World Audio Designs PRE 2, PHONO 2 & Joint PSU - Heavily Modded
Built from a WAD kit but subsequently heavily modified - almost everything that could be upgraded has been, using high-end components: Kiwame resistors, a smattering of Shinkoh’s, Black Gates etc. The sound is authoritative and musical..
The cases are not perfect, but the face plates are fine
PSU
Converted to a pseudo mono set up.
Upgraded with Soniqs, Russian Teflon, Elna Cerafine Caps and Kiwame resistors.
Choke upgrade. The original choke can be put back if you do not like the mounting of the new (large) one on the top of the PSU.
Pre II
Converted to Cathode Follower (CF) configuration (this overcomes the hum issues that some experienced with the original design).
Obliggato gold premium film caps
Kiwame resistors
Elna rotary selector switch
Alps Blue volume potentiometer. Pseudo-shunt mod using 2 x Shinkoh Tantalum resistors
Short signal runs by shifting switch and volume pot to rear. I used plastic chop-sticks for this, which offer a night-and-day improvement over wooden ones ()
Mullard E88CC valve
Phono II
Lots of boutique caps (AmpOhm, Jupiter Beeswax, Black Gate, Sanyo Os-con, etc) and resistors. RIAA curve tweaked for closer matching
Cathode bypass caps to the first valve cathode resistors
2 x Cinemag transformers (moving coil phono stage)
2 x Sanyo OsCon caps
2 x Jupiter Beeswax caps
2 x AmpOhm 10uF caps
3 x General Electric 5751 valves
Happy to demonstrate in North London, just north of Finsbury Park
I use a Denon 103R, recently upgraded by Expert Stylus (with a new paratrace stylus). Ratio on the Cinemag trafos is, I think, 10, but I will have to check back home.
Ratio on the cinemags is 9:1. On Audio Asylum, many years ago, it was stated that this is best for sound quality. I have an email exchange with the Cinemag people on the wiring.
FS World Audio PSU, Pre II and Phono II
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