Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Ross's exchange

Summary:
bought this unit used but restored eith the caps. replaced and a new set of tubes. The internal wire had been upgraded also due to age. This preamp will sing! the SP3 is classic looking (read old) but quite functional and simple when compared with some of the newer junk coming from overseas. It never occured to me that older gear could sound this good until I tried the SP3. I have hed $20,000 preamps that gave me less joy then the SP3. It will hold it's own against some state of the art equipment except for a slightly higher noise floor and bass that could be a little more forcefull (tubes) in absoulte terms. I would recomend the SP3 to anyone who is on a budgetand can find a nice (restored) one or knows their way around with a soldering Iron.

Strengths:
Big sound stage, truth of timbre. Re-creates music as good as anything out there.

Weaknesses:
No remote, "kinda ugly looking", slightly more background noise than the newest designs. Old enough to need inspection and or restoration for safe use.

Similar Products Used:
Audio research LS5 Mk III, Classic 150, M100 monos.