unmodified SX-950 or recapped SX-950?

[OwsleyAcid]

I have the opportunity to get a near mint, unmodified SX-950, or a freshly recapped 950 for about the same price.

Would a recapped 950 sound better or worse than an original unmodified 950?

 

[native]

Depends on who recapped it and what quality parts they used. I would buy the unmodified because they are fun to work on, if you are into that sorta thing. Id really have to trust the tech that recapped something I was looking at buying. I would rather do it myself and know exactly what was done.

 

[bktheking]

If it was done properly the recapped 950 SHOULD sound better.

 

[OwsleyAcid]

i would have no idea how to fix anything if something were to go wrong on the original

 

[McBru6177]

If you plan to keep it for many years, a full restoration is needed. A good tech will charge several hundred for this type of work. If you think you may take this route, go for the one in better cosmetic condition.

 

[HVHiFI]

i would have no idea how to fix anything if something were to go wrong on the original

Buy the refurbished one. Unless it is a terrible bit more then the original one, having that work done can cost a few bucks. Do you know what was done to the refurbished one? It also depends to what point it was restored.

 

[rcs16]

If you can afford too, buy both, one can be used as a parts spare or practice unit to try mods etc. I try to do this for my older HP test equipment, so that I have a full set of spares in the unlikely event of a failure. If the referb was done correctly using some new ecaps etc, then the assumption is that it would be more reliable than the original unit.