Sold later with updated cosmetics as the Claritas Phono (and, I think one or two were labeled "Magnum Opus Phono"), the SA-9 Phono Equalizer was first introduced in 1986. At that time, CD's were becoming more important to the marketplace, and distributors and dealers alike considered this cost-no-object product to be unsellable. They urged us to get into CD players and the like. Now, in the 21st century, vinyl recordings are still considered to be better-sounding than even the best CD recordings, and high-quality playback equipment for vinyl continues to sell well. This product is highly sought-after. If you can find one, get it! And if you want to hear everything your LPs have to offer, let me update. You won't be disappointed.

"I have compared my SA-9 with Basic upgrade to the two latest Audio Researchs, Pass aleph ono, the BATs, and Sonic Frontiers. This unit sounds much more natural than before. There is less "fake detail" and more real resolution. This phono stage reproduces the greatest sense of space I have ever heard. ALL other units are slow and hazy sounding. Many little sounds and ambient cues in the sound field are heard now."
(Read more of Tom Maxam's opinion of this upgrade on the testimonials page.)

SA-9 Upgrades

 

Basic Upgrade

Premium Upgrade

Premium GOLD Upgrade

    OPTION: Transformer MC Inputs
    OPTION: Western Electric 417A Triode Mod
    OPTION: Circuit Board Damping
    OPTION: Upgraded Power Umbilical

 

The SA-9 was a one-of-a-kind product. Imagine, just when CD's began to become popular (and everyone was trying real hard to convince themselves that they sounded good), Counterpoint released this very expensive two-chassis, 19 tube, dedicated phono stage. The product was either too late, or ahead of its time. It all depends on how you look at it: vinyl was starting to fade, so no one wanted to invest much in such a piece. On the other hand, now that folks have tumbled to how good vinyl really sounds relative to 44/16 digital, lovers of good sound are buying super-quality turntables, tonearms and phono cartridges like never before. And seeking high-quality phono stages. The SA-9 is as good as it gets. People who own SA-9's don't want to part with them, and I get requests often from people seeking SA-9's.

As good as the SA-9 is, it is not as good as it can be. First, it was never released in the form I envisioned. As described above, vinyl was considered to be in its twilight years so Marketing recommended that I scale the product back a bit from its original concept in order to keep its price down. As a result, I cut corners, especially in terms of component quality. Second, there is no way that I, in 1986, knew as much about circuit design as I now do. In other words, I know how to make it better.

Below are three levels of upgrades that I have created for this classic piece.

Basic Upgrade -- This is the place to start -- it addresses the weaknesses in the signal path. For the Basic upgrade, I remove the solid-state buffer IC's from the signal path, parts that cause an audible source of solid-state coloration. When these devices are removed, circuit impedances increase, so the RIAA network must be rebuilt to a high-impedance version. I install a new passive high-impedance network using 1% and 0.1% film capacitors and metal-film resistors. With the output buffer removed, the front panel Output Level control must be bypassed: the tubes can't drive it. But it softens and blurs signal details anyway, so details that were obscured leap into the foreground.

The upgrade also eliminates the original, dry-sounding Infinicaps. These coupling capacitors, which are used to transfer the signal from stage to stage, are upgraded to more natural-sounding Auricap. The result is a substantially more liquid presentation, one that is very, very impressive in terms of natural liquidity, midrange and treble naturalness. Intertransient silence and spatiality are both improved.

Finally, I upgrade the RCA jacks on the rear deck, upgrade all the tube sockets in the audio section to ceramic/gold sockets, and upgrade some of the indifferent-sounding capacitors in the onboard high-voltage regulators.

Price for SA-9 "Basic" Upgrade: $1,349
(Note: price increased 3.14.2005 due to changeover to better-sounding
Naked Vishay resistors. See "resistors" for more information.)

Premium Upgrade -- Three-dimensional imaging and in-your-face realism. The Premium upgrade begins with the Basic upgrade, then extends the work into the power supply chassis, using the extremely expensive but fantastic-sounding Black Gate powdered-graphite electrolytics, which results in an amazingly natural and coherent sound. I replace all the standard silicon rectifiers with hyperfast FRED diodes, and upgrade the big tube socket there. The front-to-back layering and in-the-room three-dimensional palpability are amazing. You'll jump out of your chair.

