Positive experience with Audio-gd for CD mods

[sanjeev]

I am a hobbyist in the US and wanted to mention some positive experiences I had with a Chinese company called Audio-gd. http://www.audio-gd.com/En%20audio-gd.htm
Earlier this year I bought some gear from them including the Dac 3SE (http://www.pacificvalve.us/AUDIOGDDAC3SE.html), which is fantastic.

Then I decided to try to get a better transport than my Marantz CD6000OSE. I contacted audio-gd for suggestions and got a response from Kingwa, their main designer (and perhaps, owner). He encouraged me to try to mod the 6000OSE if I had the confidence to do so. He seemed to have vast knowledge of mods. He quickly pointed me to their DIY products (power supply for DSP, clock, and digital output board; see http://www.audio-gd.com/enweb/en-diy.htm) and told me what I would need. I placed an order and they arrived very fast by air (the shipping charge was a very reasonable US$10). The quality of parts is extremely high for the prices they charge.

Kingwa also voluntarily looked over the Marantz 6000OSE service manual and sent me helpful jpegs of places where to attach the power supply, clock, etc. A few times I got stuck and he sent quick help by email. I think this level of service is fantastic for the $100 or so I spent on his DIY parts.

So how did the mods go? They were not too difficult to do and truly took the Marantz player up into another league as a transport. A drum really sounded more like a drum, instruments in a symphony were more clearly delineated, etc., etc. The overall sound was more relaxed and pleasurable. (My wife noticed this clearly as well.)

Unfortunately, the story has an unhappy ending. After a week of enjoying my modded player I got a bit carried away with my success and started changing transformers in the marantz (the player really doesnt have enough space for a new toroid). Then I did something bad ---possibly loosened an existing solder joint somewhere. Now the player doesnt work. (Kingwa heard the symptoms and agreed that it is probably beyond my capabilities to fix. For one thing, the thermal fuse inside the transformer blew.) Of course, this was my fault.

Anyway, I wanted to just bring this new company to the attention of people here. I think they provide really excellent service for the price. This has been my first experience with the upcoming Chinese audio industry, and I am quite amazed. Kingwa seems to be a really honest and knowledgeable expert.

I have no financial or personal interest in them; merely a very satisfied customer.

[sanjeev]

ps Note that their English (including on the website and in their emails) is not too good, but they are true professionals otherwise. In general it is amazing how little English has penetrated China. I have been to China, and it is a struggle to converse even with educated Chinese.

[piero7]

Thanks for sharing your good experience