Thinking about buying a UA-5. Is the quality produced by the MOD UA-5 worth the extra $200?
About which mod are you speaking? Last I checked pricing, it was something like:
$220 | stock UA-5 w/no mods (can't be used standalone w/ DAT/JB3)
$295 | UA-5 w/ Oade digi-mod
$500 | UA-5 w/ Oade digi-mod + "warm" mod
$550 | UA-5 w/ Oade digi-mod + "presence" mod
$??? | UA-5 w/ Oade digi-mod + "transparent" mod (prolly costs the same as one of the above
If you're on a budget, go with the $295 Oade digi-mod. You can always send it back later for the preamp upgrade. Only
you can decide whether it's worth the extra cash to get one of the preamp upgrade. Listen to a bunch of recordings and decide for yourself, or...let your budget decide.