SA-3000 Upgrades

"Occasionally, I sit down in front of my system to marvel at its detail retrieval, sound staging, imaging, and depth. The SA-3000 is now at least the equal and usually superior to other preamps that I have heard. For me the test is musical enjoyment when simply in the room or the next room, and in this respect the upgraded Counterpoint SA-3000 easily wins.

"So for a few thousand dollars in upgrades spread out over several years, I ended up with a preamp that produces music with unmatched transparency, smoothness without loss of frequency extension. In short, a preamplifier that is "musical" without suffering from the colorations that that term seems to imply."

-- Joe Duray
(Excerpted from Joe's full review on the testimonials page)

"Whoa! What a difference. I've had my SA-3000 (Line Stage, Power Supply Level II, Phono Stage upgrades) back in my system now for about a month and I'm more impressed with it every time I sit down to listen. Everything is right there in spades! The image, the detail, the harmonics, all of it. I'm also very impressed with the way it sounds at low volume levels . . . ."

-- Michael Grove

(Read more about these mini-reviews on the testimonials page.)

I designed the SA-3000 in 1989 and I'm pleased to have an opportunity to go back and develop some upgrades for this versatile little preamplifier. Like all the Counterpoint designs, it used reasonably-good sounding components for the price, but in my custom shop we can do a lot better.

Here is a completely-upgraded SA-3000. It has the Premium Line Stage upgrade, the Phono Stage upgrade, and the Level II Power Supply upgrade, as well as upgraded RCA jacks. The client does not use an MC cartridge so the entire internal MC JFET step-up circuit has been pulled from the phono stage. It sounds jaw-droppingly good. (SA-3000 courtesy Mark Ward.)

The Upgrades:

Line Stage Upgrade
Line Stage Direct Out Mod
Power Supply Level I Upgrade
Power Supply Level II Upgrade
Phono Stage Upgrade

Option: Transformer MC Inputs
Option: Upgraded Power Umbilical
Option: Upgraded Volume and Balance Controls NOW with DACT and Remote Control options
Option: Upgraded RCA Jacks
Option: Circuit Board Damping
Option: Upgrade Tubes

Line Stage Upgrades -- This is the place to start -- all the signals go through the line stage.

LSP Standard Upgrade. I replace the tube's grid bias, plate load, and buildout resistors with Caddock Tetrinox film resistors and Mills Non-inductive wirewound resistors, and I upgrade the input and output coupling caps from the dry, colored-sounding IAR parts to liquid and open-sounding TRT Dynamicaps. I eliminate the field efect transistor from the line stage signal path. Quality of local energy storage is improved considerably by removing the stock WIMA polypropylene local power supply bypass caps and upgrading them to Dynamicaps.

Price for SA-3000 "LSP" Standard Upgrade: $630

LSP Premium Upgrade. Just like the standard LSP upgrade, but using Continental Capacitors' fine oil-filled power supply bypass caps. This is a richer, more liquid-sounding version of the upgrade.

Price for SA-3000 "LSP Premium" Upgrade: $1200

Note: The Premium GOLD upgrade for the Line Stage has been discontinued because the Premium upgrade, with its Dynamicaps, out-performs it.

 

SA-3000 "Direct Out" Mod. This is an additional mod you can have done to the line section. I strongly recommend having this mod done because unless you plan on driving 100-foot interconnects, the solid-state output buffers can be disconnected. They color the sound, adding a noticeable solid-state graininess and hard edge. I install larger output coupling capacitors, to allow the tube to directly drive your power amplifier.

SA-3000 Power Supply Upgrades. Every bit of audio you run through the preamp will benefit from sweeter-sounding power.

 

I offer two levels of upgrade for the SA-3000's power supply, for different budgets and listening preferences.

Power Supply Level I Upgrade. The solid-state high voltage power supply in the SA-3000 provides the power the tubes use to amplify the signal. Though the stock circuit accomplishes the job of regulating the voltage, it sounds substantially better when upgraded. This upgrade is similar to the Line Stage Passives upgrade, the Level I Upgrade improves the many of the power supply's resistors and capacitors, upgrades several solid-state parts with high-gain Zetex transistors, and -- most importantly -- replaces several key electrolytic capacitors with Continental, Nichicon MUSE and Dynamicaps capacitors. A very audible improvement in richness and clarity with a greatly reduced transistor edginess.

Price for SA-3000 Power Supply Level I Upgrade: $800
Add $110 setup fee to this price if not done with an "LSP" upgrade.)

Power Supply Level II Upgrade. It's like the Level I Upgrade but with better components,and with more components upgraded. You don't need to buy a Level I if you opt for this upgrade. This upgrade goes much deeper, with more components upgraded, and more expensive components used in upgrading, like replacing the main storage electrolytic with a Continental Capacitor Type A part, for a quieter background and silkier highs and modify the rectifier tube socket to take the better-sounding 6BW4 type rectifiers. Additionally, the voltage reference is changed from a string of solid-state diodes to a single, neutral-sounding resistor. The net result of all these improvements is an amazingly luscious, detailed sound with deeper bass.

Price for SA-3000 Power Supply Level II Upgrade: $1200
Add $100 setup fee to this price if not done with an "LSP" upgrade.)

SA-3000 Phono Stage Upgrades.

