CAT SL-1 MK III vs. First Sound Presence DeLuxe

Frank,
this topic has come up several times now & member "Rayhall" has written extensively about it. Search the archives here @ Audiogon under his moniker 'rayhall' under Amps/Preamps.

Here are some links that I found for you:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1088683556

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1126375552

here's is a link if you decide to get the CAT & want to tube roll. Or, this thread might tell you that you do not want a CAT since it sounds good only if you have hi-end NOS tubes! Interpret it the way you want!
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&967566599

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&967566599

FWIW. Apologies in advance if you have already read them

Tvad:

Interesting that you wrote that you found the First Sound lacks "sweetness." As soon as I read it, I knew exactly what you meant. I, too, have found that about the First Sound. In contrast, the CAT that I once owned (around 1992), never lacked for "sweetness," which, for me, means that ability to convey an emotion, be it poignant, tender, angry, eerie, etc. I have noticed this about the First Sound, and thought that perhaps I needed a change in components, but your comments ring true. As such, it seems a coloration that prevents music from being quite as "sweet" as it can be -- and as it is in real life. I've heard it with an Accuphase amp, Tetra speakers (where it actually managed to sound somewhat sweet), my Hurricanes, Musical Fidelity amps, but it's never quite moved me. Fascinatingly, I owned the original Presence pre-amp, which DID sound sweeter. It seems customary to assume that the newer version of a component will be superior, but I find myself at times wishing for my original First Sound, which, now that I think of it, also had a richer (not fatter, just more true-to-life) mid-bass. The current incarnation is "tighter" in the mid-bass, but somewhat to the point of leanness instead of lushness. Kind of like the difference between the WATT/Puppy 2s (sweeter) and the WATT/Puppy 3s. which were unquestionably leaner than the 2s.
Thanks for crystallizing my wistfulness about the First Sound into something more concrete.

The stock tubes are not sweet. If you want a touch of sweetness, tube roll to something like amperex.

Cheers.