Frequently-asked questions

Q: There are TOO MANY UPGRADES for my product! Where do I start?
A: That's a great question. There are no hard and fast rules; for power amps, the best bang-for-the-buck is probably with the Basic upgrade. Preamps seem to respond best to getting the line stage and the power supply upgraded (all audio goes through the line stage, and the power supply powers everything in the preamp). But for another take, read what David Kakenmaster of Definitive Audio has learned from the upgrades he's had me do to his equipment. Click here.

Can my USA Counterpoint be modified to run on European, U.K., or Japanese Mains voltage? Or can my Euro/U.K./Japan Counterpoint run on US voltages?
A: Yes. All Counterpoint products were designed to operate world-wide. However, you will need to do some re-wiring. The power transformers are set up with multiple primaries that can be configured according to the Mains voltage. I can e-mail the wiring arrangement to you. You will need to find someone to do the work. The work generally requires soldering skill, and it certainly requires knowledge of how to safely wire things so that there is no chance of fire or electrocution. That's right: I said electrocution. The transformers are connected to the Mains. If you don't know what you are doing, then the results could be lethal. So get a good electrician or electronics technician. I find that music shops that sell guitar amplifiers alway know a good technician. If you are purchasing a product in the U.S. and plan to bring it to your country, you might want to have me inspect it before you pay for it. Please see http://www.altavistaaudio.com/Market.html#assurance

Q: I don't use a turntable. Can I remove the phono tubes from my Counterpoint preamp?
A: No. The power supplies in the preamplifier -- the various voltage regulators -- were designed to power the exact number of tubes in the preamplifier. Removing tubes will "unload" the power supplies, causing higher than expected voltages within the supplies, possible shortening the life of some capacitors. The high-voltage regulators in the "one-thousand" series of preamps might go out of regulation, causing high voltages to be applied to the tubes, shortening tube life.

Q: Why can't I turn my volume control past 9 o' clock without the music getting too loud?

A: The volume control has to be set so low for several reasons.

1. CD players output 2 volts (rms) at full volume, which is 8 to 12dB louder than the 0.7 to 0.5V line level "standard" that existed before CD player manufacturers decided to build products with louder signals so their technical specifications would look better. Based on these earlier levels, most preamps, including most Counterpoint designs, typically had line stages with 24dB of gain, and power amps (also including Counterpoint designs) had voltage gains around 24 to 28dB. The current 2Vrms are hotter than for what those products were designed which is why the volume control cannot be advanced very far before the music is quite loud.
A solution for Counterpoint preamps which use 6922/6DJ8 tubes in the line stage is to use the 6CG7/6FQ7/ECC86 type tubes which will reduce the line stage gain by about 9dB, again affording more more volume control range.

2. Speakers with higher sensitivity are also more popular in some markets than they were in earlier decades, which means that normal signals sound louder, requiring even less volume from the control.

3. Power amplifiers with higher than "normal" gain or sensivity turn up every so often.

It's for these reasons that the Aria WT power amps, and my upgrades for the Counterpoint SA-12, SA-100, SA-20, and SA-220 power amplifiers are based around the 6SN7 tube has gives a voltage gain of only 17dB. Amplifiers with less gain permit more operation range of the volume control.

