When I originally searched for any references to the review of Secrets of Home Theater and Hifi on the Stereo Dave's modification of an HK 3480 stereo receiver,
I had not seen this thread regarding the review. As the person who does these modifications, I felt I should respond to some of the remarks directed at Mr. Johnson's online publication and myself.
1) “Stereo Dave” Herren was my late employer and a friend. He was well respected in the Portland area audio community for his innovative custom made audio products and modifications of audio equipment. He had his own store for 25 years. Dave realized that unlike some people in this forum refuse to acknowledge, different brands and makes of audio equipment will have inherent strengths and weaknesses. If this were not so, we would not have so many brands of audio equipment. I think it is naïve to forget that there are many different makes of cars with their own strengths and weaknesses, despite the many engineers utilized in the manufacture of these various makes of cars. It’s well accepted among “car guys” that modifications can make large or vast difference in the performance of those vehicles, hence, a huge aftermarket industry. Mass market audio pieces, which are mid-fi priced, out of necessity have economic constraints imposed on them by the engineers, which have to do with keeping their price below a certain level, not necessarily to with optimal performance.
2) Regarding lack of comparison in the article, Mr. Johnson has no doubt reviewed thousands of pieces and is well qualified in evaluating the sound of performance of a regular $250 stereo receiver vs a modified unit. In the review, he also compares the measurements of the Modified HK 3480 with the listed measurements of the stock unit. The modified unit is shown to be superior to the manufacturers listed measurements.
3) Many people who have considerable amounts of engineering and electrical knowledge cheat themselves out of enjoying the music, by biasing their perceptions of what they hear based on the technical measurements / aspects of a unit. They fail to take an objective evaluation of a speaker or piece of audio equipment based on simply what they hear. Often the orthodox held beliefs have been proven to be not necessarily true; and we have found this to be true in audio. Often, the most expensive, theoretically highly measured equipment are inferior in sound performance compared to other pieces. And I'm sure a number you have had this experience. In fact, this is the dirty little secret in audio. We and many others have listened to modified equipment vs stock units and have easily heard the difference when the mod is done by a competent person. We are not the only company that does modifications. If there was no difference between modified equipment and stock equipment, modifications would have ceased a long time ago.
4) We have a proprietary modification that is not based on the standard capacitor based mod, but does effect the performance of many capacitors and components of the piece. The proof, however, is when people and reviewers listen to the modified units and discover that they are much better than the stock units, as pointed out in DVD player modifications review and receiver modification reviews and by our customers, who continue to give us feedback on the difference they hear.
Sean and Rick
