Dared MC-7P Upgrades

[Wire Nut]

I just got the Dared MC-7P preamp; I am pleased with the sound... but not impressed. I see lots of room for upgrading here so I thought I would start a post to see what others have done with this nice little preamp.
First it responds really well to tube rolling- it is very responsive to NOS tubes.
Feel free to post your results with different tubes.

Second I popped the top and there are these huge yellow block shaped caps in it (1.0 value). I think they have to go! Has anyone had experience cap rolling with this preamp?

I am purchasing some Russian FT3's to try in my power amp, so I think I will get an extra set to try in the only place that I see room for this large cap in this cramped preamp.

I am looking forward to some interchange here so we can all make out preamps better!

Here are a few photos of the belly of the beast.

[Wire Nut]

This sheet came with my preamp- I don't know who did the research, but it seems like a good place to start:

[Wire Nut]

My friend Phil found some ground loop issues in the Dared so he tracked them down. Here is his advice on how to fix it:
Here is a picture of the cut traces on the underside of the PC board. It is not easy to lift the edge of the PC board but just take your time and it will go. You'll have to remove the selector switch (nut on front panel behind the knob) and the volume controls (same) to lift it. Once you do, take an xacto knife and cut two slits across the copper trace as shown in the picture. Once the second trace is cut, lift out the piece in the middle with the xacto knife so there is a small gap between each.

[Wire Nut]

I just ordered six Auricaps from Partsconnexion to install. I will bypass them with the Russian Teflon's (.001 value) that I got on Ebay for a song. I used them before in my Jolida JD-9 to bypass Obbligato Gold's with good results.
I will post photos when done.
I will allow them to burn in for a week before I report on the sound.
Chris at Partsconnexion is such a great guy. He takes time to ask questions to make sure that you are getting the part that will make you happy. He also recommended better caps, but I wanted to do this on a budget and see what the average guy can do with it and still have some date money

[ryuji]

any schematics to look at?

I personally love my k40y-9 PIO's if you want somthing else to try out

[Wire Nut]

Sure- post a schematic. I am sure everyone would love to see it.
Thanks, Nut

[stigs]

Hey Wirenut, I also own a MC-7P. Can you please elaborate on what ground loop issues that Phil found? Is this something he was able to see on an oscilloscope? I'm not afraid to do the mod, just want to make sure before diving in. Looking forward to here how your Auricap and bypass cap replacement turned out.

[Wire Nut]

I did the ground loop mod myself yesterday & it worked. I don't know about the scoping of it- I will ask.
I installed the Auricaps & it made a significant change for the better. I may bypass them next- if so I will post pix. One thing to note about the Auricaps is that the wires are so large you will need to drill out the PC board holes- kind of a hassle; so you may want to consider another brand if you don't have much experience with this sort of thing.
I also added shiny black knobs as the gold is annoying to me. It looks so nice that the Mrs asked me to put the unit on TOP of the stereo cabinet. I got the knobs from Parts Connexion.

[Wire Nut]

This is what Phil's unit looks like with the Clarity cap upgrade:

[stigs]

Thanks for the quick update and photo of Phil's unit. Still wondering what issue Phil had with the stock preamp that made him do the mod. I personally have not noticed any problems with mine. Thanks again Stigs.