superphon revelation

Replace the (12) 100uf caps with black gate 16v 100uf standard capacitors (Michael Percy Audio). Make sure to keep track of the polarity, I just marked the board to show the positive side. Plug it in, let it burn for a couple of days and prepare to be astounded. Stan told me to replace the volume pots at the same time with very cheap 10k alps potentiometers. (3/8 inch shaft) The thing sounds great. For added thrills, replace the transformer with something larger, and replace the rectifier bridge with something larger (4amp) or hex-freds.

Standard 16v work fine, I did not replace anything in the power supply side except the rectifier bridges.

The bass is the real improvement in the superphon upgrade. I thought that the unit sounded quite good in stock form. It had great imaging, and a really nice midrange, but with the blackgates the midrange got even better and the bass was all there. I have compared this pre-amp to lots of other models, including an arc sp-8, and the new superphon (maybe slightly better) I love it. The power supply upgrades also help the bass, as well as the immediacy of the sound. I have three of these units, and they all run fine with the standard 16v blackgates. I have no idea why I still have three of them, but I think they are the biggest bargain of high fi.