Mod old player or buy new?

[Inverscot]

Hi everyone,

First time poster to this particular forum and it may be a lengthy introduction to cover everything so please bear with me!

This post is concerning whether it would be better to modify my Marantz 6000 OSE KI or to buy a completely new player. I don't plan to do either until probably toward the end of the year, so I'm trawling various forums and mod websites to gain as much information as I can, having absolutely no previous experience or knowledge when it comes to modifying equipment.

I recently upgraded both my amp and speakers and now my CDP is about a decade old, which is why I began thinking of a newer model initially (and have been looking at the Shanling T80 and Cambridge Azur 840c upsampling as intriguing sounding machines) but also found websites that offered upgrades such as the internal clock and/or psu. And since those options were cheaper than a brand new player (say between £150 and £300 for the level of mods I've been mulling over; clock and/or psu, compared to around £700 - £800 for the above players) it's certainly something I've been seriously considering.

I've also been in contact with a very knowledgeable chap who runs a Tag McLaren/Audiolab mod site and has been giving me advice on the best way to start looking into mods i.e. power supply being the best thing to considering changing first to give the greater reward. But he also warned me that the laser/optics will gradually degrade over time and unless you happen to have, or can source, a replacement, you're player has pretty much had it if that goes. Which leads me back to thinking of getting a brand new player and just taking much greater care over the sort of elements it could become exposed to over time.

These are the two websites I've been comparing for modding my player:

Audio Upgrades - Marantz cd6000 OSE KI
Trichord Research Clock 4 CD Upgrades

SO... With all that in mind, I'm hoping to get some feedback on what my best options are. I do like the idea of seeing just how much better my current player can sound, but would hate to spend money upgrading it only to find the laser dies a few months later! But it doesn't skip or stutter unless playing CD-R's, and even then it's infrequent at best, so maybe I shouldn't be overly concerned about that? And having no modding experience, I don't really know which services from the above two websites are the best cost effective solution.

I would be extremely grateful for opinions and suggestions. And moderators, if this post is in the wrong section please move it to somewhere more appropriate.

Thanks

[poynton]

Brent at Audio Upgrades is a great bloke and a member of this forum.

His upgrades are top quality and a lot better than others.

Call him and ask. It costs nothing that way.


Andy


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[Mooly]

The Azur 840c is an interesting player... one I would certainly shortlist.
As it's available exclusively from Richer Sounds in the UK, why not see if you can borrow one for home dem with no obligations. Have heard they do sometimes do this if you put deposit down.
It's the only way you will know for sure.

Can't really comment on the mods to your existing player and what difference they will make ultimately. What laser/optics does the Marantz use ? is it something that's hard to get now ?

You probably owe it to yourself to give some alternatives a fair audition before paying someone to mod your player.