Gill Audio Alana vs First Sound preamps

About a year ago this month. Now a Mk 3 pcb with Hovland capacitors. Is there something else I should know?

Farmdoc, David did a resistor swap to reflect his latest approach to parts selection. Very inexpensive but made a significant improvement (particularly given the cost). My upgrade (to Mk III) was also done a year ago and David no longer uses the Hovaland caps for new production units as they are unavailable. Clarity and Mundorf are now offered although the Mundorf commands a premium price. David is pragmatic enough to say that the cap options will result in a different signature (although not necessarily better). He did say that the Mundorf option would probably be the best although he was hesitant to make a qualitative judgement over the Hovaland.

Thanks; will toss this around with David G. when we next speak. In the meantime, I continue to be pleased with the present setup. Damn shame about Hovland, isn't it.

David still has high regard for the Hovland cap, very musical in his opinion. The Clarity (now standard) may be a bit drier sounding while the Mundorf (optional) is the best but may not be cost effective. David has a very pragmatic outlook on design/parts IMO.