SLP-05 Ultimate Upgrade

About the SLP-05 Ultimate Upgrade

The Cary Audio Design SLP-05 Ultimate Upgrade is a factory modification package for the Cary SLP-05 two-chassis Class A triode vacuum-tube stereo preamplifier. It upgrades the power-supply filtering and line-stage componentry rather than constituting a separate preamplifier model. The modification adds approximately 1,200 µF of UCC electrolytic capacitance to the high-voltage B+ supply, approximately 125 µF of polypropylene capacitance throughout the B+ supply, including a 100 µF polypropylene capacitor at the line-stage circuit board, and polypropylene bypass capacitors across the electrolytic filter capacitors. The line stage receives 1% Vishay metal-film plate-load and cathode resistors, while ten original coupling capacitors are replaced with Mundorf MCap coupling capacitors. Cary describes the changes as intended to improve power-supply filtering, noise performance, midrange texture, bass fullness, and overall smoothness. The underlying SLP-05 includes a remote-controlled volume control and muting, headphone output, Cinema Bypass, tape-monitor loop, balanced and unbalanced connectivity, and a separate external power supply.