The Upgrade Company Signature McIntosh MVP 861 Universal player

Ever since I sold my Exemplar Audio Denon 3910 with Siltech wiring, I have been looking for a universal player that is similar to it for the past 2 years to no avail.  I almost bought a used Exemplar Audio 3910 with Siltech wiring about 2 months ago.  While surfing the web one evening, I run across a testimonial on The Upgrade Company by Ezra (a long time audio pal) whose EMM LABS CDSA had just been upgraded by The Upgrade Company.  I called David Schulte of the Upgrade Company to inquire about his products and upgrades.  He recommended a brand new Signature Edition upgraded McIntosh MVP 861.

One Week of Break-In is not enough

When I first got the unit, the first thing I noticed was the exceptional bass.  The bass was well controlled, deeper and had much better definition than any other unit I have had in my system, it was much easier to follow the bass lines.  It had the right combination of detail and weight; it didn't sound overly analytical or warm.  

I burned the unit in for 2 weeks and decided to do a shoot out with the BlueNote Stibbert tubed CD player with the $1200 factory upgrade.  The Upgrade Co. SE upgraded McIntosh MVP 861 acquitted itself very well.  My friend Clark Johnsen, a writer for Positive Feedback, preferred the McIntosh to the Stibbert outright.  The McIntosh had better bass and instruments were much more realistic sounding but I thought the Stibbert was still airier and a little warmer and just a tad smoother sounding.  I initially attributed that to the classic difference between tube and solid state equipment.

A Funny Thing Happened after 600 hours of Burn-In.

Then the sound of the upgraded, brand-new McIntosh MVP 861 took a quantum leap after about 600 hours of burn-in.  It became airier, the soundstage depth and width opened up and voices acquired much better range (top to bottom).  Delineation of instruments was much better while adding more body at the same time.  My system is much fuller sounding now without sacrificing detail.  I now prefer the solid state McIntosh to any of the high priced tube cd players or transport/d/a converter combinations I have heard or had in my system.

I went downstairs to my audio room to do some listening at 9 PM a few weeks ago and didn't notice how long I had been down there until I got back, looked at the clock on the oven in my kitchen and noticed it was 1 AM.  I had been listening for 4 hours without noticing it.  Between work and kids activities, I haven't had much time to listen to my audio system the past 3 years, but lately I have been making up time to listen (late into the night) because the sound of my system has been too good to ignore.  This is the ultimate complement to the solid state Upgrade Company Signature Edition McIntosh MVP 861.  You can forget about all the audiophile superlatives, the bottom line is that Upgrade Company upgraded Signature McIntosh MVP 861 sounds like real music and has made a convert of a long time tube guy.

Other Digital systems I have had in my system include Audio Logic DAC/highly modified Teac VRDS 1 Transport combo, Exemplar Audio Denon 3910 with Siltech wire, Meitner Bidat D/A converter with Teac VRDS 1 Transport, and Great Northern Sound upgraded Consonance Droplet CDP 5.0.

Kwame Ofori-Asante, Massachusetts

Hi David,

As promised, I want to give you my feedback on the modified DBP-94HD.  I wanted to wait for the player to burn in before making any comments.  Like most people in this hi-end audio hobby, I have been interested in setting up a digital front-end system without getting over the edge on the diminished return on investment curve where the ratio of dollars invested to improved audio quality is out of proportion. 

 First let me state that I purchases the player mainly for audio performance.  For video performance, I did not have a State of the Art reference other than the former top of the line Denon DVD-5900 which was, of course, one of the better players in Standard Definition DVD.  The improvements in video quality were easy to see on BluRay, however even on Standard Definition, the Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD's colors were simply much deeper, e.g. blacker black, greener green, redder red etc., and the picture is much smoother and sharper, more 3D looking.

 I have asked myself the question of "what makes a good front-end"?  I realized that the challenge in reproducing music through a stereo system is similar to the challenge a painter faces when he/ she must reproduce a 3-dimensional visual image as close to reality as possibly on a 2-dimensional painting:  how does the painter show the 3rd dimension or "depth" on a painting?  Similarly, how does the stereo recreate 3-dimensional sound through only a set of R and L speakers?  In my mind, the ability of a player to reproduce "live" sound - which is closest to reality - depends on the ability of the player to do well in depth of field, the 3rd dimension.