Q: When I turn the volume control down on my preamplifier, one channel goes off before the other. What is wrong and can it be fixed?
A: Continuous-track (either smooth or with mechanical detents to give that "click" feel) potentiometers cannot track perfectly. At some low level, one channel will always go to zero (fully off) before the other. The manufacturers of the parts will tell you this. No manufacturer specifies low level tracking to any degree of accuracy below -50 or -60dB. It's just too hard to manufacture parts that track well at those low levels. Some, however, are better than others. The TKD parts that I use for upgrading Counterpoint gear sound much better than the Noble 25mm parts used in most Counterpoint gear, but track even less well. The tracking of stepped resistor attenuators is essentially perfectly, but the limited number of steps and the large physical size of the parts make them impractical for most Counterpoint preamps. If this mis-tracking at low levels is a real problem for you, you might want to locate another potentiometer and have a technician install it, but it might take a lot of work to find one that tracks nearly perfectly. If you do find a source of good-sounding volume pots that track well, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Q: What's with the "A" and "E" versions?
A: You might own an SA-1000, an SA-1000A, or and SA-1000E. What's the difference? Nothing, really. The SA-1000 is the name of the product. Starting about 1993 or so, Counterpoint changed the model names to use "A" to indicate units that were sold through retailers in the United States, and "E" (for export) for units sold through distribution in other countries. This was done to make life easier for Counterpoint's distributors. Audiophiles in their countries could easily see the US retail price of any American-made hi-fi component by picking up a copy of The Absolute Sound or Stereophile. Yet, the prices charged by their local retailers were much higher. Why? The distributor who brings the product into the country has to pay import duties, advertising in the local magazine, trips overseas for trade shows, staff, and other overhead. Our distributors asked us to either raise prices in the US, or create special versions for distribution. Though other manufacturers choose the first route, Counterpoint elected to keep U.S. prices low, but create special model names instead. This way, the distributor could explain that, yes, the one in the American magazine is less expensive, but it's only an "A" version, while the "E" version is built to more rigorous specifications.

Q: Do I have used Counterpoint preamps or amps to sell? Or or parts like front panels, remote controls, or knobs available?
A: Sorry, no. I service, modify and upgrade Counterpoint gear for people who own it, but don't buy and sell any Counterpoint gear. For used Counterpoint, consider checking out the Counterpoint Marketplace -- it's a place you can view ads from people that want to sell used Counterpoint, and you can place your own Wanted To Buy ads there, too. No charge.
As for front panels, knobs, and assemblies like remote controls, Counterpoint's assets were auctioned off in 1998 to pay the creditors. All the furniture, fixtures and equipment were property of the corporation, not my private property, so I didn't take any home.

Q: What were the original retail prices of Counterpoint products?
A: See the Counterpoint Product Guide. Every price I have been able to find is on that page.

Q: Where can I get Owner's Manuals or servicing information?
A: See www.altavistaaudio.com/manuals.html

Q: Will Counterpoint ever start up again?
A: I doubt it very much. The company is gone, the assets auctioned off and the brand name has been purchased by conrad-johnson. Bill and Lew are great guys, but I can't imagine any reason why they'd want to see Counterpoint back in business.
The good news is that I have started a new company, Aria Ltd, to manufacture new products. These are high-end audio products, designed with reliability and sonic performance in mind. I am selling directly to consumers, to avoid the 50% retail markup that doubles the price.

Q: Counterpoint in China?
A: Intellectual property is not respected in mainland China. This company, www.counterpointaudio.com is totally unrelated to the original Counterpoint. I doubt that they contacted conrad-johnson (see above) for permission to use the name or the logo. I know they have not contacted me about anything. Their designs appear to be the usual mid-fi transistor rubbish dressed up to look decorator-friendly.

Q: What other kinds of tubes can I use in my Counterpoint?
A: For locations in your Counterpoint product that are set up to handle 6DJ8's, there are several choices -- some quite nice-sounding. Try using CV5358, ECC88, 6922, 6922-WA, CCa, CV10320, CV2492, CV2493, CV8065, E88CC, E88CC/01, ECC868, 7308, CV5231, CV5354, E188CC, 8223's, E288CC's. Neither the Russian 6N1P nor the 6N(H)30 tubes are good choice -- they require much more filament current, 600mA and 825mA respectively, than the 350mA that the 6DJ8-type tubes require. This increased load on the filament supply would likely damage the filament voltage supply circuit. If your unit uses 6CA4 tubes, you can also use EZ81, 6V4, EZ80. Some 6BW4 tubes sound fantastic, but your unit will need to be re-wired to use them.

