Ultimate + Upgrade
I am going to start by listing my Hi Fi system so that you can get an idea of the level of components My Reavon UBR-X200 is being paired with.
Single spur directly connected to the consumer unit.
Olsen Mains Block with captive lead and totally Star re-wired with quality copper cable.
The original Quadraspire Hi Fi Rack.
Densen 175 Integrated Amp.
Densen 1 NRG Power Supply.
Shahinian Arc's 1996 vintage.
Anti Cables Level 3 Power Chords.
Anti Cables Level 7.3 RCA Interconnect.
Rega SC42 Speaker Cable.
The Reavon is my main Source for Blu Ray, DVD, CD and SACD playback and replaces and betters a Densen 475 CD Player (£7000) in this system.
I watch a lot of concert DVD's via two channel analogue connection on my 175 so I asked Brent to concentrate on improving the analogue sound quality more than anything else.
The Reavon has probably had about 200 hours burn in by now so still has time to improve.
Picture quality is so much better than before Simon & Garfunkel Live In Central Park is an old poor quality DVD you can now clearlyy see individual strands of hair on the performers also so much more detail in the stage set.
Morrisey Live In Manchester you can now see fine patterns in his shirt that previously went unnoticed.
OK Music was more important to me the change is astonishing I am playing recordings that have listened to for 40 years or more and I am now hearing details that I never knew were there.
The sound is now free of the speakers and in the room with me more impact more fine detail a lot more decay of instruments.
The Jam All Mod Cons MOFI Cd I can actually hear the youthfulness in Paul Wellers voice amazing.
Importantly too my foot will start tapping as I am listening to songs so it is not all about sterile detail these modifications are also musical.
The Anti Cables Level 7.3 Interconnect (£500) should also take some credit for these improvements too, but if the Source component wasn't this good the the detail would not be there.
I wonder if Brent actually knows how good he is as the transformation he has made to the Reavon is astounding so well done to him.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Brent's modifications.
The Reavon arrived back to me in pristine exceptionally clean condition too.
Thanks Brent.
K C | Stockport | August 2024
Hi Karl. Thank you for the glowing review and I hope you continue to enjoy the upgrade ;-)
Possibly the best UBR X200 in the UK
My review will echo most of the other comments on components along with Brents work!
Stemming from my disc drive repair I decided to go about upgrading components and parts in my player.
I'll add it wasn't all smooth sailing as my player is two years old and a 1st Generation.
I'm going to start with Brent's fault finding skills are above and beyond and I appreciate all the time and effort he's put into sorting my player .
modifications list
two C5 signature clocks
two X1 regulators
power inlet upgrade to Furutech IEC (no power switch) along with internal wiring upgrades
PSU upgrades
Magic pads
RCA capacitor upgrades
Power cable upgrade
The process was over a month long ,along with the burn in cycle, this is important as the players picture and digital sound was already good but and he's the but it does improve and quite a bit.
I'm comparing to my trusty Sony x800 which is no slouch!
Both players process differently but the X200 colour production is more natural the difference now is the image is deeper looking , contrast and colours are vibrant and better black reproduction along with graduation improvements
I've an LG G2 and the Sony brightens the image in SDR , blacks get crushed no matter the settings
The Reavon did the same with black levels ,The 1990 TMNT movie is a great demo to what Brents little boards do as now there is no black crush!
If a movie is particularly grainy it isn't magically going to be cleaned up but it will look better , motion is another improvement over the players original set up .
Gremlins 2 is another great before and after example of improvements where film grain is present but the movie looks way better because the picture is richer with colours ,contrast and smooth movement
The biggest noticeable difference is with Dolby vision films , this set up and to me is more noticeable with the improvements things just look stunning!
I've showed off John wick 4 and TMNT Mutant Mayhem to friends.with Panasonic players and both agreed the picture looked stunning on the G2 and Reavon combo
Now going to Sound I can only run Dolby Codecs through my eArc so I'm unable to verify DTS Quality but Atmos ,5.1 and stereo are incredibly well defined
I'm running through a Bowers and Wilkins set up which primarily are bright sounding but you can hear the difference with sound separation
The difference after burn in is that brightness becomes less pronounced and the sound is more even across the range
The bass response is limited to my systems ability but it all sounds really good and defined in busy action scenes
Cd playback through the RCA sounds particularly smooth and rounded !
Running super Audio via HDMI sounds brilliant
I believe some of this is because the drive is running smoother too while those little boards are cleaning up the signals so the processor in the amp can work it's magic.
Along with the magic pads covering components I believe this player outperforms the Magnetar 800 and possibly the 900
As for the improvements in DACs in the 900 maybe in a side by side and time.i could hear a difference in my favourite albums but to me through my set up I'm very happy.
In time I'll get Brent to do the voltage regulators but for Movie and music playback I'm blown away so far
Any wonder about having no power switch , it doesn't worry me , the little gap allows more heat to escape, my conditioner/surge protector has one so it's not a big issue for me.
If you plan to keep your Reavon for as long as possible or think it's at its peak , I really recommend getting it modded because you'll end up using it so much more for movies and music because they'll look and sound there absolute best!
Jay Parker | Cotswolds | March 2024