 I look for a player to excel in the following 3 main areas: 

(A) Detail:  can a player read/ reproduce all details as recorded?  Even though, a listener can choose what he/ she wants to focus on particular parts/ voices of a recoding, all details must be reproduced - unbiased - as intended by the recording engineer.

(B) Dynamics:  can a player distinctly reproduce the different voices?  The dynamics in a player is key to the ability of the player to reproduce the 3rd dimension:  depth.  Just like in a painting, where objects further in the distant - from the viewer - are shown as smaller and in faded colors, a sound further in back is very slightly softer and less details.  Reproducing the (minor) nuances of the different voices are important to producing depth and creating a realistic soundstage.

(C) Voice:  is every sound smoothly reproduced, not too warm, not too bright and without grain as intended?  Just like a singer who can do everything right and controls every technique but if his/ her voice is not easy on the ear, he or she not be a great singer that will be loved by many, many people.

State of the Art players must excel above all others in all 3 areas above.  I have listened to my new Upgrade Co. SE upgraded Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD Bluray player at length.  I can say that the player does reproduce a live sound to my ears, much more than I have ever heard in my (~25K) audio setup.  I hear more details, more 3-dimensionality and weight, both in instrument and human voices, and I hear voices that are reproduced w/o any grain.  Separation of different voices is outstanding.  I also hear a much larger soundstage but that is, again, a result of much better detail and dynamics to me.  In summary, I am very impressed and quite happy with the BDP-94HD. I'm keeping it!  Many thanks.


Regards,

Lance Huynh, Texas

Hi Dave:

I am so glad I followed your suggestions.   Your are a real gem in the Audiophile hobby: honest, credible, and genuine in your advice.  In a hobby full of companies trying to rip us off, charging mega bucks for cables, tweaks, snake oil, isolation platforms and etc. YOU ARE THE REAL DEAL!    I will never ever purchase gear without you adding your magic to it again.  I was initially in the market to purchase a separate preamp and amp to replace my DK Design MK II Integrated Amplifier.   Hearing some very expensive separates in my home caused this "upgraditis".   When listening to my stock DK Design MK II Integrated Amplifier, something was missing.  My system sounded good, but was lifeless and could not convey the soul of an artist.   Listening sessions began to turn into a science project (Dissecting problems). But I am so glad I stumbled upon you by way of Audiogon and Google.   After reading many excellent customer reviews, I decided to give you a call.  

  To make a long story short: Only thing I can say is WOW!!  This amp is truly amazing now.  You have transformed my system to something really special.  My wife, who is not an audiophile,  hears a huge improvement, stating "Oh yeah... it is way clearer".  I will not bore you with audiophile jargon to explain what I am hearing because I'd like to get back to listening.  Only thing I can say is "live in concert" in my house @ 8:00 PM sharp, the first act, Jonathan Butler "Surrender",  next Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" .  We (My wife and I) can finally enjoy our music time.  Matter of fact, I find she is listening more than me now!  

Thanks again,
Ron Barriere
New Orleans, LA

PS
I tried posting comments on Audiogon several times, but none of my posts were let through by Audiogon.   I may have to take another approach.  They are not letting me express my views. 

Dear Dave,

I wanted to let you know how happy I am with the upgrade you did to my Samsung Blue Ray Player.  After having purchased the unit over the internet, I sent it to you and can truly say that the results are just spectacular.  I wanted a top performing audio section and have not been disappointed with the results which really come out on my LegacyWhisper system.  Further, the video performance is stellar.  We all love it.

As the burn in continued, the player opened up more and more just as others have experienced and reported and it is clear that for the cost of the upgrade, I now have a world class player for both my audio and video for a fraction of the money that might otherwise be spent.

Thanks again for your outstanding service,

Rob Rasbach
New Haven, Connecticut

Audiogon Member: "I_audio" on Forte, Reimyo, Denon, Sony ES upgrades

I thought I should share my experience with some interesting audio equipment and their upgrades by David Schulte of The Upgrade Company. The equipment included: the Denon S1 Integrated Amplifier, Forte 4a amp, Reimyo DAP 777 DAC, and the Sony CVP-CX 777 ES SACD/CD 400 disks Mega changer. I have had the Denon S1 & the Reimyo for years and upgraded them about two months ago. I had the Forte and the Sony for about three months. I listen mostly to Jazz and Classical music, sometimes new age and rock.