Q: For phono use, what's better: an SA-3.1, an SA-5.1, an SA-3000 or an SA-5000?
A: If you're getting into (or returning to) vinyl, and already know that tubes are the most musical devices in audio, don't get fooled into thinking that those little transistorized "cube" phono stages will satisfy you. These products have not somehow overcome the sound of transistors nor discovered the elusive secret of how to make them sound like tubes. No one's done it yet, whether in power amps or preamps, and phono stages are no different.
     Of the Counterpoint products, the SA-3/5 class of preamps offer a pure tube signal path, albeit with older components in the path. These would be a good choice if you are intending to use them with MM cartridges -- cartridges with outputs in the range of 2 to 5mV. They are not a good match for cartridges possessing outputs of 1mV or less because these preamps were designed in the early 80's, when low-output MC cartridges were still new. Phono preamps were typically used with standalone stepup devices, these were either "head amps," if they were active (used power) or were passive MC stepup transformers. Without this additional gain stage to bring MC cartridge signals up to MM levels, background noise levels are troublesome.
     Counterpoint's SA-2 MC pre-preamp was our contribution to the head amps of the world, and was the first audio product on the market that used vacuum tubes for voltage regulation as well as in the audio path. (Upgrades for SA-2's are listed here.)
     Back to preamps. If MM usage is contemplated, or a good head amp is available for MC step-up, then the SA-3/5 class of preamps would be a good choice. Upgrades for the phono stages of these models consist of installing improved components in the signal path for greater transparency. Additionally, MC transformers can be added for MC cartridges. For standalone phono stage use, you might want to connect the preamp to your line stage through the Counterpoint's Tape Outs or we can modify the preamp to have dedicated phono-out jacks.
     The SA-3000/5000 class of preamps have switchable MM/MC phono stages with integral JFET/tube cascode MC inputs, providing sufficient gain and low enough residual noise to be quite useful with all but the lowest of the low-output MC cartridges. However, even in MM mode (which does not not cascode the MC with the input tube) the phono stage's signal path is not pure-tube, possessing two video buffers and one unity-gain JFET per channel in addition to the triodes. It is the removal of those solid-state components, along with upgrading the other signal-path components, that forms the basis of the phono stage upgrades for the SA-3000 and SA-5000. For a pure tube signal path with MC cartridges, we can install an MC transformer so that the JFET cascode is no longer needed. For standalone phono stage use, you might want to connect the preamp to your line stage, so ask me to bypass the Tape Out buffers, for the purest possible sound ($100).
    Further considerations:
     The SA-3.1 and the SA-3000 have solid-state high-voltage power supplies, and possess a hint of transistoriness in their sonic presentation. Power supply upgrades for these models neutralize this sound coloration and offer smoother sound and deeper soundstaging.
    The SA-5.1 and SA-5000 have tube-regulated high-voltage power supplies, which gives them a sweeter sound quality. The power supply upgrades for these latter models deepen the soundstage, tighten focus and transparency.

To repeat: The SA-3.1 and SA-5.1 were intended for use with MM and high-output MC cartridges. For low-output MC cartridges, you were meant to use the SA-2 pre-preamplifier --my first design for Counterpoint. Another option for doing phono is the SA-9 Phono Equalizer (also sold in a cosmetically revised form as the Magnum Opus Phono in 1997) -- a standalone phono stage, capable of handling MC and MM cartridges.

Q: What's better -- an upgraded SA-20/220/12/100 or an NPS200/400?
A: A Basic NP amplifier (upgraded SA-20, SA-220, SA-12 or SA-100) surpasses ALL the factory-stock NPS amplifiers by a long shot. An SA amp that has received even only the Basic upgrade will surpass a fully-upgraded NPS amp by a smallish margin. An SA amplifier that has received the Premium or Premium Gold, or Premium NP upgrade is in a different class altogether, completely surpassing the NPS amplifiers. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the NPS amps represent my best efforts as of 1994 whilst dealing with a struggling company, while the SA upgrades are 1998 thinking done with a clear head, no business hassles to keep me busy and no legacy of parts in stock that I have to use -- I can use newer, better parts. Secondly, the SA amplifiers get completely new circuit boards, which allows me complete freedom with parts and circuitry. The NPS upgrades consist of modifications to the existing circuit boards -- there's only so much I can do. I can't put in some of the trick parts and circuits that I can use on the SA upgrades. ADVERTISEMENT: Even better than any of those are the new Aria WT power amps.

