Just got my First Sound Preamp back w/ newest updates

Just got my First Sound tube preamp back from Emmanuel Go of First Sound with new updates, including Emmanuel's latest circuit board crafting technques. This is a dual-mono triode tube preamp using 6DJ8s. This model is the FS Presence Deluxe 4.0 Mark III-Si-X2. Thought you guys would like to see pics of this bad boy before I put it up for sale.



The Main Control Unit (MCU) is fully dual-mono, so you could actually cut the box 'in half", and each half would function perfectly independently of the other half.


The preamp is fully dual-mono and utilizes a second, internal chassis of copper-plated steel to function as a Faraday cage. You can see the copper plating of the internal chassis by way of the four circular copper circles at each corner, which shows the copper under the paint.



All the internal wiring for RCA signal connectors is air dielectric, connected to massive copper bus bars, and the volume pots are comprised using individually-soldered Holco individual metal film resistors for each detent of gain, one assembly per channel.

It also utilizes external dual mono power supply chassis connected to the main control unit (MCU) using power umbilicals made with Shunyata Research wiring and amphenol connectors (see top photo), and includes the latest Shunyata Research CCI-X noise reduction modules, two per channel, located inside the power supply chassis "boxes"; they are indicated by the red arrows. Each power supply provides 145,200 uF (!) of power supply capacitance per channel for total power supply capacitance of almost 300,000uF.




Here's the specifications:

Tube Complement..........................2 6DJ8/6922/7308 Twin Triodes; 2 OA2 Gas Discharge Regulator Tubes
Frequency Response....................+0 -3db from 5hz - 250Khz Input
Overload........................................10 volts RMS
Maximum Voltage Output..............30 volts RMS
Input Impedance...........................150k ohms

Output Impedance........................1200 ohms
Absolute Phase.............................Inverting
Total Harmonic Distortion..............Less than 0.4% at 2 volts output
Noise.............................................Better than 98 db below 3 volts output
Gain..............................................Greater than 18 db (voltage gain of 8) at 1 kilohertz

Here's the latest upgrades by Emmanuel:

• Presence Deluxe 4.0 MkIII-SI-x2 w/ Special Edition Upgrade
• MOD '23-02 upgraded to the SI-x2
• Like a new preamp with new main circuit boards
• Crafted using the latest crafting technology (circa 2023 Feb)
• Audio Cap copper capacitors for the the audio signal
• LTH92 Ladder type attenuators using Holco/PRP resistors
• 3 chassis unit (1 main chassis; 2 external power supplies)

This is truly an amazing preamplifier that can handle any content thrown it at with consummate ease. I used to have a Conrad-Johnson CT-5 preamp, no slouch of a preamp, and the First Sound makes it sound thin and 2-dimensional, which is really saying something. I've heard a lot of amazing preamps in my time, and I'd say the First Sound is in the top 3 I've ever heard.

This puppy will be going up for sale soon, so I thought I'd share the latest pics and updates from Emmanuel Go with you guys beforehand. Feel free to post any questions.

Cheers, guys!

 

That is an absolute beauty, thank you for sharing!

 

That is a lot of uF. Nice build!

 

Thanks, gents.

 

I can understand a power amp that needs that much reserve with big caps, but what in this preamp pulls that much power?