CAT SL-1 MK III vs. First Sound Presence DeLuxe

I think that both are top units along with the Cary slp-98.I haven't owned none yet ,can't afford it at the moment.I am getting by with Magnum 99.One day I will own one of these babes for sure.One guy over at Asylum said that Cary should stop working on pre's as the nailed right on with the SLP-98.I think that speaks volumes.Soryy for side drifting.
George

>>As point of disclosure, my CAT is now for sale<<

And you saved $6 too.

Charlie101.....Not a fair comment....
On Sbank's defence ,the guy has a proper ad.Check
George

03-01-06: Avguygeorge
Well I have one of each,as we speak. I find the dynamics similar. I feel the CAT3 a little sweeter in the mids,on into the treble.Oh, that be a good thing,this sweeter.

I owned a FS Presence Deluxe II, and I loved its extension, massive image, micro and macro detail, and dynamics. What I missed, and what eventually drove me to sell it, was its lack of sweetness. Sweetness is an important ingredient to making reproduced music sounding real, IMO.

Frank,
this topic has come up several times now & member "Rayhall" has written extensively about it. Search the archives here @ Audiogon under his moniker 'rayhall' under Amps/Preamps.

Here are some links that I found for you:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1088683556

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1126375552

here's is a link if you decide to get the CAT & want to tube roll. Or, this thread might tell you that you do not want a CAT since it sounds good only if you have hi-end NOS tubes! Interpret it the way you want!
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&967566599

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&967566599

FWIW. Apologies in advance if you have already read them