[stryker]

If anyone wishes to attempt to mod my Sugden Headmaster please give me a PM. I have a link to where the infamous Carlo Flores modded these along with the now legendary "Carlo-modded Melos SHA-X" amps. It is in a fair amount of detail from photos/explanations on the site below. It would still take a little head scratching, but not much. Anyone?

http://melosmods.netfirms.com/sugden.htm

 

[dsavitsk]

Looking at the images and mods done, you will end up with a much better amp for less money if you sell the Sugden and use the money (and maybe some of your mod money) to pay someone to build you a Beta22.

 

[stryker]

Thanks for the heads-up.

It will be primarily used in my speaker setup in living room as it makes for a good preamp and has a remote function with a motorized alps potentiometer. Headphone amp use will be secondary. I'll look into the beta22 but I would imagine it's not remote-controlled which is now a "must-have" for my lazy azz.

 

[KurtW]

Quite some time ago I was at a meet with my unmodded Sugden Headmaster and compared it to Carlos-modded one. Both owners and one or two other people did some comparisons and no one could hear any difference.

This could be because of noisy meet conditions or not the right CDs or various other factors, but my conclusion is that there couldn't have been that much of an improvement if various people are straining to hear it a difference and don't. I saw later that the owner of the modded one was claiming that there was a big difference, without mentioning this particular comparison...so I'm sure there are many that hold this opinion.

As I recall the main mods involved the power supply caps; I had looked into it because I was thinking of doing it. After the comparison and thinking about it some more, I dropped the idea. I find that the main weakness of the Headmaster is the lack of bass slam, and that is probably due to not enough current from the single pair of output transistors. Its been a couple of years since I looked at the pcb but that's what I recall. As a preamp it is pretty good but not quite as good as a passive preamp with dual stepped attenuators in one comparison I did (not as transparent), but passive preamps don't work in every situation. Overall still a very good amp, very open and spacious for a solid state amp...I've heard few that could match it in this regard. One of those that could (not based on a direct comparison however) is the Beta22, but then it is much larger and more expensive. I like the size of the Headmaster, and have not decided to build the Beta22 yet because it is so big.

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KurtW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quite some time ago I was at a meet with my unmodded Sugden Headmaster and compared it to Carlos-modded one. Both owners and one or two other people did some comparisons and no one could hear any difference. This could be because of noisy meet conditions or not the right CDs or various other factors, but my conclusion is that there couldn't have been that much of an improvement if various people are straining to hear it a difference and don't. I saw later that the owner of the modded one was claiming that there was a big difference, without mentioning this particular comparison...so I'm sure there are many that hold this opinion. As I recall the main mods involved the power supply caps; I had looked into it because I was thinking of doing it. After the comparison and thinking about it some more, I dropped the idea. I find that the main weakness of the Headmaster is the lack of bass slam, and that is probably due to not enough current from the single pair of output transistors. Its been a couple of years since I looked at the pcb but that's what I recall. As a preamp it is pretty good but not quite as good as a passive preamp with dual stepped attenuators in one comparison I did (not as transparent), but passive preamps don't work in every situation. Overall still a very good amp, very open and spacious for a solid state amp...I've heard few that could match it in this regard. One of those that could (not based on a direct comparison however) is the Beta22, but then it is much larger and more expensive. I like the size of the Headmaster, and have not decided to build the Beta22 yet because it is so big.

Yeah, ya know, if you throw a bunch of BlackGates at something, it has to sound better, right?

EDIT: I forgot to comment that that was a really good and insightful post Kurt. I also enjoyed reading your thoughts on buffers from a few years ago. Very rational and well thought, and a commodity missing often.

 

[stryker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KurtW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quite some time ago I was at a meet with my unmodded Sugden Headmaster and compared it to Carlos-modded one. Both owners and one or two other people did some comparisons and no one could hear any difference. This could be because of noisy meet conditions or not the right CDs or various other factors, but my conclusion is that there couldn't have been that much of an improvement if various people are straining to hear it a difference and don't. I saw later that the owner of the modded one was claiming that there was a big difference, without mentioning this particular comparison...so I'm sure there are many that hold this opinion. As I recall the main mods involved the power supply caps; I had looked into it because I was thinking of doing it. After the comparison and thinking about it some more, I dropped the idea. I find that the main weakness of the Headmaster is the lack of bass slam, and that is probably due to not enough current from the single pair of output transistors. Its been a couple of years since I looked at the pcb but that's what I recall. As a preamp it is pretty good but not quite as good as a passive preamp with dual stepped attenuators in one comparison I did (not as transparent), but passive preamps don't work in every situation. Overall still a very good amp, very open and spacious for a solid state amp...I've heard few that could match it in this regard. One of those that could (not based on a direct comparison however) is the Beta22, but then it is much larger and more expensive. I like the size of the Headmaster, and have not decided to build the Beta22 yet because it is so big.

Well, that's good news. Kurt, I know you've been around here a while and own a lot of gear so, although we all have our own tastes, I trust your ears on this one. I'm finding that the smaller differences between amps and DACs heard through headphones can be barely noticeable with speakers. That just saves me some money and time so thanks. I'll be keeping it stock and will focus on other improvements in the system. Glad I posted in this section!

 

[zyss]

I'd like to mod mine. Have two of them, one is modded, one stock. The modded one sounds way better. No idea who modded it, as I bought used only with the knowledge it had been modded. Are there any Headmaster modders alive?
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