I bought my Super pas4i off E-bay for just over $200 from a seller whose ad read, " Un-tested and as is ". The seller appeared to be honest and answered every mundane question I had in a polite and sincere manner. I've never owned a tubed Pre, and I figured I would jump out after the bid goes north of $250 anyways.
I ended up winning it,and when the Pre arrived I noticed it was a solid 8 on the A.gon cosmetics scale and after removing the cover and discovering a huge power supply and 4 Telefunken flat plate 12AX7's, I was starting to feel very good about this purchase. Right out of the box, and after 1 hour of warm-up, I cued some Wynton Kelly and noticed the warmest, most natural mid-range tones I had ever heard in my life. The treble and bass are there as well, just not as extended and as 3 dimensinal as the mid-range is. Anyhow, like Ponnie, I love the way it sounds now and would love to send it to AVA for the Pas41 upgrade, but I am worried about losing the magic mids due to the different tube types used in the upgrade. Hope I've helped.
I ended up winning it,and when the Pre arrived I noticed it was a solid 8 on the A.gon cosmetics scale and after removing the cover and discovering a huge power supply and 4 Telefunken flat plate 12AX7's, I was starting to feel very good about this purchase. Right out of the box, and after 1 hour of warm-up, I cued some Wynton Kelly and noticed the warmest, most natural mid-range tones I had ever heard in my life. The treble and bass are there as well, just not as extended and as 3 dimensinal as the mid-range is. Anyhow, like Ponnie, I love the way it sounds now and would love to send it to AVA for the Pas41 upgrade, but I am worried about losing the magic mids due to the different tube types used in the upgrade. Hope I've helped.