Thanks for the information. C.A.T.'s phone number is indeed 585-359-2700. The area code had changed.
I talked with Ken Stevens today and will soon be sending in my JL-2 for repair and upgrade. He said I was past the time for retubing (two-three year old unit) and that the tube that blew when I had a short could also have affected the other tubes in a negative manner (as could have the short), cutting their life. He said I may have to retube as well as do the repairs and upgrade ($2000?).
I asked about the Legend, and he said it will cost twice as much as the Ultimate, which means he will keep the Ultimate in the line because of its price point. This will be the first time he has not discontinued a preamp when a better version was developed. He is not now making a separate Legend phono preamp or linestage.
I asked about power cords for my amp (now using a BMI Shark vi) and Ken said he likes the Virtual Dynamics Power 3 presently. It costs $280 thru dealers.
I have long wanted a remote for my CAT preamp but realized that going wihout was the trade off for improved sonics. I brought up the subject with Ken, suggesting an old idea, an out board/add-on unit that simply,robot like, turned a few select knobs on the preamp. He said that Air Acoustics (Chris Hansen) had developed such a unit and offered it to him, but he turned it down. Apparently people don't seem to like the noise it made when operating or the feel of the extensions that touch the preamp knobs (squishy). Too bad. I still want a remote.