Q: When upgrading SA amplifiers, can I do it in stages?
A: You can stage your NP100 or NP220 from a Premium to a Premium Gold easily because the differences between the two do not involve parts on the circuit board. The Gold gets a upgraded transformer and other improved off-board parts. However, the difference between a Basic and a Premium is the quality of the parts on the circuit boards. Removing parts and installing new parts on circuit boards is something I try to avoid on the NP amplifiers as these amplifiers, with their five-year warranty, need to be built like new amplifiers. During assembly of a production run of boards, I solder in all the parts except those that change. When I receive your order, I either put in Premium or Basic parts, and recommend that we keep it that way thereafter.

Q: Are the upgrades available in kit or instructional form?
A: Only the NP100 and NP220 upgrades (for the SA-12, 100, 20 and 220) are available in kit form. For those models I can provide fully-tested circuit boards.

Upgrade kits or instructions for the other models are not available because I don't make new circuit boards for them. Those upgrades are done by modifying the existing boards, such as re-routing circuit tracks, as well as installing better parts. Such work is difficult to do and requires training and supervision.
Upgrade instructions for those models, such as photographs, pages of text, illustrations, test procedures, etc., would be expensive to create and would require continual changes because the upgrades are "fixed in stone forever," but evolve whenever better parts become available or a better idea is created.
Such documentation would have to be written not only for experienced technicians, but for beginners as well, because I have no way to assess the skill level of the person who wishes to do the work. Nor do I have any assurance that he or she possesses the proper tools: modifying printed circuit boards is not a beginner or intermediate-level skill. I've received units here to clean up that were amazingly messed up, yet the people who worked on them assured me that they could make minor modifications.
Testing must be done, too. After the modifications have been installed, you can't just turn the unit on; it has to be brought up slowly, with a Variac (autotransformer), while measuring voltages and currents to detect errors before applying full power, which could otherwise cause a lot of expensive damage. Audio test equipment (we use Audio Precision here) is used to confirm correct operation.
Finally, if there has been a mistake made, who would help you find the problem? Would you be willing to ship the unit to me and pay me $125 an hour to find the problems, then parts and labor costs to my shop to correct it?

I wish it was otherwise, but this is how it has to be.

Q: I want to do my own upgrading. How can I get advice?
A: I offer two levels of DIY advice. The first is free. Since my stock-in-trade is the thousands of hours of experience and research that I bring to my upgrading and the installation and test knowhow, here's the free advice: get a Service Manual for your product, open up your product, learn how it works. Order many, many, many parts from many, many, many vendors -- there are opinions floating around on the Internet about which parts sound best, some useful, some worthless -- and use them in circuits and listen to them and learn how they sound. Then decide which parts you like, and install them, and test the product to make sure it still works. Some real test equipment would be helpful at this point, such as a Sound Technology 1700A, a Variac (autotransformer), and some multimeters. I personally think that this is the best advice I can give.
But wait -- you want me to tell you exactly what parts to buy, where to buy them, how to install them, and how to test the product? I can do that: just give me a credit card number. I charge a $300 minimum fee, and $100 / hour, billable in 15 minute increments, for my time to create customized upgrade instructions. You'll need to obtain the parts and install them, I won't teach you how to use hand tools, how to modify circuit boards, or how to solder. Again, some real test equipment will be a good thing to have, and if the product does not work then you'll need to send it to us so we can clean it up, which is billed as parts + labor. I can't troubleshoot over the phone or via e-mail.

Q: Should I leave my Counterpoint product on all the time, or shut it off when not in use?
A: There is no simple answer! Tubes stay quiet longer if they are not cycled on and off. Electrolytic capacitors continuously age while they are on. All components sound their least good when freshly turned on and still cold. As long as a component is on, it draws power and raises your electric bill.

The good news is that all Counterpoint gear withthe "standby" switch function eliminate tube cycling and take power off the high-voltage electrolytic caps whie preventing thermal cycling of the valuable audio and power supply tubes.

Here are some general suggestions:

For power amps, their power consumption may increase your power bill more than you like if left on all the time. Tube noise due to cycling will rarely be a problem in a power amp due to the high signal levels vis-à-vis potential tube noise.

