Review: Thor Audio Thor AudioT1000 Factory Cap Upgrade Tube preamp
Category: Preamps
I have owned my Thor Audio T1000 for approx. 10 years now and have always treasured it's performance. It has been upgraded 3 times previously and the total of the 3 upgrades do not come close to the impact of this Capacitor Factory Upgrade. Due to the age of my unit I figured it was time to call the new Thor Audio owner Ted Lindblad (I actually purchased my unit from Ted 10 years ago)to find out what I might need to do to have my Thor T1000 checked out to see if I might be losing performance due to age. When I contacted Thor Audio I was told that they were and have been working on voicing with new upgraded Capacitors and were very close to deciding the best capacitor fit for the Thor T1000. A bit later in the week I was contacted and was told that the Mundorf and V/caps were to be used. I was also told what to expect performance wise (and cost) and since I needed to send in my unit for a check up anyway I decided to go for it.
I drove down to Thor Audio and dropped off my T1000 while aslo having the chance for a very nice visit. While there, I had a great time talking about future Thor Audio upgrades and future plans. Also had a chance to play with some other awesome Thor Equipment. About a week later I received a call and was told my unit was ready for pick up, so I drove back down for pickup. I tend to listen to Jazz and only Jazz and mostly Male and Female Jazz singers - Teiney Sutton,Patricia Barber Freddie Cole, etc. and my review is based on that music type only. With my newly upgraded T1000 now inserted in my system which had approx. 25 hours logged in (at Thor Audio) my first listen was shocking. Sweet,Punchy,very,very open and music just jumped out of a pitch black background. Right then and there I knew I did the right thing and also know this was the beginning of much more to come. I am now at about 100 hours and my system has taken on an incredible change for the better. In the past, music was projected from 2 feet behind my speakers and always bugged me a little. Now the music projects flush with the front of the cabinets. My Jazz music sounds like it never sounded before...low end is taught and organic, mids are sweet ,open and voice is incredible. Highs are also sweet, without edge and just have the right amount of detail/snap without going too far. The leading edges of the notes now are crisp/clean and more refined...The whole package now sounds just Awesome! I never would have believed that there was that much room for improvement, but hearing is believing...I do not know the details of Mundorf Capacitors and it's confusing to me why one capacitor can be that much better than another but this cap upgrade was a huge lift in performance for me...This upgrade was good timing and a great opportunity for me and I am very glad I did it.........Hopefully some day I can return and do my Thor Monoblocks too............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated gear
TPA 30 watt Monoblocks
Kharma 1.0 Ceramique loudspeakers
Meridian 508/24 Cd Player
Various cables and wires
Similar products
Thor Audio T1000 W/Out cap Upgrade
