I have used my CSP3-25th mods+ with a very high end SS Integrated and currently with my Cary 300B integrated. I can’t imagine using either integrated amp without the CSP3. By the way, there is no way to bypass the preamp on either of my integrated amps, so the CSP3 must be connected directly to a pair of line level inputs on the integrateds. I was actually preparing to sell my CSP3 just prior to receiving the Cary 300SEI….after all, why in the world would you want a full blown tube preamp to drive a full blown tube preamp? I am so thankful that the CSP3 was not put up for sale!
After receiving the Cary 300SEI and running it stand alone mode for several days, I then skeptically, and with a good deal of trepidation, hooked up the CSP3 to the Cary integrated. I slowly turned up all five volume controls and was dumbfounded by what I was hearing. The CSP3/300SEI combo were producing the most beautiful music imaginable. If I live another 10, 20, 30 or more years, I highly doubt that this pairing will ever leave my main system.
I suppose that the biggest surprises is that no matter where I set the 5 volume controls (4 on the CSP3 and 1 on the 300SEI) I never detect any distortion at all. A normal setting on the CSP3 is to have the output controls at the 2:00 to 3:00 position (7 or 8 clicks out of 10 on these pots), with the main volume controls at approximately 2 to 3 o’clock. I then turn up the volume on the Cary to the desired volume, which sometime goes as high as 1 or 2 o’clock. And it’s worth repeating; I never sense that the Cary integrated is being over driven, and the very thought of not having the CSP3 in front of my Cary integrated causes momentary anxiety.
I’m pretty sure that Steve is now routinely supplying the black knobs on the CSP3 output controls as shown on these photos of my unusually modded CSP3.
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https://ibb.co/5K7w726https://ibb.co/qCW4jSr