This auction is for a £30 voucher towards the cost of modifying and upgrading your Amplification*, CD/DVD/SACD Player, Transport or DAC.
CPT Acoustics Ltd is a well established company that has 15 years experience upgrading & modifying audio equipment.
Why Upgrade?
Unfortunately for us consumers, all equipment is built to a price, even the very expensive and esoteric! Furthermore many manufacturers have been slightly less than meticulous with their designs leading to many components running well below their potential.
Our extensive research and experience over 15 years has given us a good understanding of what can be done to improve most equipment..... often beyond all expectation and into a league that is way beyond the original price point.
Does upgrading offer value for money?
The simple answer is yes.
When you buy a new piece of equipment, the cost of the components inside the box are only a small proportion of the overall price you pay, the rest goes on manufacturing costs, distribution, retail margins, taxes, and not least, manufactures profit.
Usually for a typical mid to high end product, the parts cost will be around 10% of the price you pay. If you then factor in the fact that the most expensive parts used in high end products are items like precision machined aluminum front panels and extrusions and you start to get the picture.
By upgrading you are only spending you money on labour and vital components that actually make a difference to what you hear.
This means that for a given upgrade budget, you can expect to see a level of improvement that could only be achieve by spending at least 4 times this amount, in addition to the cost of the original equipment, on brand new equipment in order to achieve the same result.
Is my equipment to cheap / expensive to be modified?
No. Most expensive equipment is built using parts from a more modest component.
This means that if you have a budget component there is a HUGE potential to make it better, while with more expensive kit, some of the upgrade work has effectively already been done by the manufacturer, but this doesn't mean there isn't any room for further improvement.
If you have a quick browse through the customer comments below, you will see a range of equipment from budget to high end, but the one thing they have in common is that vast improvements have been made to all of them.
How much will it cost?
Unlike many of our competition, we don't offer set price packages: this is restrictive and doesn't offer the best value for money.
Instead, we take a more balanced approach that takes into account the individual design, merits and weaknesses of a given component in order to establish the best possible upgrade strategy for your budget.
Your budget can be anything you like within reason, and we are happy to discuss this with you to ensure you are getting the best possible value. This means that we'll advise you not to spend too little if just a little more will make a big difference, but more importantly, we also won't let you spend too much if we feel that your budget is beyond the limit of what we feel is cost effective.
So how much do you need to spend? well for a typical mid priced hi-fi component, worthwhile gains can be had for as little as £30, the value of this voucher, while at the other end of the spectrum, even budgets in excess of £1000 can still give cost effective and worthwhile extra improvements (not to mention stellar performance!!!)
Most people will spend £200 to £800 on a typical hi-fi component, but ultimately the budget is up to you.
..... And one of the most frequently asked questions is:
Can't I just do this myself..... I've had a go with a soldering iron and seen lot's of things on hi-fi forums telling me that all I have to do is change all of the capacitors in my CD player to Black Gates and I will see a huge improvement .... not exactly rocket science?
Answer:
One of the big problems associated with DIY upgrading, and much of the "freely available" advice, is that a lack of knowledge can be very dangerous! Knowledge, for example, about how various components react with each other:Although the above example of filling your CD player with Black Gate capacitors may well show an overall improvement, some of the capacitors you will change will make a substantial improvement to the sound, a few will react in a detrimental way because of the way in which they interact with surrounding component, and the vast majority will make no difference what so ever!In addition, there is a big difference between being handy with a soldering iron and having the ability to work with sensitive, surface mount components, some down to under 1mm in size.... this requires a skill level that is way beyond most amateurs and some expensive, specialist tools too.For the time and money that you spent changing all those capacitors, you could have a far more balanced and considered upgrade that, by only addressing the key components, will allow more of an improvement to be made.
Customer Comments:
Thanks once again Colin - I'm enjoying listening to music so much! The difference really is staggering.
Chris Tarling - Gloucester - Meridian 200
The upgrade has given my old CD63 KI a new lease of life. The separation of the instruments is truly superb and the new levels of detail being pulled off the disc makes it sound like a far classier and cultured player. Vocals sound more life like and have a real ability to send a shiver down your spine. The timing and rhythm of the player have been greatly improved making it far more musical.
Thanks again for your help and I'm still smiling every time I listen.
Andrew Kent - Plymouth - CD63KI
I was expecting to hear subtle improvements but I was wrong. The improvements are massive, and the music just comes alive. All areas gain significantly: The bass is sweet, vocals seem as if the singer has walked off the stage and standing in front of me and the treble has lost its hardness. The whole thing just sounds different but much much better.
Tony Barnard - High Wycombe - Accuphase DP55
Not to labour the point too much, I am impressed: impressed with the way you installed the “fixtures and fittings” and impressed with the sound.
Even at the beginning, the sound image was significantly cleaner, smoother and more coherent than before, and both voices and musical instruments were clearly located in a broad sound-stage. I felt the upgrade had come up to expectations and my money had been well spent.
That was on Wednesday evening. By Friday evening, having played a variety of CD’s for about 16 hours, the further improvement in sound quality was quite remarkable. The bass had became much more powerful and controlled, and baroque strings had acquired a fine sheen.
Stuart Rothey - Essex - Arcam Alpha
You can also find extensive customer recommendations by searching through various well known hi-fi forums: Pink Fish, Zero Gain, Cyrus Unofficial etc.
* Terms & Conditions:
May only be used on upgrades from CPT Acoustics Ltd
No other purchase necessary
Only 1 voucher can be used per item.
May not be used in conjunction with any other offer.
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