Audio Horizons TP 2.0 Preamplifier

Thanks, guys, for the well wishes. I feel like I'm getting get well wishes after my near-death situation. Now that I have the old Hovlands back in, the phasey sound is gone and the sound my ears are familiar with is back, to a certain extent. Having the preamp now on for about 24 hours, the sound seems a bit dark for me, but that could be other issues. I'm going to just listen to music this weekend and try to relax and release some of the stress that has built up for me these last couple of weeks. I'm sorry to have stirred up a hornet's nest for everyone, but I'm a perfectionist and I want my hobby of musical listening to be the best possible.

I'm confused as to where this upgrade is going, left, right, up, down, break-in or break-out ?

Like La45, I'll wait for all the dust to settle, then make a decision.

I'll stick with my original mods, the acrylic top, floating the circuit boards and adding a Furutech gold IEC inlet for the time being.

The AH is already in batting distance of the infamous REF 3, what more could you ask from a 2.5K preamp ?

Now, I have to find some musical, dependable mono amps to get my tunes back up and runnin ........

jojo - Welcome and thanks for your input. Your description helps put the differences between 2.0 and 2.1 in perspective.
sltrains - I could tell the differences between balanced and RCA right away (with no breakin on the XLR cables), even my brother who was listening casually heard it clearly with balanced being better
Victor - thanks for the thorough explanation. It is very clear and captures the effort and care you and Joseph are putting into things. I agree that it is a great use of new creative energy to now focus on an amp.
I can not imagine exactly how the 2.1 can be significantly better given how wondereful the 2.0 sounds but with the folks here mostly suggesting that it is, as well as Victor and Joseph's excellent ears I know that an audition is in my future to hear for myself.
Question for Victor. How close do you think that the current modifications can now take the modded 2.0nB toward the 2.1nB? Has anyone done this A-B comparision between those two units broken in?

Greetings to all. I rarely post, but I've been following the action closely.

I just wanted to say that I'm very appreciative of Sherod and others for their time and efforts on testing thing so we can benefit from their experiences. It's very easy to sit back and just watch. I just wanted to say, "Thanks."

I have the 2.0 and 8.0 phono stage, the phono which has the new "mystery caps." I've found those caps to be very good and very quiet so I've been tempted to trade in the Hovlands on the 2.0. The latest thread has me going back and forth. I'm still ready to pull the trigger but the extra 75 bucks made me gulp (am I a cheap skate or what?).

One question for Sherod: how about a V-Cap bypass on the new 2.1 cap. That's one combo that hasn't been tried, right?

Sang

Hi Sang,
I tried several value V-caps, both the Teflon and oil-impregnated in different values as bypass and none sounded right. All bypasses on the outputs caused this "shelving" effect where the sound lost its wholeness and took on the characteristics of the cap used as the bypass. Both Joseph and Victor have good systems and I'm sure good ears, but my system preferred the 2.0n version in the end. Your mileage might vary. Please don't think that I'm a troll or naysayer. I was one of the early buyers of the TP 2.0n preamp and if you'll peruse the threads, you'll see that I was always there to champion the work and genius of the "Master" Mr. Chow. I feel my praise of his preamp has played a small, but significant role in helping others to decide to try and now enjoy his preamp.