SA-3000 "PSR" (Phono Stage Rebuild). What's good for the line stage is superb for the phono stage, where the using high-quality components really shines, especially in the first stage and riaa de-emphasis network where high-frequency energy levels are extremely high. Upgrading the phono stage is more costly than upgrading the line stage because it is over twice as complex, but the increase is sound purity, imaging precision, air and musicality, is readily apparent. During the process, I remove a lot of solid-state parts from the signal path, including two solid-state buffers per channel, and one JFET per channel -- these are no longer the '80's, and no one cares that these parts resulted in better measurement specifications, the bottom line is that the phono section simply sounds better, more musical, tubelike and liquid, when the parts are removed.

Phono Option : Transformer Step-up MC Input. Natural sound with no transistor interface -- for the listener who wants the best possible sound for MC cartridges.

The original SA-3000 has both MM and MC inputs and uses a JFET (junction field-effect transistor) for the MC step-up. JFETs, like all transistors, have their own sonic signature. It's not bad, it's not real transistory, but it's not as smooth and sweet as a tube.
     It is possible to eliminate the JFET from the MC signal path and use a transformer as an MC step-up device. We use transformers designed expressly for this purpose by the Jensen Transformer Company.*
      (Click here to read more about why transformers are your best choice for MC step-up.)

Jensen step-up transformers on the rear eliminate the original transistor step-up circuit, providing liquid sound. (Picture is of SA-9 belonging to Michael Savuto, Analogue Associates -- a fine modifier of Acoustat servo amplifiers).

There are two ways the SA-3000 can be modified to use MC stepup transformers:

1. For The Fellow That Knows What He Wants: The original MC step-up JFET is removed from the input stage and replaced with a pair of MC transformers. The MM inputs remain available for MM use. Not only does the flexibility of the preamp remain unchanged, there is an additional benefit even when listening to MM cartridges! This is because even when in MM mode, the SA-3000's MC JFET is connected from the tube cathode to ground. It's biased fully "on" and "looks like" a pure resistance to the phono tube, but as we know, using the very best-sounding resistors is important in an audio product and that JFET in the tube's cathode circuit is not a great-sounding resistor. By installing an MC transformer and removing the MC JFET, both the MC and the MM inputs benefit.

2. For The Man Who Is Afraid To Commit: If you know you will not be using an MM cartridge, we can keep the existing MC input jacks and their associated JFET step up circuitry. But we take the MM jacks and connect then to a pair of MC transformers. Both sets of inputs become MC inputs, and both are available for use (using the internal MC/MM switch to select between them). One set provides gain via a JFET, and one via the new transformers. However please note that unlike the option above, the original MC JFET which is located between the input tube's cathode and ground in a classic cascode circuit, is not removed. When the SA-3000 is in MC mode, the MC cartridge signal comes to the JFET which provides low-noise signal gain, driving the tube through its cathode. But even when we select the MM (new tranformer-driven MC inputs) that JFET is still in the tube's cathode. It is biased on so hard that it looks like a resistor so it should not color the sound . . . but you can still hear the its subtle "JFET-y" sound: a slight brightening, a slight grain and mist on the treble.

Price for SA-3000 MC Transformer Inputs (either way):

$280 for the transformers, and $420 for installation.

Click here to find out which Jensen transformer is right for your MC cartridge.

* If you'd like to provide your own MC step-up transformers, please contact us. We need to check for fit and compatibility and if we can install the parts, deduct $224 from the cost of this option.

Other Upgrades.

Upgraded Power Supply Umbilical Cord.

You know how a good interconnect sounds miles better than the $2 interconnects that came with your CD player? Or how high-end speaker cables trounce zip cord? Or how a good AC Mains cord can transform the sound of your system? The same applies to the cable that connects your preamp to its power supply. New in summer of 2007 I am offering upgraded power supply umbilicals that so completely outperform the original $20 umbilical in every way possible. It's not even a close race.

Click here for more information and pricing for the Power Supply Umbilical upgrade.

Upgraded Volume and Balance Controls, including the DACT stepped attenuator.

TKD makes excellent feeling and sounding volume and balance controls. Once you've heard (and felt) the difference between a $7.00 volume control and a $70.00 control you'll understand why people go to such lengths to get cheap controls out of their signal path. (Shown in SA-1000)

The best-possible, best-sounding control: Danish Audio ConnecT's stepped control with optional remote control.. Click here for more information and pricing.

For the "he-men" (and she-women) out there, why not have the balance control bypassed altogether? You know you don't use it, why run the signal through it?

Price to Upgrade Volume Control to TKD: $115
Price to Upgrade Balance Control to TKD: $130
Price to Bypass Balance Control Altogether: No Charge
For pricing on the DACT volume control, click here.
(add$110 setup fee if not done with an "LSP" upgrade)

Better RCA Jacks. The jacks on the SA-3000 can be upgraded to use jacks with much better metallurgy. This can be done selectively: you might wish to only do your CD and phono inputs, and the main outputs. I can replace some or all of your jacks with direct-gold over copper CM1F-OFC from Sound Connections.

Price to Upgrade RCA Jacks: $70 for first stereo pair, $30 for each pair thereafter.
(add $110 setup fee this price if not done with an "LSP" upgrade)

Circuit Board Damping
Circuit boards are light and stiff -- they are resonant as heck, which causes smearing of the sound. Your audio will be substantially improved when we apply thick wool felt damping pads between the circuit boards and the chassis to damp all resonances. This results in MUCH tighter imaging and spatial resolution, MUCH greater retrieval of low-level details, a surprising reduction in edginess, and a greater weight to the tone, which makes everything sound fuller and more "real." Click here for pricing. (add $100 setup fee this price if not done with an "LSP" upgrade)

Tubes.

If I can be of any further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me.

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