Counterpoint SA-5.1 Many Alta Vista Upgrades

Counterpoint SA-5.1 preamps rarely come up for sale, and a 5.1 preamp that has had the line stage, phono stage, and power supply upgraded by Michael Elliot who originally designed the 5.1 is much rarer still. These are only some of the upgrades that Michael has done to my 5.1. All of the RCA jacks have been upgraded. One pair of the record out jacks has been converted to a second pair of main output jacks so that you can add a sub. (The converted set is the pair of jacks closest to the main out jacks.) The power supply has not only been rebuilt, the power transformer has been substantially upgraded with a custom Plitron transformer. This has required a slight bowing of the base of the power supply to accommodate this massive transformer. The umbilical cord from the outboard power supply to the 5.1 has been replaced with a new umbilical cord made with Cardas wire. The volume control was also upgraded with the DACT volume control. The balance pots have been bypassed for sonic purity. The socket for the rectifier in the power supply was rewired by Michael Elliot to take the 6BW4 rectifier which Mike considers to be a much better sounding tube. My 5.1 should provide many years of trouble free performance as it is practically rebuilt. Preamp is rated 7 because of the age of the chassis itself, not the electronics. Some of the lettering is worn on the top vent cover which is normal, but this is a gorgeous looking preamp. Retro cool factor is off the charts. All of the power supply tubes are NOS American and should last for years. Sound is powerful and transparent with rock -solid imaging. The line stage has a pair of premium Mullard gold pin E188cc tubes and the phono stage has a pair of RCA branded premium Siemens 7308 gold pin tubes. Both sets are practically new and should last for a long time. There is well over $5000 invested in this preamp including the original purchase price. Asking price is very reasonable and a bargain for its performance level. I have the original box and owners manual. Buyer pays actual shipping charges and 3% PayPal fees.