Upgrades

Articles about upgrades and improvements to hi-fi equipment, the focus on modifying and improving electronics for better performance.

mf trivista sacd

Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD Player Restoration & Improvement

Back in 2012, I restored and modified this stunning Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD Player. I’ve improved and updated my article, for your COVID-19 reading pleasure. Musical Fidelity’s Tri-Vista range (in 2003) consisted of the Tri-Vista SACD player, Tri-Vista 300 integrated amplifier, the kW pre- and power amp, a vinyl player and a separate digital-to-analog converter, […]

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Magnus Audio MA-300 Power Amplifier Upgrade

This monster Magnus Audio MA-300 power amplifier came in for a factory power supply upgrade. Let’s take a look! Magnus Audio is not a well-known name here in Australia, maybe not elsewhere either, but, after working on this amplifier, perhaps they should be. I’d not worked on any Magnus Audio gear until this unit came

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PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC Performance Upgrade & Review

I’ve developed and tested some improvements for the PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC. The results are astonishing and I’m now offering this service for my customers. Let’s take a look. Now updated with additional improvements and owner feedback. My apologies for the lack of articles, I’ve been inundated with work and this really slows down

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Musical Fidelity M1 DAC Review & Upgrades

The Musical Fidelity M1 DAC shares some of the same DNA as the awesome Tri-Vista 21 tube DAC. Come along as I upgrade this M1 and discover just how good she can sound. Think of the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC as the little DAC that could. For its very modest asking price, you got and

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Vintage Fidelity Research FR-2 + Yamaha GT-2000 Vinyl Setup

My good friend wanted to give his Yamaha GT-2000 vinyl rig a shot in the arm. I suggested a few changes to improve cartridge/headshell/tonearm synergy. We achieved this by installing a gorgeous, vintage Fidelity Research FR-2 moving coil cartridge and RS-10 headshell. As any knowledgeable vinyl lover will know, Fidelity Research was a Japanese ‘vinyl-things’

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Fidelity Research FR-1 Mk3 Cartridge + RS-141 Headshell

I’ve been ‘secretly’ acquiring some vinyl goodies including a mint Fidelity Research FR-1 Mk3 moving coil cartridge… I followed that up with a matching Fidelity Research RS-141 one-piece milled aluminium headshell. These wonderful pieces of Japanese analog engineering partner up with my Jelco SA-750D tonearm, Kenwood KD-600 direct-drive turntable and (of course) Fidelity Research XF-1

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Legendary Yamaha NS-1000M Loudspeaker Review & Upgrades

The legendary Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeaker is an iconic design that, in many ways has almost no peers even today, 50 years on. Yamaha’s NS-1000M is lauded by those who have heard them and loved by many thousands of owners, who, like me, appreciate their unique attributes. I own the pair of NS-1000s featured in this article,

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Rega Planar 3 Service & Ortofon 2M Blue Installation

I recently had the opportunity to work on an iconic Rega Planar 3 belt-drive deck. It reminded me of all that I like about these classic decks, and a couple of things I really don’t… The Rega Planar 3 has deservedly won a place in the hearts and minds of many vinyl lovers over the years.

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Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 Tube DAC Modifications, Part 3

I recently finished another round of modifications to my Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 Class A Tube DAC. In this post, I go into details about the changes and the MIL-spec vintage parts I’ve used! Actually, I will do some more power supply modifications in 2018, more on that when it happens. This is part three,

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Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 Headphone Amplifier Modifications

I recently modified a Musical Fidelity X-CAN V3 headphone amplifier. My goal was to see what sort of improvements I could make without spending too much cash. The Musical Fidelity X-CAN V3 uses bipolar output devices, with a tube driver stage. The tube driver stage is a JAN (Joint Army/Navy) 6922 mil-spec dual-triode tube, per

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