It started when I ran into an ad by "The Upgrade Company" selling the Forte 4a amplifier. I heard this amp at audio dealers in the early 1990’s when it was available. This amp impressed me on several occasions driving Martin Logan and other speakers that I still remember it to this day. I was going to buy it back then when raving reviews in The Absolute Sound described the Brown Electronic Lab amplifier as possibly the best amplifier in the world. I followed the review instead of my ears and bought the BEL 1001 without auditioning it. The BEL was a good amp but turned out to be much less musical than the Forte.

The Forte was discontinued. I later traded the BEL for Joule Electra tube OTL and became for the most part a "Tube Guy". Joule Electra amp and preamplifiers are among the very best sounding I have heard at audio dealers, shows, and anywhere. Their reliability proved incredible. I still have the Joule Electra equipment in my main system, but like many of us, I sometimes get the bug to try something else.

Only a few of the best models of equipment survive the test of time. I realized I still wanted this Forte amp, so this time I trusted my instincts. I bought it used and upgraded from David Schulte of The Upgrade Company. I was amazed at the sound of the upgraded Forte 4a and understood why it has developed such a cult following. It is very musical, sounds effortless and natural. Despite its 50 Watts class A 8 ohm rating, it sounds big, effortless, clear and musical. It has a wonderful midrange and treble that is very competitive with the very best amps made today. It has very good bass, however, being only 50watts, it is not enough power on some bass passages.

The Forte was so good by today’s standards, I decided to try to get Dave to upgrade some of my other equipment.

I sent him a Sony CVP-CX 777 ES SACD/CD Mega changer that I bought to use for a second system and as a transport. I did not really care for its sound as a CD player but felt its SACD sound had good potential. Dave’s upgrade was less than he would have liked due to limited space inside the Sony to place the parts he wanted. Still the improvement was very obvious that I now enjoy listening to it especially on SACD. Not very far behind my $6,000 APL 3910 in fact. In some ways it is better, others lacking. But once the Reimyo 777 DAC was upgraded and run off the Sony 777ES as a transport, that was a whole other league entirely. I have since sold my APL 3910.

Then I had Dave upgrade the rare and beautiful $5500 Denon S1 integrated amplifier. Actually I was about to sell the Denon, but the improvements as a result of the upgrades were so amazing that I am keeping it. The Denon S1 series from the early 1990’s, and were Denon’s statement, cost-is-no-object products. The $40k Denon S1 Monoblocks, the S1 Transport and S1 DAC were reviewed in Stereophile and firmly placed in “Class A Recommended Components”. I do not think I ever saw a Denon ad in Stereophile . The preamp listed out at $17,000. The Denon S1 Series look like pieces of art and were perfectly built.

So, how to describe the effect of the upgrade? With all the upgraded equipment, lots of air, more depth, more 3-D, more dynamics, really good bass, much smoother and much more musical sound overall. The sound is bigger and clearer, more powerful.

In case of the Sony, in addition to the above the grain and digital hardness were gone.

In case of the Denon S1 it became very smooth, liquid, and crystal clear without any solid state hardness or grain. The highs are extended and silky smooth. The midrange is liquid and sweet. Well how good is the Denon now? It is better that the current Stereophile Class A Unison Unico SE, with the Underwood Hi Fi level 2 upgrade. The Denon is Crystal clear, liquid, and fast. I think the Denon is the most improved component because it had room for Dave to use the parts he wanted.

Dealing with Dave is a pleasant experience. Easy to reach by phone, very fast turnaround time, and is open to uneducated suggestions. I found he can upgrade just about anything audio or even video. Expensive equipments like the Reimyo DAC can be improved with Dave’s upgrade not just the entry level stuff like the Sony SACD/CD 400 discs Mega changer.

The improvement is so dramatic that I am going to have Dave upgrade all the components in my system. Happy listening!

