Pre Amp Upgrade

[blackraven]

I just dropped off my Van Alstine Hybrid Ultra preamp at Frank VA's house to have it upgraded and a home theater bypass switch installed.. Frank came up with a mod for his hybrid and SS preamps that bring it close to the technology in his new line of preamps. He is upgrading the Mosfets to better sounding, larger and more expensive Mosfets along with the required bias changes for $300. I was able to do an A-B comparison and the change is fairly dramatic. Treble is more realistic, smoother with more resolution. Bass is tighter and deeper. The over all sound is more musical, slightly warmer with greater resolution, detail and more enjoyable.

The hometheater bypass switch is costing me another $100. So for $400 I will basically have a new preamp. He offers the same Mosfet upgrade on older Ultra and SS DAC's. He says there is some improvement in sound but it is not as dramatic as with the preamp. I'll probably bring over my Ultra hybrid DAC to his place in the fall and do an A-B comparison to see if its worth the money for the upgrade.

One thing about Van Alstine gear is that while it may not have the bling of other gear, his customer service and ability to pass on upgrades to older equipment is second to none.

[Feanor]

I just dropped off my Van Alstine Hybrid Ultra preamp at Frank VA's house to have it upgraded and a home theater bypass switch installed.. Frank came up with a mod for his hybrid and SS preamps that bring it close to the technology in his new line of preamps. He is upgrading the Mosfets to better sounding, larger and more expensive Mosfets along with the required bias changes for $300. I was able to do an A-B comparison and the change is fairly dramatic. Treble is more realistic, smoother with more resolution. Bass is tighter and deeper. The over all sound is more musical, slightly warmer with greater resolution, detail and more enjoyable.

The hometheater bypass switch is costing me another $100. So for $400 I will basically have a new preamp. He offers the same Mosfet upgrade on older Ultra and SS DAC's. He says there is some improvement in sound but it is not as dramatic as with the preamp. I'll probably bring over my Ultra hybrid DAC to his place in the fall and do an A-B comparison to see if its worth the money for the upgrade.

One thing about Van Alstine gear is that while it may not have the bling of other gear, his customer service and ability to pass on upgrades to older equipment is second to none.
Good to hear from you, blackraven. And interesting to hear that the AVA saga continues. You're lucking to be within easy visiting distance.

I see that Frank now has a new top-end preamp, the AvaStar; is your upgrade supposed to bring it up to that new model?

[Ajani]

I just dropped off my Van Alstine Hybrid Ultra preamp at Frank VA's house to have it upgraded and a home theater bypass switch installed.. Frank came up with a mod for his hybrid and SS preamps that bring it close to the technology in his new line of preamps. He is upgrading the Mosfets to better sounding, larger and more expensive Mosfets along with the required bias changes for $300. I was able to do an A-B comparison and the change is fairly dramatic. Treble is more realistic, smoother with more resolution. Bass is tighter and deeper. The over all sound is more musical, slightly warmer with greater resolution, detail and more enjoyable.

The hometheater bypass switch is costing me another $100. So for $400 I will basically have a new preamp. He offers the same Mosfet upgrade on older Ultra and SS DAC's. He says there is some improvement in sound but it is not as dramatic as with the preamp. I'll probably bring over my Ultra hybrid DAC to his place in the fall and do an A-B comparison to see if its worth the money for the upgrade.

One thing about Van Alstine gear is that while it may not have the bling of other gear, his customer service and ability to pass on upgrades to older equipment is second to none.

The aesthetics may be modest, but that is excellent customer service...

Congrats on the "new" pre!

[blackraven]

Yes Feanor, the mod will bring it close to the Avastar Hybrid preamp. I won't have the XLR's though.