Counterpoint SA 220,Comments anybody?

I have owned an SA220 and loved it as well. There are prior threads in regards to Counterpoint to view as well. 2 points agaisnt Counterpoint always come up, 1. reliability issues ( ive owned many many pieces of their gear and currently have their flagship preamp Sa11/SA9 , and have not had a problem of mention, this includes owning the Sa4 OTL monos where OTL's have inherent problems to begin with. No problems. 2. The alternative of ARC gear. Ive owned an ARC d70mk2, and their m300 monos, and just didnt find their sound what I would call "musical", I found them dry and clinical. I have seen Mr elliots web site and his theory on the upgrade vs purchase new, and agree with him. He is a sound engineer and has been for many years, the only missing link would be parts quality which you obtain from his upgrades. However $4000?? that is rather steep.

Dkuipers, I have got the Talon Khorus now. I agree with Justlisten concerning the ARC gear.I've just about convinced myself to stay with my VAC PA100/100 or maybe a VTL amp? Thanks again everybody,Phile

I recently had my SA 220 upgraded to the NP220 and find it very pleasing. I only went to the first stage of the upgrade but added the new binding posts and XLR inputs. Michael thru in the IEC power cord socket. This upgrade cost me around 1500.00 and was well worth it. I would recommend going with the better tube option for a few more bucks.

Philefreak: Justlisten is talking about totally different equipment then I mentioned. The VT100 MKIII is far superior to anything he mentioned.

I have an SA-220 that has been idle for sometime - just not working. I checked Mike Ellio's site with a thought of upgrading. But i noticed that Mike is charging $60 per 6DJ8 tube. That is way too high and I assume that the rest of his procing is just as high. Since I am on a tight budget (two kids in college), the SA-220 will just have to sit and wait. It reminds me of an MGB sports car I once owned. When it ran, it was Nirvana. But then it was always in the shop, and such has been my experience with the SA-220.