Daniel and Jond, one consumer's problems with a product or company does not imply everyone should run from the product or the company. I have seen that SA-5000 preamp listing here for several months. First of all, anyone who has nearly $8k invested in an 'updated" SA-5000 is a fool. With the Aria WV5 out almost 4 years now, at less than $8k, and which handily outperforms any variation of the SA-5000, why would anyone put so much money into the upgrade. The same goes for the SA-11 which was in a completely different league of performance over the SA-5000. These older Counterpoint products are fine for repair but upgrading them now makes no sense at all.
My experiences with getting a Counterpoint NPS-400 and SA-2 repaired and updated through Alta Vista Audio were quite different.....both were major success stories. And the Aria WV5 preamp designed by Michael Elliot continues to perform incredibly well against the competition at much higher cost than the Aria.
Concerning the Counterpoint SA20/220, Michael Elliot, the designer, has written for years that the amplifying devices for this amp are no longer available. Buying these amps used today, might result in great sonic performance, but once the amp dies, the buyer has few options without spending much for a fully rebuilt amp with newer parts, This is costly. But as one person here wrote, some of these older devices might be available from ann amp that was sent in for upgrade.
