The Upgrade Company

Unsolicited Customer Testimonials - Every client has paid The Upgrade Company LLC in full.   No kickbacks, no commissions, no fees of any kind for recommending our products and services.

Introduction of Audio Research LS-10 and Pioneer N70ae Streamer + DAC with Statement SE Upgrades.

So what do I hear today through my quite transparent system comprised of fully RFI EMI treated components & cables?

Well, I'm loving a recent acquisition that replaced my two-year-old SE upgraded Pass Labs XP-20 preamp.
What replaced it? An Audio Research LS10 truly differentially balanced all direct coupled no capacitors in signal path solid-state reference preamplifier. The LS-10 was the best solid-state preamp Audio Research made. It literally blows away the Pass XP-20 bad. Like radio vs stereo system.
I'm still running my SE upgraded Pass Labs XA25 low wattage power amplifier meant for feeding a pair of horn speakers I used to run. Now I've got the huge PMC MB2SE speakers. See my photos below.

Because each component, cable & power cord in the system has had the most extensive RFI EMI treatments available in the entire HiFi industry, my system exhibits a truly unusual jet black background and startling dynamic contrasts that I've never heard at HiFi Shows. Bass like no hifi show system. The bass depth/slam, top-end sparkle and midrange immediacy I just don't hear from any stock gear.

Astonishing deep bass underpins the music thoroughly. The sound is room-filling. It's also very transparent with no electronic "haze". My system is a powerful lens into the quality of the source material. I often can hear things in recordings I hadn't heard before. The sense of front to backstage scale and precision is also uncanny.

I'm now seeking more amplifier wattage and even better sound quality than the single-ended non-balanced topology the Pass Labs XA-25 power amplifier has. I've decided on introducing an Audio Research power amplifier with The Upgrade Company "Statement SE upgrade" to increase the power to drive the big PMC's. That's being prepared now at Upgrade Co. I've also sent over my Esoteric K-03Xs & Esoteric G-0Rb master clock to get the new Statement SE upgrades performed. Their new Statement SE upgrade is truly a gigantic improvement over Upgrade Co's original SE Upgrade. As evidenced by Pioneer N70ae's sonic transformation and the Statement SE Upgraded Audio Research LS-10. Each one was introduced about a month apart to evaluate objectively.

I'm again amazed by this 2nd "Statement SE Upgraded" unit: this Pioneer N70ae. Everything has come alive now with the Pioneer N70ae as the source. As excellent as the Esoteric K-03Xs+G-0Rb were, especially post SE upgrades 18mos ago, none of my other sources, including the PS Audio SE, DSD DAC, are even remotely close, not in any sonic area. This of course includes the Oppo UDP-205 SE. The SE upgrade really brought the 205 to life when I got it back last year from Upgrade Co, but it's not the sonic match of the Pioneer N70ae due to Upgrade Co's new "Statement SE upgrade".

The SE'd Pioneer N70ae DAC STREAMER now has a far more organic, fluid, yet highly articulate extreme purity of sound across the entire wide frequency range. It throws a much deeper wider taller soundstage with the greater weight of bass that digs far deeper than the Esoteric K-03Xs SE, Oppo UDP-205 SE, PS Audio DSD SE DAC.

The Pioneer N70ae has built-in jitter removal. It handles a wide range of source materials and can upsample to 384Hz. Gapless playback too. Big headphone amp inside too.

In summary, I'd be happy to put this SE upgraded Pioneer N70ae against any cost-is-no-object DAC or streamer. Given the amazing sound quality it's putting out, I truly believe it will stand with the very best and definitely far surpass other DAC's & Streamers of much greater cost.

Sincerely,
Dr John M. Read

Ultimate Level of Music

I am extending my sincerest thank you today to everyone at The Upgrade Company for helping me to achieve the high level of music & video performance I've longed to achieve for well over two decades.  I could never have achieved this ultimate high level of music as well as video reproduction without The Upgrade Company's help and unique knowledge.  This afternoon, I've been listening to my music collection and I cannot believe the incredible inner detail and sheer holographic realism present in recordings, even older standard 16bit/44khz CD's, all thanks to you.  Concert videos & movies look fabulous, nothing like they do in even the best showrooms.  

