Premier 15 upgrades

[monkda]

I have owned a Premier 15 S1. May I know what are the differences between S1 and S2 and any significant sound improvement with the factory upgrade from S1 and S2?

Also what would be the benefits to upgrade the S1/S2 with CJD Teflon caps? Would this upgrade bring the Premier 15 sound closer to TEA1 or TEA2?

Many thanks.

[AnotherJohnson]

I have not compared the Premier 15 directly to the TEAx series. Before I bought the TEA2MAX, I was running Krell and ARC phono sections, and I had extensive experience with the resident MM circuits in the PV series. I liked the TEA2MAX so much, I bought a TEA1b and had it upgraded to TEA1. FWIW, the TEA2MAX was/is the best I’ve heard with my Lyra cartridges, at least until the TEA1 arrived. My TEA1 is configured to one input with 64 dB of gain (the transformer input), and one with 54 dB. My TEA2MAX just has one input at 54 dB of gain. Both allow changes in R loading. The TEA1 also allows changes in C loading. Both are built with premium parts.

So why am I responding?

Two points…

1. When I have talked to JF about upgrades, he’s never encouraged me to waste money. If he thinks that it’s not a good path, he will make his case. So call him and ask “How close will the upgrades get me toward the sound of a TEAx?”

2. In my experience, the CJD proprietary capacitors and laser trimmed resistors have been sonically worthwhile. Whether or not they’re a good economic decision is up to the person whose wallet is open. FWIW, some have not been as impressed with the CJD upgrades as I have. I think it depends on too many unknowns in your room and system to make blanket pronouncements… but I’ve always been pleased. I’ve had at least 7 products with their best parts, and every one has been special.