Cary Audio SLP - 50a Rare Tube Preamplifier With Alps Black Beauty Potentiometer
Item History & Price
Selling my beloved, outstanding sounding, and rare Cary SLP-50a preamp. There are a couple of versions of this pre, and I believe this is the better one as it uses 6CG7 tubes (which are the 9 pin equivalents of the 6SN7's). I've upgraded and have just recently pulled this pre from duty on my system. It's perfectly operational and sounds extraordinary as the circuit is simple and have had the following maintenance/'upgrades':
1- All electrolytic caps have been repla...ced some time ago.
2- All electrolytic caps have been bypassed with high quality Multicap film caps (see pictures).2a- Some of the film caps have then been bypassed again with even higher quality versions.3- The volume pot is replaced with a super rare and excellent sounding ALPS 21-step Black Beauty potentiometer - manual pot, no remote/motor.
The condition of the pre is 'very good', I take care of my equipment and am conservatively rating it. The sides top, sides, and back of the pre is polished stainless steel. Over the years, there are slight discoloration to the polish finish that is not easy to photograph as it's too shiny. I'm sure the discoloration and other minor imperfections can be polished out, but all I've done in the past was simply cleaning it. I have not cleaned the rear as rigorously as the top and sides as I didn't want to remove the print.
The feet, as with all Cary feet over time, is a little on the sticky side and will attract dust. Replacements are available from Cary as my new pre uses similar feet. However, they are fine as is.
As you can see in the pictures, all the components are point to point wired, a method that is rarely used as it's time consuming and not cost effective (circuit boards are cheaper and easier to produce). Troubleshooting and component replacement are also much easier in this regard.
With the addition of the high quality ALPS pot and film caps, this pre will sound better than ones costing much higher.
The pre will include the original manual, a power cord, and a matched pair of 60's (I believe) Canadian made black plate Rogers 6CG7's (purchased from Parts Connexion, and have measurement information on the boxes). The RCA clear top's as seen in some pictures are NOT included. The pre responds very well to tube rolling, and have tried 50's Sylvania, Tung Sol, etc. But have settled with the RCA clear tops. Even though those clear tops are produced later, they sounded 'best' to me. 6FQ7 tubes can also be used (they differ from the CG in that there is no shield between the two triodes). One recommendation when changing tubes would be to clean the pins well so they make good contact in the sockets. Had an instance where I lost all the highs on the left channel during a listening session. It turned out the left tube had oxidation on the pins and were not making good contact. After cleaning (I used DeOxit contact cleaner) and reseating the tube, all was well again with tube bliss. I've read there are 9-pin 6CG7/6FQ7 to octal 6SN7 adapters are available, but I have not used such as the 6CG7 tubes are still relatively 'cheap' compared to the NOS 6SN7's.
I have only used the CD input on the pre, there are 2 other pairs of RCA inputs. This pre is Line only, no Phono. One thing to note on this pre is that it inverts the output, so for best performance you have to switch the cable connections at the speakers from + to -. This is also highlighted in the manual. But am not sure you'd hear a difference as there is no way to tell how the recording was made. I listened to before and then 'corrected' the connections at my speakers with my new pre and can't say that I can hear a difference....
I have more pictures of the pre. Sorry for the dusty pics.
Someone asked about the shipping - on my page I see (have no clue why it's diff, but I've changed the shipper now):"Buyer pays - calculated shipping"
1- All electrolytic caps have been repla...ced some time ago.
2- All electrolytic caps have been bypassed with high quality Multicap film caps (see pictures).2a- Some of the film caps have then been bypassed again with even higher quality versions.3- The volume pot is replaced with a super rare and excellent sounding ALPS 21-step Black Beauty potentiometer - manual pot, no remote/motor.
The condition of the pre is 'very good', I take care of my equipment and am conservatively rating it. The sides top, sides, and back of the pre is polished stainless steel. Over the years, there are slight discoloration to the polish finish that is not easy to photograph as it's too shiny. I'm sure the discoloration and other minor imperfections can be polished out, but all I've done in the past was simply cleaning it. I have not cleaned the rear as rigorously as the top and sides as I didn't want to remove the print.
The feet, as with all Cary feet over time, is a little on the sticky side and will attract dust. Replacements are available from Cary as my new pre uses similar feet. However, they are fine as is.
As you can see in the pictures, all the components are point to point wired, a method that is rarely used as it's time consuming and not cost effective (circuit boards are cheaper and easier to produce). Troubleshooting and component replacement are also much easier in this regard.
With the addition of the high quality ALPS pot and film caps, this pre will sound better than ones costing much higher.
The pre will include the original manual, a power cord, and a matched pair of 60's (I believe) Canadian made black plate Rogers 6CG7's (purchased from Parts Connexion, and have measurement information on the boxes). The RCA clear top's as seen in some pictures are NOT included. The pre responds very well to tube rolling, and have tried 50's Sylvania, Tung Sol, etc. But have settled with the RCA clear tops. Even though those clear tops are produced later, they sounded 'best' to me. 6FQ7 tubes can also be used (they differ from the CG in that there is no shield between the two triodes). One recommendation when changing tubes would be to clean the pins well so they make good contact in the sockets. Had an instance where I lost all the highs on the left channel during a listening session. It turned out the left tube had oxidation on the pins and were not making good contact. After cleaning (I used DeOxit contact cleaner) and reseating the tube, all was well again with tube bliss. I've read there are 9-pin 6CG7/6FQ7 to octal 6SN7 adapters are available, but I have not used such as the 6CG7 tubes are still relatively 'cheap' compared to the NOS 6SN7's.
I have only used the CD input on the pre, there are 2 other pairs of RCA inputs. This pre is Line only, no Phono. One thing to note on this pre is that it inverts the output, so for best performance you have to switch the cable connections at the speakers from + to -. This is also highlighted in the manual. But am not sure you'd hear a difference as there is no way to tell how the recording was made. I listened to before and then 'corrected' the connections at my speakers with my new pre and can't say that I can hear a difference....
I have more pictures of the pre. Sorry for the dusty pics.
Someone asked about the shipping - on my page I see (have no clue why it's diff, but I've changed the shipper now):"Buyer pays - calculated shipping"
