[bpape]

PS direct to the wall.  I'll agree with George that the PS does a lot in that area.  If you want the rest back and then some in spades, pay yer money and wait yer time for the modded Burson Buffer.  After hearing it, I consider it an essential part of the chain.  What it did to balance out impedance and current drive issues was nothing short of amazing.  I already have one on order from Wayne and it's still a proto - just still getting better.  If it's ANY better than the proto I heard, I'm good.

Bryan

[Double Ugly]

I tried direct connecting the S3 to my amps for the first time this weekend.  Based on all of the positive comments about direct connecting, I was surprised at the lack of warmth and detail by eliminating the Candela Tube Preamp from the chain. 

I'm not. 

Remember what I said a while back about what you could expect running direct with your current PS, and what a difference the Ultimate would make?

What you're hearing now is just about as clean, clear and open as it gets.  Problem is, the source isn't quite up to snuff yet.  The Ultimate PS will take care of that in spades.  Once you hear it in the system, there's no going back to having a conventional pre-amp¹ IMHO.

1.  "Conventional pre-amp" meaning something other than the soon-to-be-released Burson/Bent/Bolder unit.

I found that a lot of that warmth and smooth, yet detailed sound comes from the Ultimate Power Supply upgrade.

While the modified Elpac is good for the money, the Ultimate MK II PS really takes the modified SB to a much higher performance level.

I would concentrate on getting the best modifications for the SB and PS and maybe go with a stock Burson buffer to start with.  You could move up to a modified Burson as funds allow.

If you don't need multiple sources, I think a Statement SB3 + Ultimate IV PS would make for an absolutely killer digital front end that will have details, dynamics, and a full bodied, grain free sound.

George

The man knows whereof he speaks! 

His advice should probably sound relatively familiar, too, eh? 

I think the basic Burson in concert with the Ultimate will be more than enough to satisfy for quite some time.  You can always trade up to a modified Burson or the B³ later if you want.

[jrebman]

So, speaking of impedance matching, does anybody know what the output impedance of the modded SB3 is?

I'm planning on Statement mods to my new SB3, plus upgrading the Ultimate II to IV, and maybe adding bybees, and then running the SB direct into the preamp input on my integrated (bypasses all preamp stages), and I don't know yet how the system arrangement will play out, so if I know the output impedance, maybe I can work with that in mind and try to keep the IC as short as possible -- meaning possibly under a meter.

Glad to hear it from George and DU that this should be a very good performer -- I never doubted it, but it's good to hear it again, and at this point, with the Statement mods being a given, I'm even more confident that what I have now in terms of resources are probably best put into the PS.

Well, as Wolfie said on another thread -- and I think it was directed at Ken? -- audio isn't a race.  Sometimes I need to be reminded of that too

-- Jim

[mgalusha]

Jim,

Mine measures about 220 ohms at 1kHz. That's an SB2 but there should be no difference.

Mike

So, speaking of impedance matching, does anybody know what the output impedance of the modded SB3 is?

[jrebman]

Mike,

Thanks, appreciate it.  That's not horrible to deal with, just glad it isn't a whole lot more than that.  I don't remember if I've seen the spec for the pre-direct input on my amp, but I guess I should go look for it.  At least this will give me the opportunity to easily try direct vs. preamp by moving to RCAs that are right next to each other.

Then maybe one day there will be that single channel, remote volume controlled modded Burson .

-- Jim

[mgalusha]

Single channel, hardcore mono.. 

Then maybe one day there will be that single channel, remote volume controlled modded Burson .

[Wayne1]

Then maybe one day there will be that single channel, remote volume controlled modded Burson .

-- Jim

Just send lots of money 

I can get you one just about the time RMAF will be.

It would be a single input Bent control center with a modded Burson Buffer to supply gain and current.

[jrebman]

Money!?

I was afraid you were going to say that .

Ok, Mike, how about single input?  Oh, I give up:-)

-- Jim