For preamps, tube cycling could result in prematurely noisy tubes. But leaving the preamp on all the time does continue aging the 'lytic caps. It will stay warmed-up, though.

I hope there's information here that is of some use. Me, I would leave the gear on except when I knew I'd not be listening for a few days, then shut it off.

Q: Can you put remote control volume in my Counterpoint preamp?
A: It's entirely possible. If your Counterpoint can take a DACT attenuator, we may also be able to mount a Bent Audio motor drive kit. See this page for more information.

Q: How do I get rid of Radio-Frequency Interference (RFI)? I pick up radio stations, or high hiss levels in my system, or have a buzz (which cannot be solved by proper grounding), but when I take the components to other locations, the problem does not exist.

(Note to engineers -- yes, the issue of EMI and how to deal with it is a huge area. The following is a simplified explanation -- I know it's simplified, you know it's simplified, let's leave it at that. )

A: RFI is a real problem in some areas, and some equipment is more susceptible than other equipment. In my experience, RFI does not enter your system through the power lines -- at least I've never seen an RFI problem solved by the use of power line conditioners, etc. Every single case of RFI has been due to the interference getting into the system via the interconnects.
   First of all, use shielded interconnects. Almost all audio interconnects are shielded, but there are some odd tweaky unshielded ones that might work great in systems miles and miles from radio/TV transmitters, in systems that use source components with low output impedance (see below), but they won't work in most other locations, or maybe not with sources with higher output impedances, like tube preamps. If in doubt, grab some cheap Radio Shack interconnects and try them. I am not suggesting that you actually listen to music through them, but they are adequately-shielded and if the problem goes away, you can junk your unshielded ones and get some properly shielded ones.
    If that does not take care of it, then some work needs to be done. First a little background: in a single-ended (RCA connector-type, not balanced XLR connector type) system, the shield of the interconnect performs two functions: it shields the internal signal wire from interference,and it also carries the signal return current. These long interconnects are ideal antennas: strong voltages can be created on the shields of the interconnects in the presence of a strong RF field, and it will be capacitively-coupled to the inner -- signal -- conductor.  If this voltage is allowed to enter your components, it can be detected and create audible noise -- usually a buzz.
     Components with low output impedance (at RF frequencies) -- like most transistor gear -- provide an easy path to conduct the resultant inner-conductor (signal) voltage to ground. But tube gear, especially tube gear with no output buffers and no feedback (like Counterpoint and the other good-sounding tube gear) have high output impedance, so we need to bleed off the signal voltage from the shield. The place to do this is at the point of entry or exit-- where the RCA jack is inserted into the chassis so that the shield becomes an extension of the chassis (a big long Faraday cage).
    It would be nice if we could just ground all the jacks to the chassis where they enter the chassis, but in single-ended AC mains-powered equipment, to do so almost always causes Mains (power line) ground loops and hums. Because audio circuitry is internally grounded to the chassis at some other point which has been selected for low noise, adding additional ground points at the input and output jacks would cause powerline noise issues.
    But we can connect the interconnect shield to the chassis at RF frequencies while keeping it isolated at power line frequencies simply by using capacitor bypasses ( NOT with with magnetic (ferrite) chokes or filters on the interconnects -- those sound pretty bad, anyway).
    Here's how to do it with NO effect on sonic quality: connect "fast" .47uF capacitors from the shell (ground) side of all RCA jacks that are in use to the chassis within 1'' (25mm) of their point of entry. At Alta Vista Audio we use 0.47uF/50-volt ceramic disk capacitors, which are plenty fast. You can use the Mouser Part Number 75-2C20Z5U474M050B, which works just fine. Solder one end of the capacitor to the jack's shell (ground side, not hot side) . The other end wants to go to the chassis. Some Counterpoint gear have handy board mounts nearby -- bolts that go to the chassis, but you may need to drill and mount some hardware: bring that capacitor to the chassis within an inch of the jack -- mount a new bolt right by the jack if you need to; then use an ohmmeter to make sure that the bolt is making a nice low (less than 1 ohm) connection to the chassis. Teardrop-shaped solder lugs can be used on the hardware to provide nice solder points for the other lead of the capacitor.
    Do this with every jack that you are using. Don't forget to keep the leads on the capacitors short by bringing them to chassis ground points no more than 1 inch away. Here's a picture of how we do it:

The little tan capacitors (there are four of them in this picturen between the right and left cluster of jacks) connect the grounds (shells) of the jacks to the chassis. A bolt, passing though from the outside of the chassis, goes through a couple of teardrop grounding lugs with internal star lockwasher "teeth", to which the bypass capacitors have been solderered. Check the DC resistance between the chassis and the bolt, it needs to be less than an ohm.

