Any questions re. discounts, shipping etc. - please call.
Will be very well packed and shipped on a small pallet via tracked delivery - or collect and save on the delivery charge
Overseas bidders please send a message for a shipping price and please note you will be responsible for payment of any local duties and taxes upon import.
Description:
The SL1 Legend BPX
Total Black Path Audio Chain and Power Supply
TWENTY EIGHT Super Exotic Black Path Capacitors in the audio path AND the power supply
(Pretty sexy looking if you’re into quality!)
We are proud to introduce the latest improvement to the Legendary SL1 Preamp.
The Original SL1 Legend Black Path Edition used the revolutionary Black Path capacitor design in
the 0.22UF interstage coupling cap. That’s two in the Line and two in the phono.
Many sharp
people have asked “why don’t you use the Black Path technology for the big output coupling caps
also?” Unfortunately our answer was that we couldn’t get the special film thin enough to make those capacitors in a reasonable size. Not a very satisfying answer for the perfectionist customer
or the perfectionists at CAT.
Now we finally got the film made. We had to order tons of the film needed to make these caps –
we have enough for 10 years or more!
Unlike any other capacitor order CAT must supply the
film and CAT must stock the film for future orders. This is a big investment, but we have made
such enormous investments in the past, such as when we purchased 3 1/2 skids of the
Legendary Black Gate electrolytic caps to use in the power supply of the SL1 Legend. That was
10 years ago and we still have one skid left! (BTW the Bulk of these Black Gate capacitors were
purchased for this very preamp, the Legend, and when they are gone it will be impossible to
make more Legends!)
So What makes the BPX version of the SL1 Legend even more special than the BPA
version of the SL1 Renaissance?
In the BPX version of the Legend we have taken the Black Path upgrade to the extreme! We
have also included the Black Path capacitors in the POWER SUPPLY!!!! BTW do you know ANY
other company which uses even audiophile quality caps in their power supplies, much less
something as exotic as the Black Path?
Recently we did an experiment to see if we could use the world’s most well-known and respected
audiophile cap manufacturer’s product in our power supply. We reasoned that if we could use
this well-respected brand in our product it might impress certain types of audiophiles. It would
also be our own little inside joke that we were “only using them in the power supply – not in the
signal path”.
We expected that there would be either no difference or it would be minimal. We
were surprised that it was quite easy to hear, in fact in certain power supply positions it was BIG
and in even the most “insignificant” PS locations it was still clearly audible! We realized
immediately that CAT can’t do something like this just to attract that “hype-driven” type of
consumer because a sonic step back like this would betray the stalwart CAT fans worldwide. We
then came up with a really crazy experiment – we already had the preamp set up with PC pins so
that we could install new caps easily, so why not, just for fun, install a bunch of Black Path caps?
We did and the sound was significantly improved!
At first we tried to ignore what we just heard
because we didn’t want to even think about the effect this would have on the price, but CAT has
always been the huge overachiever in High-End Audio electronics. We’ve been proud of our
ability to bring the absolute best sound in at a reasonable price.
We finally realized that even with the substantial price increase this would entail, the SL1 Legend
would still be an amazing bargain. It will destroy all preamps at ANY price including those which
cost several times more! So we have done it! The latest SL1 Legend BPX will be 100% Black
Path capacitors in both the audio path and the power supply!
Another big improvement – the audio path wire is now the new Black Path hookup wire. It uses a
special proprietary low-loss dielectric. This gives us not only greater transparency due to this new
dielectric, but also a big solid sound with weight and authority.
The SL1 Legend Black Path eXtreme is now going into production. This preamp makes all others
sound like toys. The music is reproduced with a transcendent natural beauty. The beauty and
emotional involvement we have aspired to achieve for many years.
We are confident that the SL1 Legend BPX will handily beat any preamp made today at ANY
PRICE. This preamp has no “competition”
There has never been a more appropriate name for any preamplifier than this.
Dozens of new preamps have been raved about as “the best ever,” “state of the art,” or “the last preamp you will ever buy” only to wind up on the trash heap of history selling online for next to nothing, or just sitting in some old basement unused for decades.
The first preamplifier in history which could be called “legendary” is the Marantz Model 7, culminating in the especially famous “C” version. The 7C went on to be THE most coveted preamplifier of the 1950s and continued to sell for decades. The Marantz 7C was never bested for 30 years, until the introduction of the SL1 by CAT.
The Legend is to the SL1 what the “C” version was to the Model 7: perfection polished to an ethereal sheen. By far the finest preamplifier available today and we predict it will remain so for the next 30 years because, after all, Legends never die.
Reviews:
"There is honesty, beauty, and authority in the Legend’s sound, and in equal parts.” - SoundStage!
“The level of perfection [the Legend] reveals is almost unbelievable.” - LP Magazine
Specifications:
- Gain (@1kHz): Line 25.8 dB (“high”) / 15.2 dB (“low”), Phono 47dB MM / 58 dB MC (low) / 64dB MC (high)
- Gain Tracking: Line .05dB, Phono .05dB
- Frequency Response: Line 0.1Hz to 1.5 MHz+0, -3dB Phono RIAA +/- 0.05dB 20Hz to 20kHz (MC & MM)
- Harmonic Distortion (@ 1 volt): Line less than .0001% Phono less than .0005%
- Slew Rate: Line 15 volts/microsec, Phono 10 volts/microsec
- Maximum Output (@1kHz): Line & phono 50 volts rms
- Input Overload: Line 1000 volts rms Phono MM 250 mv rms at 1kHz, MC 70 mv rms
- Noise: Line High 98 dBA, Low 109 dBA below2 volt output MM 80dB below 1mv input. (0.10uv EIN) MC high 96 dbA below 1mv input (0.018 EIN)
- Separation: Line greater than 100 dB Phono greater than 100 dB
- Input Impedance: Line 50 kohms, 20pf Phono 47.5 kohms, 180 pf (user adjustable) MC 2,000 ohms
- Output Impedance: Line 100 ohms, Phono 50 ohms
- Maximum Load: Line under 4000 pf, over 5000 ohms Phono under 4000 pf, over 10,000 ohms
- Dimensions: Main Chassis - 19.0” X 5.24” X 12.2” Power Supply - 12,2” X 4.0” X 6.0”
- Weight: Net 80 lbs., Ship 85 lbs.