Your Audio Research, EAR, Bel Canto, Oppo, McIntosh hardware upgrades have brought out the best in music and video reproduction I've experienced.  The TimePortal "RFI EMI Ridded" power cords, XLR interconnects& speaker cables are sonic stunners and really completed each system.  

I cannot thank you enough!  Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Extremely Satisfied Customer,

Paul Elliott
New Prague, MN.

David,  Received the ARC REF 3 SE yesterday afternoon, and after several hours of use all, I can say is... WOW!  YOU'RE THE MAN!  The resolution level of detail and audio performance is more like it!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU!  It sounds GREAT!

I should really cool it financially, but what is your estimated upgrade pricing for my Audio Research PH5 phono preamp?

Thanks again,

Paul Elliott

I love you, MAN!  (From an old commercial on TV)

October 2007

You'd be a little nut to expect two "top-of-the-line" components like the ARC Ref 2 Mk 2 preamp and the Reimyo CDP-777 could be improved. But that's exactly what The Upgrade Company achieved with a little bit of technical magic.   Upgrade Co. 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 suddenly seems new and exciting. I'd recommend The Upgrade Company without hesitation!

Jon Farbman, NJ

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June 2009

I have been an audiophile for well over forty years. I've collected more than 4000 LP’s over the years.  I'm nearing retirement,  so I decided to make my last system as musically satisfying as possible. With that in mind, I bought new speakers and  amplifiers,  but I was not satisfied with the preamps I bought and nor those I had demoed  so I looked forward to finding one that would finally fit my system's requirements.

I had planned to buy an AYRE Kx-r  and was perusing along with AUDIOGON’s pages when I read that there was an ARC LS-10 for sale.  I e-mailed to inquire about an Upgrade Co. upgraded LS-10 advertised on Audiogon by a private individual but it was sold already. I called Upgrade Co. and they happened to have a later production LS-10 for sale that was more recently upgraded by 2 years with an IEC inlet installed and newer capacitor selections.  I needed 240v conversion to operate here in the French West Indies, so I agreed to purchase the newer upgraded LS-10 provided it was 240v converted.   I received the LS-10 two weeks ago  but I refrained from listening to it immediately.  David told me that the 240v conversion required 2 new transformers and would take a bit of use to reach full potential.  He also said that if I didn't like it he would buy it back.  How could I refuse such an offer?

Once I received the SE upgraded LS-10 I let it cook for a long week  to give the new 240v transformers some burn-in time.  I started listening finally on Mother’s day.   My wife told me that she and all the women I love (mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law) would be leaving the house to have their own celebration.  That was the second blessing.  I switched everything on and started my listening session bright and early at 9am.  David is not stretching the truth here folks.  The Upgrade Co. Signature Edition LS-10 took off to new heights and fathomed depths I thought were mere reviewers’ hype.  I heard things in the music  that had gone totally unnoticed for years.   My system finally came together:  ultra-quiet background, incredible dynamics,  subterranean bass weight and depth, the purist highs and mids I have ever heard.  I was stunned that a preamp alone could produce such a major shift in the sound quality.

I have owned ARC gear before (REF1, LS3, Classic 60) and I have heard many other more recent and much more expensive preamps in my system recently and in friends’ systems trying to decide which one to get, and  I can tell you that upgraded ARC components can make real music.  

I stopped listening @ 5pm  to have dinner and resumed listening to an hour later.  It was well beyond 10pm when my wife called to tell me it had been three hours or so already.   The music just flows.  The sound is effortless yet extremely fluid and detailed.  Simply amazing that a preamp upgrade can make such a big improvement.

If you really want to lift the veils and hear all that Audio Research equipment can do, then send yours to The Upgrade Company. They will replace everything that is "For-Profit built" with super top of the line parts and shielding….and that will be the start of a love story.  You won't find anything better. I sure can't.  I've continued A-Bag my LS-10 and I haven't yet.  The LS-10 design is now 16 years old yet upgraded it performs better than the new ARC preamps, and better than any preamp have I have heard anywhere.  Extremely ripe and full yet crystal clear and highly informative and detailed.

Don’t  just take my word for it.  You'll never believe this unless you heard it for yourself.  Give David a call  and see to it .  I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.  Upgrade Co will buy anything back so you have nothing to lose really.

I'm sending Upgrade Company my AYRE C5-xe CD player next!

Patrick Griffith
Martinique
French West-Indies