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10 Upgrades for M3 Preamp

Posted by driguy (A) on May 18, 2008 at 14:41:43

After owning my M3 Signature preamp and installing several upgrades I thought that I would post my experiences here. Many of the upgrades are mentioned elsewhere in this forum as they relate to the M3 and/or any unit with an M2 power supply. Other forums have info on the more universal types of upgrades. Many thanks go out to AA members and other forum posters who give up their time to post their experiences to the general benefit of the hobby. Without them it would be difficult to get the info necessary to avoid mistakes whether financial, electrical or just wasting time.
FYI, I did not "tube roll", try other caps (other than original), or go through the tortuous trial and error and break in required for a step by step testing of other alternatives. I just read what others have posted here and at other forums on the net as well as experiences from personal friends to try and get the best choice made and installed. I do not have the patience for that so I tried to get the best choice made the first time. And of course, YMMV!
My system consists of:
LadyDay 300b amps (modified with V-Caps and using Emission Labs 300 BXLS tubes
A/N DAC Signature Edition
NorthStar Transport
Bastanis Apollo Speakers (about 98db sensitivity)
Cables are from Bastanis and VH Audio
I will list the modifications in order according to their overall effectiveness without regard to cost.
1. V-Caps for coupling caps in the output section (.1uf)The original AN copper caps failed during break in prompting me to go on a search for a replacement. I installed replacement AN caps and used them for a few months before changing to the V-Caps. The V-Caps will open up the entire presentation of music. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the differences but they are stark. Saying anything more would be knocking the AN product which is not my intent at all. Without these installed however, you may get diminished returns on any other upgrades down the list.
2. Mundorf M Tube Caps in the power supply. I just put these in and have 125 hours on them. These replace the 68uf caps on the board. I was not prepared for the difference these make. I thought I was past the "revelation" period of upgrades but I was wrong. These are incredible additions to the modifiers list of weapons to wring out the best in a circuit. The increase in soundstage openness and the sense of reality simply amazed me.
3. Output tube upgrade. Again, lots of info as to choices out there. I settled on Tung Sols.
4. DACT Atttenuator. Replacing the original unit and bypassing the balance control will add clarity and detail to the music. It just gets more dust off of the image. If you want a balance control, the cheapest way to go is to get two mono units.
5. Upgrade rectifier tubes. Again, one can read up on the possibilities here. I bit the bullet and purchased the Bendix. Surprising amount of benefit here as well.
6. Upgrade the film type caps in the power supply. I settled on Mundorf Silver/Oil caps. They give me a little more punch and clarity. A good price performance upgrade IMO.
7. Sound deadening the case and "TipToes" for isolation. See attached picture. A wood case is not that easy but the tiptoes setup is not too difficult. One can apply Dynamat on the top part of the case to reduce vibrations on lieu of a case.
8. Grounding re-route. See one of my responses to a question about this on my post regarding the M Tube cap not too long ago. Really lowers the noise floor especially on sensitive speakers. There are older posts on this in this forum which is where I got some of the ideas.
9. Mapleshade Silclear. I used this on the RCA connections and the tube pins on this unit and throughout my system. Very cheap and worthwhile upgrade IMO and IME.
10. Tube dampers. Not much difference here but it could be because of the other vibration control measures that I have used.
In summary; pretty much all of these upgrades result in an increase in openness, clarity, focus, and PRAT which in turn add to the sense of realism from the system. I hope this helps some of you out there as the previous posters have helped me.
Thanks, Tony

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