I’d like to offer my version of the order in which to upgrade a piece of Counterpoint gear. If you’ve looked at the Alta Vista Audio website and came away wondering what to do and when, maybe this will help. Very few people will ever be able to afford all the upgrades at once. I sure can’t. So the idea is to get the most value by having upgrades done in a certain order. I hope this will help both first time upgraders and those looking to further the performance of older upgrades. This is based upon my experience only and relates specifically to my SA-5000 preamp, but I suspect you can make some generalizations and apply them to your piece of gear. Of course, if your gear is broken and needs repair, do that first!

For the record, my SA-5000 started out with upgrades at Alta Vista’s beginning. It’s been through more changes and capacitors than I care to count! But at every step along the way, there have been very significant improvements. What a great journey it’s been so far! I recommend it highly. It all started with the seemingly innocuous question, “What else?” wondering what may lie beyond the published upgrades. If you dare, I recommend you ask Mike that same question about your piece of gear.

First things first: the power supply. Look at the state of your unit’s power supply (PSU). Improving it will improve the rest of the unit by supplying better and cleaner power, so I think it’s a great ‘bang for the buck’ upgrade. In a preamp, upgrading the power supply will improve the line and phono stages, too. But even here, there is a hierarchy.

PSU Step 1: Upgrade the power transformer to one of Mike’s special Plitron units. Yes, they really are better! Read about them here: http://www.altavistaaudio.com/tranny.html

PSU Step 2: Get your unit’s main power supply upgrade. If two levels are offered, get the best. Once again, the PSU is the foundation for the rest of the component.

PSU Step 3: If your unit uses tubes in the power supply, get the best performing, lowest noise units you can. Yep, they’re worth it. NOS classics can be great too, just make sure you can correctly adjust your piece for optimal performance with them.

NOTE: If your power supply is horribly outdated, you may want to reverse the order of Steps 1 and 2. If you can, you want to do both of these at once. You have to balance the new tranny cost against a possible labor charge just to upgrade it down the line.

Next, upgrade the line stage. Personally, I’d do this before the phono stage since all the audio (line and phono) will go through it. This is also the time to get the chassis damping.

Line Step 1: Get the best line stage upgrade offered. Deal with tube and resistor upgrades later.

Line Step 2: Now get all the optional stuff you’d like. Better jacks, better volume pot, direct in mod, balanced outputs, etc. I had the jacks upgraded and did the direct in mod. I also had all the pots upgraded and left the balance function intact. That was a small tradeoff I was willing to make. My SA-5000 also has direct output capability, which I use. If your preamp has or can have that, I recommend it highly. Just make sure the output impedance is compatible with your amp. Most will be just fine.

Line Step 3: Get the wool pad chassis damping option.

Line Step 4: If you can afford it, now is the time to look at optional resistor upgrades. Look at the small print and read about them or just click here: http://www.altavistaaudio.com/resistors.html
Some upgrades already incorporate the best resistors, but not all. These can have a subtle but really noticeable effect on the overall sound. In my preamp, I opted for a blend of the “Naked Vishay” and Riken Ohm resistors. I ended up with the superb transparency and clarity of the NVs along with just the right amount of lush warmth the Rikens offer. Wow…talk about yin and yang! What a great balance.

Line Step 5: Finally, now get any line stage tube upgrades. Again, get the quietest and best performing tubes you can.

Last and definitely not least, upgrade your phono stage if your preamp has one and you are a vinyl lover.

Phono Step 1: Now that your preamp is in top form, splurge on a phono stage rebuild. The purity and harmonic richness will shine since the preamp is all ready for the great new phono output. (Note: if you are using a moving coil cartridge, consider a moving coil step-up transformer. See http://www.altavistaaudio.com/SA-5.html#mctransformers, which is about adding them to the SA-3 or SA-5 preamps, but the idea applies to all the preamps with phono stages -- Mike Elliott.)

Phono Step 2: I believe the resistors are upgraded in this mod, but if not, ask about it. Once again, you can use them to help ‘dial-in’ the exact sound you want.

Phono Step 3: Get any tube upgrades. Opt for the quietest you can get so nothing gets in the way of your music. It’s well worth the difference.

Whew. If you’ve gotten all the way to here and have done all this, I’ll bet you’re in a state of musical nirvana right about now. I know I am!