superphon revelation

thanks for the reply

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.

to Thistlehd i ment to ask you how did the bass sound . did it sound deeper

To confirm the capacitor voltage requirements, before you get the replacement caps, measure the voltage across the existing caps. If it is less than ~ 14VDC, then a 16V rated cap would be ok. I wouldn't use an electrolytic cap above 90% of its rated voltage. It you use it above its rated voltage it could blow up. The closer you run to its rated voltage or if you run a little above its rating you will degrade it's life.

thanks for the info

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

are you sure that the caps are 16v the original are 35v. did you do any thing with the 1000v caps at the supply side

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.