 

Price for SA-9 "Premium" Upgrade: $3,042
(Note: price increased 3.14.2005 due to changeover to better-sounding
Naked Vishay resistors. See "resistors" for more information.)

.

Premium GOLD Upgrade -- The direct connection to your turntable. The Premium GOLD upgrade contains all the work of the Basic and Premium, then takes the unit to its ultimate realization by replacing both power transformers with Plitron toroidal units. These transformers are costly, because they are hand-assembled one at a time. It takes four to six weeks to get one after I order it. But the improvement they bring about is just wonderful. Units with Plitron toroidal transformers just sound more musical, more dynamic, more everything that music needs to be exciting and natural-sounding. They rock.

Without putting too fine a point on it, if you don't go for these transformers as part of your upgrades, you're missing out on a big part of what your Counterpoint product is capable of.

Price for SA-9 "Premium GOLD" Upgrade: $3,599

 

 

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

The original SA-9 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 SA-9's original transistor step-up circuit, providing liquid sound, and reducing the amount of hum found in the original MC setup by 20dB. (This SA-9 belongs to Michael Savuto, Analogue Associates -- a fine modifier of Acoustat servo amplifiers).

There are two ways the SA-9 can be modified to use MC stepup transformers:

1. The Flexible Approach: The JFET is removed from the input stage and a new switch is mounted on the back to select between the MC and MM inputs. When in MM, the MM inputs are connected directly to the tube. When in MC, the MC inputs, which are connected to the step-up transformer, are connected directly to the tube. Either way, there is a direct-to-tube signal path, and no input signals go through a JFET.

2. The Purist's Approach. If you know you will not be using an MM cartridge, we can remove the MM input jacks and not use an input selector switch. Phono cartridge signal levels are minute, and even the slightest bit of contamination on a switch's contacts can affect the sound.

Technical Note: In the original design, the MC step-up JFET is located between the input tube's cathode and ground in a classic cascode circuit. When the SA-9 is in MC mode, the phono signal comes to the JFET which provides low-noise signal gain, driving the tube through its cathode. When in MM mode, the JFET is biased fully on so it "looks like" a resistor from tube cathode to ground and the MM inputs are connected to the input tube grid in a standard common-cathode voltage amplifier, with 20dB less gain than the cascode circuit. This works great as a dual-input design, 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. So either way, MC or MM, the JFET is affecting the sound. We want to get it out, yet provide noise-free MC amplification . . . and there's nothing quieter than a good transformer.

Price for SA-9 MC Transformer Inputs:

$224 for the transformers, and $360 for installation.

(Add $150 setup fee to this price if not done with a Basic upgrade.)

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.

Western Electric 417A Triode Mod

On the left: a member of the 6DJ8 family of dual-triodes. In this case, a Sovtek 6922. Inexpensive, with pretty good sound. Rogers of Canada registered this tube type with the EIA in, I think, 1958. It was intended for use in TV tuners. On the right: a Western Electric 417A single triode. This tube was introduced into service as a premium super low-noise, broadband amplifier in 1948 by WE.

The WE 417A is a classic very low noise triode tube. It is smooth, spacious and warm, with great bass -- the famous Western Electric sound. We modify the SA-9 to use this tube, and they work beautifully. If you love your vinyl, and want to hear your records through a phono stage with true triode glory, this is the way to go. (We don't sell the tube itself: you'll need to find four yourself -- try Google.com for used ones. For new ones, contact the original manufacturer, Westrex Corporation, see contact information below.  The military version Raytheon 5842 does not sound as good as the WE tube.)

Price for SA-9 417A Modification: $249 (note: price does not include four 417A tubes.)

(Add $150 setup fee to this price if not done with a Basic upgrade.)

          
 To obtain new WE417A tubes,
contact: 
Westrex Corporation
PO Box 52455
Atlanta, Georgia 30355-0455, USA
404-352-2000 / 404-352-2222 Facsimile
Email: info@westernelectric.com 
          www.westernelectric.com

Circuit Board Damping Option
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 $150 setup fee to this price if not done with a Basic upgrade.)

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.

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