound system?

Since 1987, I have been buying used stereo equipment to save money. Later I decided to try having my equipment upgraded. I bought a few pieces of upgraded equipment from other modifier's/upgrader's, but typically, whenever you called for a status, they would simply state they were "busy".

I started looking around for other experts on upgrading stereo equipment. I read about the "modification" experience's of many people on Audiogon. One day someone mentioned about David Schulte of The Upgrade Company. Many other Audiogoner members also praised him highly for his service and the sonic quality of the upgraded products. They said that David had turned their DVD player into an outstanding player that bested, to their ears, the really high dollar CD players in direct A-B comparisons. That got me interested. I further read about people who had decided to replace the clocks inside CD players with the "SuperClocks" and similar. lets just say that with my experience, I simply do not agree with that upgrade path. It is apparent that only the original designers of the circuits should be the ones to determine the clock type and rate of a circuit. To my ears, there is no comparison to the results David gets with his upgrading.

I decided to call David Schulte on the phone. He sounded very helpful, friendly, and willing to explain the upgrades over the phone. I agreed with his approach, and decided to purchase an upgraded Denon DVD-9000 disc player from him. Within one week, I received the player. Right off the bat, I was delighted with the openness of sound, and the rich and full voices of the singers.

David then told me that in order to appreciate the sound of the Denon 9000, I would need to replace my preamplifier and power amplifier. That would sound like a sale pitch if that had come from a normal sales man. I trust David as I appreciate his goal to "forever improve your system" attitude. I bought an upgraded Audible Illusions L-2 preamplifier, and two upgraded McIntosh MC-122 power amplifiers from him. He told me that the upgraded MC-122 would best stock power amplifiers under $10,000. I trust his judgement, because they sound remarkable. I do not hear sound quality like this in any Hi-End Audio Showroom.

As I played the Phantom of the Opera with four of his upgraded equipment, the orchestra stayed behind the singers all the time. There was no muddiness. The female voices inside Phantom sound so life like that my wife feels like she is listening to a live performance in the theatre. My wife seldom sits in front of my stereo system for more than an hour. Now she does. That in itself is bold testimony to David's upgrades. I have played CD after CD until midnight on many a night. I find that the better a recording is, the better my upgraded system sounds. There is apparently tremendous potential inside used audio gear that once upgraded allows it to become true State of the Art.

Recently, he advised me to buy an Exact Power EP-15A AC re-generator to get another big improvement from my system. So I did, and bought an upgraded EP-15A from him. This improvement is significant. The orchestra of the Phantom of the Opera has authority and body, and the singers sound strong on the loud passages, and decent on the soft passages. His advices are always proper.

Last month, he told me that the MIT Cables are the best. I bought a pair of MIT Oracle v1.1 interconnect for my 9000. That pair of interconnect separates the instruments from the singers in a well laid out manner. I could hear each individual voice with no muddiness. Articulation is clear and definite. I could tell a female voice from a male voice in a chorus. Now my wife thinks that the orchestra sounds powerful on the system!

Even though I have not listened to the expensive CD players like the EMM Labs and Esoteric just yet, but I do listen to my own live recording of our pastor at church . When I play back my own live recording on the 9000 with the MIT Oracle v1.1, our pastor sounds so natural, sweet, and live.

Previously, I used Mogami as my microphone cable for my live recording. I would always see my HHB CD recorder showing a -40 db of noise on the LED volume meter. I thought that noise came from the air flow. Last Sunday, I decided to use the MIT Oracle v1.1 as my microphone cable. Wow, my HHB CD recorder no longer shows any noise on the LED volume meter. Our pastor sounds crisp on a dead silent background with fullness and roundness.

To sum up, David Schulte's "The Upgrade Co." is world class at a bargain. He always delivers, and exceeds my expectations. He is courteous and willing to help you improve your system. I have spent less than $20,000 on my system, and it sounds extremely life like and three dimensional. I now use my saved money for the MIT Oracle interconnects, power cords for each of my components, and maybe one day Oracle speaker cables.

Which system would you choose? Stock State-of-the-Art equipment or equipment upgraded to State-of-the-Art level along with MIT cables for the same investment? I pick the second, and I am totally pleased with my choice."

Wai-Sze Tam
Cupertino, CA