Gill Audio Alana vs First Sound preamps

I am not going to be a wellspring of vast information regarding your desired comparison; I have only heard the First Sound at shows (RMAF, etc.) I have researched them with an eye towards a purchase sometime in the future but for present, my Gill Alana (upgraded to Mk III) will suit me just fine. I trade it out of two systems looking for the synergy of the whole; my other pre's are a Hovland hp 100 and an Ayre K-1. The Alana shines with its honesty and a slight bit of warmth, but does not seem to color the music in the least. The upgrade improved the darkness between notes, and while I may be getting lazy, the remote is most welcome when I shelve the Hovland. Mr. Gill is a responsive pleasant gentleman to deal with, and while I cannot say what the sound would be in your system, I can only say this pre is not leaving my home for the forseeable future.

Farmdoc, when did you do your upgrade (from Mk II presumably)? Are you aware of David's latest thinking on capacitors and resistors?

About a year ago this month. Now a Mk 3 pcb with Hovland capacitors. Is there something else I should know?

Farmdoc, David did a resistor swap to reflect his latest approach to parts selection. Very inexpensive but made a significant improvement (particularly given the cost). My upgrade (to Mk III) was also done a year ago and David no longer uses the Hovaland caps for new production units as they are unavailable. Clarity and Mundorf are now offered although the Mundorf commands a premium price. David is pragmatic enough to say that the cap options will result in a different signature (although not necessarily better). He did say that the Mundorf option would probably be the best although he was hesitant to make a qualitative judgement over the Hovaland.

Thanks; will toss this around with David G. when we next speak. In the meantime, I continue to be pleased with the present setup. Damn shame about Hovland, isn't it.