AL

Associated gear
Reimyo DAP 777 DAC, APL Denon 3910, Sony CVP-CX 777 ES SACD/CD player, VPI TNT/Graham 2.2 ceramic arm/Koetsu Uruchi, Joule Electra LA 100 full function preamp, Joule Electra Grand Marquis OTL amps, Cary SLP 50a, Cary 2A3 Parallel single ended amps, Forte 4a, Reimer Teton Speakers, Omega Super Hemp single driver no crossover speakers, Era Model 5 speakers, Analysis Plus 8,9,& Gold, JPS Superconductor2, Alpha core Goertz Ag2 silver, Shunyata Hydra 8& power cords, Exact Power voltage stabilizer, Cinepro Balanced power, Harmonix 78, Harmonix Power cords, ASC room treatment

Similar products
Unison Research Unico SE integrated
Valve Audio Predator integrated
I_audio

8-08-06

May 11, 2007

The Upgrade Company

Dear Dave:

I recently got back my Consonance CD-120 which I sent to you for modification. I mainly heard about your company from other very satisfied customers on Audiogon. I must say at first I was skeptical as to what improvement you could make to this CD player.

Well… from top to bottom this player far exceeded my expectations as to how great this player can sound. There is much more detail in the midrange and treble. The bass is tighter and more controlled. I am experiencing even a darker background, thus better air between the instruments. For the money I spent with you it was well worth my investment. I have owned the more expensive Consonance players like the Droplet, Ref 2.2, and Classe CDP 10. I even owned the $5000 North Star DAC and Transport combo which in my opinion doesn’t sound nearly as good as my now modified CD-120.

I hope others will give you the opportunity like I did to improve there current equipment without spending tons of money to do so. Keep up the great work!

Regards,

Doug Brink

You'd be a little nuts to expect two "top-of-the-line" components like the ARC Ref 2 Mk 2 pre amp and the Reimyo CDP-777 could be improved. But that's exactly what David Schulte's, Upgrade Company achieved with a little bit of technical magic. For considerably less than buying new, David truly "upgraded" almost $24,000 (when new) units. The enhancements include expansion of the musical space, dead-quiet, far more detail in the most complex musical passages and, that foolproof marker something's a lot better: "old" CD's suddenly seem new and exciting. I'd recommend Upgrade Company without hesitation! Jon F.

Hello David.
I apologize for not writing you an email before now praising the far improved sonic virtues of my upgraded Pioneer SA-9800. I have found it difficult to pull myself away from listening to this amp to describe the improvements. I would have never thought that such wonderful, pristine sound could be produced by this 20+ year old amp. Your upgrades are truly world class. The sonic benefits are not at all subtle but immediately discernable. It was a pleasure doing business with you and I look forward to having all of my other Pioneer components upgraded too.
Thanks,
Jim Wilbur

dave, i can not tell you enough the sonic transformation of my entire system since you upgraded all my equipment in my system. expensive stock gear does not come close to the level of improvement that your upgrades do. this all started with a dvd player upgrade and finished with the upgrade of my speaker crossovers. your speaker wire and interconnect cables certainly finished off the final piece of the puzzle. its good to hear that even reviewers of equipment and the owners have heard about your work,and from what i understand are experiencing the same improvements. i highly recommend your upgrades to anyone that is thinking of improving the sound of their system.

BILL L

Dear David, you recently upgraded my Melos dac/transport and after a week of listening I wanted to get back with you about my expereince. Granted, I do not profess to have "golden ears", but I am blown away. First and formost is the naturalness and emotional involvement of the music. I listen primarily to jazz and blues and not only I am hearing more of the music, but the inner detail and huge sound stage is amazing. And what I did hear before, I am hearing as if for the first time. There is an effortlessness about the music, and there is more "there", to use an overused notion. This results in significant reduction in listener fatigue. I am totally drawn into the music. The musicians and instruments have so much space and air around them which allows low level detail to be heard as never before. Gone is a brightness and digital glare that on some recordings was to the point of being irritating. Bad recordings now sound so much better, while good recordings are amazing! When I was inquiring about your serice I mentioned that I had auditioned several highly praised players in the $2500-5000 range, and all I can say is my "old Melos" absolutely blows them away. My wife who has some musical training, was stunned from the first note. She not only echo's my listening experience, but added that the rhythm and pace is spot on and the speakers disappear like never before. You said I would not be disappointed and you could not have been more right. Thank you and I hope to do future business with you. FYI- System is Spectral DMA-150 Series II amp/Spectral DMC-12 pre/with phono, VPI Aries/JMW arm/BenzMicro Woodbody M2, Melos dac/transport, Thiel 3.6's with MIT/Spectral interconnects/speaker cable and Cardas digital cable, Synergistic Research power cables amp/dac/transport, MIT/Spectral Z Cord II power cable on preamp.

