Clipped and Shorn Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Anyone using these? I noticed that Curcio sells all kinds of upgrade kits. Why would anyone invest $600 upgrading this Preamp? do you end up with $800 worth of preamp when done? Just curious. I used a stock Pas3 a few years ago but was not all that impressed with it in this stock state. What other $800 preamp might compare with such an upgraded Pas3? Sometimes you can find them for under $200 so an upgraded one could come in for closer to $600. C&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 It's a nice little Pre-Amp, but I would not spend $400.00 - $600.00 in upgrades. Where I live they average $150.00 or so. dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdrazek Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I used to own a PAS3 and modded it with a kit from Van Alstine in Minnesota. Was decent before, and more more dynamic after the mod. The mod was pretty cheap as I recall but it may not be available any longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I Wouldn't invest that kind of cheese in a PAS 3. There are many free mods that bring it up a notch or two. Recap it, rebuild the power and heater supplies, by-pass the tone controls. $600 to $800 puts in the ball park of many new preamps. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 ---------------- On 1/21/2005 2:16:39 PM Clipped and Shorn wrote: . What other $800 preamp might compare with such an upgraded Pas3? So C&S ---------------- In the used market there would be a lot of tube preamps comparable or better for $800. Wright Sound, Rogue 66 are just two that I have owned that I have personally used. In my opionion, PAS are good if you can get it cheap and you want something to tinker with. They sound great in the $150 range. I guess one other reason would be for collectible/nostalgic reasons, in which case you wouldn't want to mod it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Check this one out: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1108679049 All of the work has already been done. I was going to buy this one but for some reason the replies from the seller to my emails ended up in my Spam box. By the time I figured it out I had already closed a deal on a Conrad Johnson PV3. Craig figures there are probably close to the purchase price in new parts and tubes already put into the thing. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Thebes, it was provident. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 Rest assured, I have no interest in acquiring any more Pas3, already have one here that mdeneen helped me get going a few years ago, and am not currently using it. I just wondered if anyone had ever actually invested in something like ALL the upgrades that Curcio offers and wanted to know if perhaps with ALL those upgrades which are totally extensive, that it could possibly be worth the $600-800, who knows maybe it is. Just wondered if anyone every heard one that was so extensively upgraded. c7s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 So Rick , ya think I dun good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Oh yeah! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Craig, Is it not true the Mapletree entry level pre is in that range with phono section? I think the Eico or Ampex vintage pres I have listened to in the past 6 months sound better than the Dynaco for the line stage and way better than the Dynaco phono. Old Motorola console I had as a kid had a livlier phono section than the Dynaco. Only downside is the Mapletree chassis is a bit smallish for newbie soldering of mods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoriated_Tiger Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ---------------- On 1/21/2005 2:16:39 PM Clipped and Shorn wrote: Anyone using these? I noticed that Curcio sells all kinds of upgrade kits. Why would anyone invest $600 upgrading this Preamp? do you end up with $800 worth of preamp when done? Just curious. I used a stock Pas3 a few years ago but was not all that impressed with it in this stock state. What other $800 preamp might compare with such an upgraded Pas3? Sometimes you can find them for under $200 so an upgraded one could come in for closer to $600. C&S ---------------- I had a PAS3 for about six months, although it never entered my system other than for evaluation. Rebuilt it stock with new parts, good resistors, decent caps, new can cap, etc. Dull n' lifeless. Put in the Curcio full-reg power supply, still dull, but now dynamic. At this point I cut my losses after realizing I'd have to drop in his linestage and phono board to even start to compare to something else. For 600 you can get an Audio Research SP6 a b c d or e, either of which will completely demolish the little pas, even when hot-rodded. Can't say about a full-blown PAS re-do with Curcio boards 'cause I never tried 'em, but his stuff does have a rep for sounding good. For a little more you can get into an SP8. Careful with the SP6. You can blow stuff up with it, it sends a huge DC shot a few seconds after you shut it down or power it up. The mute switch is life-or-death on this one. ;o) (or