Cary SLP98L upgrades--yea or nay?
I like this venerable (and recently discontinued?) pre-amp and don't have any plans to swap it out any time soon. As I plan to keep it, I'm curious whether folks think that the Cary upgrade is worth it, and I'd appreciate any advice from those who have done it. (I know the F1 mods were popular.) Specifically:
-- They offer Mundorf MCap SUPREME EVO SilverGold Capacitors. Two versions, one with oil (+$20). I've read mostly good things about these. Do I want them--and do I want oil?
--Hexfred rectifiers. I've read a couple mixed things about these. Are they an improvement?
--Kimber Kable ($150/input; I'd only do one input). Okay--I like Kimber Kable ... but will I hear any difference?
I'm sure there are other/better preamps out there, but I like this little guy and I'm not looking for recommendations or esoteric mods. If these upgrades are ... really upgrades, it's a modest investment and I'd be interested in hearing the difference. I'm also interested in trying out some different tubes, but I'll save that question for another day...
Thanks!
@northman yes, your list +Grayhill switch selector. These upgrades and different tubes can yield good results in different ways. Having tried rare vintage NOS quads, new re-issues, and some of the new boutique 6SN7s, the sound will change, and more so with good caps installed in your SLP-98L.
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FYI fwiw. My SLI-80 integrated amplifier and SLP-98L line stage had similar internal upgrades. I've found Tube Rolling after making these prerequisite hardware upgrades is faster and more beneficial to the discovery and listening process. Sure I tried tube rolling beforehand, yet realizing the differences between tubes were much greater after the internal hardware upgrades were made first.
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