Robert Hack
Muncie, IN

Audible Illusions L-2 preamp upgrade

"After playing the Purist Audio System Enhancer for a few hours, I sat down last night and spun a few Redbook CDs..
And here's my initial assessment....SWEEEEEEEET!!!!
I'm sure it will only get better from here. The top end and bottom end improvements are nothing short of stunning. Even the midrange, which got me hooked with the Maggies had made a leap as well. This is the first time I've heard the Maggies produce this kind of bass. I've heard Jennifer Warne's "Blue Raincoat" LP played on a truly high-end analog system and after that experience, I get disappointed whenever I listen to its Redbook CD version....that got all changed last night. Not sure if you've listened to the Eagle's "Hotel California", it's intro has some really good bass... again, it was stunning! "
Thank you, Ben L.

Audiogon Member: Cujo on his Wadia 861se upgrade:
"Incredible work performed by Dave of the Upgrade Company fame. Davids mod work is to be tried by all audiophiles...best kept secret,but not for long...don't hesistate to try his services....I had my Wadia done. AAAA++++"

Audiogon Member "HDiller" on his Krell 300CD and 300i Upgrade:
"The upgrades were tremendous and saved me thousands I was going to sink into a Gryphon. I am very satisfied with the performance and the customer service was fantastic. Thank you very much."

David,

I was able to get the Ikemi plugged in and running with the burn in CD at around 2:00 Friday afternoon, and got back to hook it up to the amp around 8:00 last night.

First impression INCREDIBLE! ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!

It is organic.  I can't think of a better word to describe the sound.  It is smooth, yet extremely detailed.
No smearing at all, very well balanced from top to bottom, and voices, oh the voices!! They hang eerily in the air from a jet black background.  I have never heard the human voice sound so texturally right, so intimate, so REAL!

It is as if I can reach out and touch the singer. I am absolutely blown away. I can in no way detect my speakers existence from my listening position. No right or left just music.

The transport is smooth and quiet and I actually find the Ikemi very attractive. It looks much better in person than in the pics I have seen.

Thank you so much for suggesting this unit and for the modifications that you have performed. With only a few hours on it, the organic presence in general and on human voice in particular the Ikemi already blows away by a large margin every player I have ever heard, even over 2 other tubed modified players I owned.

P.S.

As I am typing this my 17 year old son who plays jazz and blues piano in his own band is playing right out side my office door, so I have the real thing right here for reference. The Ikemi has taken my system much closer to live music. Thank you.

All the best,
Russ Garrett
Audiogon ID "Leatherneck1812"

I am a repeat customer of David's, having had first my Marantz DV 8300 done, followed by my Aragon 3002 amp, then my Musical Fidelity A3/24 DAC, after which I purchased a Genesis Digital Time Lens that David had previously upgraded. My system was sounding fine, thank you very much, when David suggested I should send the DAC and Time Lens back to him, he said he has found new things to do to make them better. What an understatement that turned out to be! I received the two units about two weeks ago, and my newly acquired analogue front end has not had a single moment of duty since. Red Book cd now sounds superior to SACD. When I play a cd, I am now listening to the music, not my system. Experienced audiophiles will know what I mean by this..sheer enjoyment of music, not nitpicking your system and wondering what can I do now to make it better. What this improvement has done is to point up the value of the work Dave has done on my Aragon amp, and Marantz universal player. It has also shown me how good my speakers are, (Dynaudio Contour 5.4's), and the rest of the system. I just read review of the Esoteric DV 50s that David upgraded for a Stereophile reviewer. Everything that was said about the Esoteric can also be said about my digital front end, and need I tell you about the price differential between the two? In short, I cannot recommend David's services highly enough. The two items just re-done at his recommendation, he did for a very nominal fee. Knowledge is not a static thing, and he is constantly learning new ways to do things better, and he wants to share that dividend with his customers. The man cares. I am just an ordinary blue-collar man, not a fat cat with big pockets, so to have the performance I have at far less than the price of a new home is significant to me. I would be willing to speak with potential customers, just ask Dave for my number. By the way,I am not affiliated with The Upgrade Company, in fact I have never met David, in case you were wondering.
Enjoy,
Dan Thomason
Audiogon ID "IslandmanDan"
Seattle, Washington