zerobias,
I would not recommend an old (very old) preamp that was just ok many years ago. I personally would be leery of the whole upgraded thing. Just because you put a better part inside a preamp doesn't guarantee it will sound better. The design is such that all the parts have to work together to sound right.
There are some really good new pre's that will probably outperform the Sonic Frontiers and the Jolida and you would get a full warranty. Look at the Schiit line and also take a close look at the Supratek line, specifically the Chardonnay model. This model keeps getting better and better because they keep evolving the circuit. Many of the owner's of this preamp say it outperforms units costing 2X to 3X it's price. They are all point to point wired, he uses tube shunt regulation (which is unheard of at this price point) And tube rectification in the overbuilt power supplies.
I'm not certain what the budget is but they are calling the Chardonnay the preamp deal of the decade. It retails for $1999.00 brand new. Do either of the two used models you're looking at come with any kind of warranty and do you know how old they are? Supratek runs the tubes very conservatively and the typical tube life is 10,000.00 hours. The design is based on the 6sn7 which a lot of people think that is the best sounding tube design for a preamp. The Chardonnay comes with a lifetime transferable warranty, pretty much unheard of. Warranty is great but it's the sound quality that matters most and everything I've read about the Supratek says it's absolutely amazing. Supratek's power supplies are overbuilt so the reliability is excellent. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Scot
I would not recommend an old (very old) preamp that was just ok many years ago. I personally would be leery of the whole upgraded thing. Just because you put a better part inside a preamp doesn't guarantee it will sound better. The design is such that all the parts have to work together to sound right.
There are some really good new pre's that will probably outperform the Sonic Frontiers and the Jolida and you would get a full warranty. Look at the Schiit line and also take a close look at the Supratek line, specifically the Chardonnay model. This model keeps getting better and better because they keep evolving the circuit. Many of the owner's of this preamp say it outperforms units costing 2X to 3X it's price. They are all point to point wired, he uses tube shunt regulation (which is unheard of at this price point) And tube rectification in the overbuilt power supplies.
I'm not certain what the budget is but they are calling the Chardonnay the preamp deal of the decade. It retails for $1999.00 brand new. Do either of the two used models you're looking at come with any kind of warranty and do you know how old they are? Supratek runs the tubes very conservatively and the typical tube life is 10,000.00 hours. The design is based on the 6sn7 which a lot of people think that is the best sounding tube design for a preamp. The Chardonnay comes with a lifetime transferable warranty, pretty much unheard of. Warranty is great but it's the sound quality that matters most and everything I've read about the Supratek says it's absolutely amazing. Supratek's power supplies are overbuilt so the reliability is excellent. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Scot