CAT JL-2 amp upgrade

Hello Suttlaw. I had a CAT JL-2 and concidered upgrading it to the MK2 but decided to sell it and purchase a new JL-2 Signature MK2. The cost of the upgrade of the Signature MK2 is $5000 and regular MK2 is $3000. The difference between these models is the expensive Gates black caps used in the Signature version. I love the sound of the Signature version. It has a quieter background, more resolution in the entire freequency range without loosing the richness of the sound of tubes. The base is also tighter. To me the Sig MK2 was worth the extra cost. I also have the CAT Ultimate MK2 preamp and they match very well. I changed the input tubes of the amp as well as all of the tubes in the preamp (phono + LS) to RAM Super Low Noise and I am very pleased with the resulting sound. The only issue that I have is the damping factor of the amp is not enough for use with Eidolons.

I had a JL-2 and decided to sell it and purchase a new JL-2 Mk2 Signature. I am very happy I did as the signature version is a definite improvement over the non-Signature version. I believe that more expensive caps (black caps) are used in the Signature version. What you get is lower noise floor, better imaging and dynamics. The improvement in the sound makes the $5000 upgrade worth while IMHO. I am very happy that I got the Signature version. I have had it for a few months now. Happy listening.