We can do this modification to your unit for a fee, contact me for pricing, which varies depending on how many jacks you need done. In every single case, this bypassing technique has cured even the most obnoxious RFI problem.

Note: I recently had some fellow in Canada (who called himself an "audio doctor") try to tell me that power amplifiers with high input impedances were more susceptible to RFI. The fellow must have been smoking crack. In consumer audio, the impedance of an interconnect -- which is the antenna that picks up radio-frequency interference -- is dominated by the output impedance of the source, not the input impedance of the load. You want a high input impedance because it provides better sound. When the source (like a preamp) is more lightly-loaded, you'll have a more lively and dynamic sound. That's why my Aria amps and my Counterpoint SA-12/100, 20/220 amplifier upgrades have input impedances of 475,000 ohms.

Q: How long will the tubes last in my Counterpoint?
A: I get a lot of calls like, "I bought my Counterpoint preamp (or power amp) in 1997. I still have the original tubes. How long do they last, should I replace them?"
    It is very difficult to come up with a hard and fast rule for judging tube life. Tubes of the sort used in 99% of hi-fi gear are consumer-grade tubes, called "receiving tubes" (because in the Olde Days they were normally used in radios and televisions), and the manufacturers only provided limited information about their useful life such as some of the performance criteria, but not everything that is important for audio gear. They assure us that their tubes will provide adequate amplification for a certain number of hours, usually 5,000 to 12,000 hours depending on the manufacturer and tube type, but they say nothing about what to expect in terms of quietness of operation or microphonics (sensitivity to shock or vibration, leading to ringing, bell-like or clunking sounds).
       I know this:

Time spent with the high-voltage off and heater on does not reduce useful tube life. In fact, this seems to prolong low noise by reducing cold-hot thermal cycling. This is the idea behind the Operate/Standby switch on Counterpoint gear.
And a tube that is never used at all is good for decades and decades, as near as I can tell.

Generally speaking, you use the tube until it becomes unusable: either through increased noise or when signal level begins to drop off. Note that toward the end of its useful life, a tube generally fades very, very slowly, even unnoticeably so. Sound quality might become dull and lifeless. Many people just get a new set every few years to freshen things up.
Something else to consider: the tubes that come with a product may not necessarily be great-sounding ones: they might just be the ones the product's manufacturer was able to get in quantity at a reasonable price at the time the unit was manufactured.

Q: How can I tell if the previous owner had a Counterpoint piece modified at Alta Vista Audio?

I need the name of the person who owned the unit before you. I wish I had been tracking work here by serial number, but I haven't. I track it by customer name, so if you think the previous owner had it modified, give me his name and I can look to see. Failing that, take the top cover off and take a digital photo of the inside and send it to me as a medium-resolution JPG , no larger than 1024 x 768 please! I don't understand why people send giant 6 megabyte pictures -- this ain't fine art.

Q: How can I get a replacement fuseholder cap for my Counterpoint?

These fuseholders with the square faces were used on the SA3, SA5, SA4 and other earlier Counterpoint products. In order to get the cap (which is probably what you're looking for) you have to buy the whole fuseholder. They are manufactured by Littelfuse (www.littelfuse.com), their part number 348877. Fuses Unlimited appears to have plenty of stock at the time of this writing (this tip courtesy Mr. W. Krauss, Gardena, Calif.). These fuseholders accept fuses in the 1/4'' diameter X 1-1/4'' long size, not the currently popular 5mm x 20mm size. If you also lost the fuse, you can find the replacement value in the Owners Manual.

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