The Upgrade Company

I just wanted to share my impressions of the service offered by The Upgrade Company.

My interest in audio began just over 30 years ago. For about the last ten years I have been searching for that sound, you know what I mean, the sound of real music, without brittle harshness. Music you can listen to for hours. In my quest, I have done the rounds of all the Hi-Fi shows and dealers. Basically, I have spent more than I ever intended on this hobby.

I came across some recommendations for The Upgrade Company online and thought I would give it a try. I had just purchased three months earlier a Weiss DAC 2, a big improvement on the PS Audio dac 3 (still a great dac) and wondered could my Weiss dac for under $2000 really be modified to compete with todays top of the line dacs from dCs, MBL, Audio Research etc. that I could never afford?

I talked to David Schulte on the phone, a real gentleman and with the 100% Money Back Guarantee, I sent the Weiss to him. He assured it would be modified and returned to me for my arrival back from abroad on a trip.

I sat down to listen, and immediately initially I noticed an improvement, to my ears the sound was sweeter, and after a few days I noticed that the soundstage was HUGE consistently wall-to-wall. Instruments took on more body and texture. This only continued to improve and of course this lead to the question, just how good can this get?

I was really relieved that my expensive Weiss dac was really shining, that my money had been well spent but also curious about further improvements “upgrading” can give.

At this time, I was trying to integrate two systems, my home theatre and two channel. I have MBL 121 speakers, which are very transparent, but also very revealing, you hear every change.

I had finally afforded an MBL preamp, to connect with balanced cables to the MBL amp. The MBL preamp is a perfect match for other MBL gear; you notice immediately a blackness and solidity to the sound.

To control all this I’ve run a really nice Integra DTC 9.9 THX Ultra II prepro. I use a front projection system and the Integra excelled at the A/V stuff but the MBL was master of the two channel music.

In conversation with David he suggested I could sell the MBL preamp after he upgraded the Integra 9.9 prepro to match its excellent performance. It seemed a huge claim but with the 100% Buy Back why not?

I took the chance; I kept the MBL but sent the Integra to David. The Integra prepro was returned to me and after burn-in the magic happened. I was so thrilled when the Integra began to show what it could do that I called David late at night. He promised it would continue to improve for months. Believe me it has.  I still find myself hearing recordings I have played for ten years and discovering hidden treasures. There is transparency yes but also a depth to the sound. Orchestral recordings have a slam and a bite and that great rich bass you get in the concert hall. So I sold the excellent MBL preamp and came out money ahead. Now one piece of equipment controls everything, effortlessly with the highest sonic and video qualities.

I have decided I am sending The Upgrade Company my MBL power amp to upgrade.

To my mind, the money on upgrades has been well spent and without risk. Very fruitful.

As they say in the hi-fi magazines, "Highly recommended!"

Sincerely,
Fr. Damien McElroy, NJ