Priority of dr

300

I did 300 first. That was partly because I ordered mine not that long before DR was introduced. I can only say it ia an amazing upgrade.

Keith

Hi Jon and keith, can you pls let me know the  reason why don't you prefer to upgrade the sourcing first?

Cds3 was designed to work with the XPS2. A XPS DR may change the sound of the CDS3 it but it's not guaranteed to sound better. On  that basis I'd DR the 300 if you want to spend on a DR upgrade somewhere. 

To get the maximum benefit from a DR, it should be close to the circuit it feeds and the regulator immediately upstream of the circuit it feeds.

With the cds3/xps2 this is not the case. The DR is in the power supply, therefore not close, and the cds3 probably has 30 or 40 internal old style (LM317) regs between the XPS2DR and the circuits it feeds.

It may worth checking if any one box is due for a service, kind of makes sense to get service and DR'd at the same time. Not sure if there are any deals on but it certainly saves inconvenience / faffing

Gary

Just had my 8 year old 250 DRrd and can confirm you get a discounted service.

Mike

I would upgrade the 300 first and then exchange the 252/ super cap for a 552dr ☺️

All my boxes are in similar serial numbers(9 years) so can't compare which one need to service first.

Going DR on the 300 will have more impact. More resolution and transparence in particular at the extremities of the spectrum, but a slightly brighter presentation overall.

Chag -

I have a similar system as you but use 555ps on my cds3, I serviced and dr upgraded them earlier this year. Before doing this I got to borrow DR vesions from my dealer. To my supprice the 555ps was the clearest upgrade, possibly due to a grater service need but same age as the 300 (10years). The 300 a clear second. I had hoped to delay the service/DR of the 555ps but that was not to happen.

They have taken roughly 10 weeks to get on song so don't regett sending them in all at once. In you case I would save up and do them all at once. 

After this I got to hear what a Chord music can do and kind of wonder if that plus service would not have been a viable option...

DR upgrades on 555PS and SC indeed were said to be more impressive than on XPS2.

Chag -