time your power supply to kick the pre first, wait 30, kick power, and do reverse on shutdown.) The crazy thing is I got the PAS *after* the SP6 -- I wanted to see first-hand what the hubub was about, bub. There's nothing of note about it. =o/ Now, it'd do great mated to a Stereo 70 feeding small cone/domers in an office... I may yet do that to it. Don't even bother with the full-reg psu for the office, a stock one will do just fine, and still sounds better than most vintage 'office' fare. =o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdmarsiii Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I know DRBILL here on the forums has one. You might want to email him for his opinion. I know he loves his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Yea for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRBILL Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ---------------- On 1/22/2005 10:35:08 AM Rdmarsiii wrote: I know DRBILL here on the forums has one. You might want to email him for his opinion. I know he loves his. ---------------- Yes. It is stock except for heater DC supply, factory assembled, very clean, suggesting little use. I got it for WAY under $100. I did an A-B comparison with a PAS-4 earlier in the week. I couldn't wait to get the PAS-2 back on line. I have new caps on the shelf for this unit. I keep asking myself "Why?". My son has a PAS-3, which is in good shape, too. He hates the volume control. Everything happens in an eighth-inch at about 10:00. I have a new audio taper pot on the shelf, but he would have to turn his PAS-3 off for about an hour, which doesn't seem likely. Maybe I will loan him my PAS-4 so that he can really have something to look forward to when his gets back! Listen to some stuff with an open mind. Don't let your judgment be clouded by glitzy appearance or popular "In" brands. I took a small dose of my own advice recently. I would puff out my lips at "tube rollers" untill I swapped KT88's for KT90's in my MARK III's. I didn't have to take it to the bench to measure the improvement. Again, use your ears before your checkbook. At my age, I have found that taking one's time is always a good investment. DR BILL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 what is a KT90, does it have another name? don't seem to remember them. did you get new? just curious. c7s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Back to your original question, and just so you know I'm not knocking the PAS. I don't think you need to perform the $600-800 upgrades on it. I think for that kind of money, I prefer to get something newer and little more solid. Or you could get a nice Mac MX110 for that. I have a stock PAS that I use in the bedroom with an ST70 and Hersey's. I love that little system. I stuck some vintage Mac Soild State stuff in there and preferred the Dynaco tube set up easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I maybe seemed alittle down on the PAS experience I had. My concerns... 1. Phono of the unit I had, maybe was in need of repair. 2. Volume control (similar to the EICO) too sensitive. 3. $ 400-600 of mods seems to much (most impotant concern). Stock one with minor updates for $ 200 plus or minus $ 50 would be fair. Also note these vintage pres are not going to be dead quiet unless you get lucky. But they will be musical. The PAS, once inspected by a TECH, should be very nice for CDs with a little tube amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRBILL Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ---------------- On 1/22/2005 4:21:24 PM Clipped and Shorn wrote: what is a KT90, does it have another name? don't seem to remember them. did you get new? just curious. c7s ---------------- They are quite new. They have a lot more headroom for plate voltage. You would not see red plates or glowing grids with these. Perhaps, according to Ned at Triode, a measurable increase in output power. Many have discovered that running Dynaco products at modern line voltages can cause some problems. This tube can take it. It is a direct drop-in for KT88's. I'm using some KT90 EH. Try some. DR BILL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlb945 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 You may want to find an out of print copy of Tu-be or not tu-be by H.L. Eisenson. It was first published in 1976 and I own a 1977 copy with correction sheet. One of the chapters has extensive updates for the PAS2-3 series of preamps. Included are values of new resistors, capacitors and recommendations on which to replace/update. My small collection includes two PAS-3X units, one of which is updated using the recommendations and the second PAS-3X a mint unaltered example. I purchased all my parts from Mouser and Allied with the total cost of about $150. I dont know how many hours were spent since I did it in steps, listening to each change. I can state that there is a considerable difference between the two examples with the updated unit giving a nice tight presentation. One might ask if the pleasant change results from just replacing aged parts. If you own a PAS, give it a try. >>>Dan PASEXAMPLE.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.