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In Reply to: Counterpoint Preamps: SA-3.1 vs SA-5.1 ??? posted by Eastside_guy on March 1, 2007 at 22:11:06:
the 5.1 uses a tube power supply which does tend to sweeten the sound over a normal SS rectified tube power supply as in the 3.1. it also has a great phono section. i never listened to the 3.1 in comparison, but i did own a 5.1 and liked it very much. At about $4-600 (stock/used and in good condition) it is a relative bargain.
keep in mind, if you get it modified, that will be expensive.
Follow Ups:
Please school me.. How on earth can a tube power supply make the
sound warmer? It's just supplying DC to the Preamp right? Tubes
in the signal path I can understand but I can't imagine how DC makes
a difference. Now if you said it was a cleaner supply of DC with
less noise I could buy that but warmer?? How??
it has no turn off noise (ringing) like a regular bridge rectifier would that show's up as harshness or brightness, but depending on what type/grade of rectifier tube you put in it can also sound slow and dead sounding. I used Hexfreds as a bridge rectifier in the B+ and heater supplies of the Counterpoint 3.1 preamp, the sound is just wonderful and fast with exellent bass. Stick a Mullard gold pin and its just one awesome sounding preamp.
by warmer i guess i mean, just less mechanical sounding. DC is not DC; any amplifier designer will tell you that the design of the power supply has a big effect on the sound of the preamp.
a designer chooses to use a tube rectification because they are in a sense more linear as voltage regulation devices; they do not 'switch on and off' in the same way as transistors do, leading to a potentially smoother sound.
i know my clarification is rough. if you want more detail do a search on tech square or something.
Thanks for the explanation. I buy it now.. So the 5.1 is far
and away better sounding. It also looks like it was far more
reliable than the 3.1All those tubes in the 5.1 scare me. It must cost a mint in maintence to run a 5.1 it has what 8 tubes total compared to 3 tubes in the 3.1? Holy crap that's a lot of mulla to replace them
all. I would only be using line level so in the 3.1 I would only
have 1 tube to worry about I think.. More to think about.. I need
a black, low-profile tube preamp due to space reasons so the
counterpoint was the only thing I could think of that had the
tubes running horizontally..
I would like to put a plug in for the Counterpoint SA-3.1. I have owned one since the late 1980s and only recently sold it. It has never been in for repair, and has always provided excellent service. I never had the problems you hear about Counterpoint preamps, such as bad balance controls. Maybe I have been lucky. I always wanted a 5.1, but couldn't swing it due to high cost. You certainly don't see a lot of them out there. The hifi store I frequent, that used to be a Counterpoint dealer tells me the 5.1 was not a big seller. You might have already seen this website that details some of the differences between the 3.1 and 5.1: http://www.altavistaaudio.com/SA-5.html
The Lazarus preamp and the AudioTropic Moebius immediately spring to mind and I have vague recollections of seeing one or two other low profile tube preamps but the Counterpoints are definitely much more common. The 5.1 was not a tube eater as far as I can recall. You should check out the Alta Vista website and maybe give them a call. I think your best case situation might be to find a Counterpoint preamp for sale that has already had some Alta Vista upgrades done.
I don't know why. I too worked for a dealer that sold Counterpoint and the 5.1 is way better than the 3.1. The volume controls in the 3.1 and 7.1 will get noisy but can be replaced. The modded units are supposed to be bomb diggity good. Michael Elliot, designer for Counterpoint, of does the mods and finally gets to build the units as he wanted to. Visit the link below for details.
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