Competition grade? Audio synergy bespoke tube pre amp

[lujiez]

Hey people  

I hope everyone’s day or night is going well. 
 

I have in my possession a tube pre amp that has been passed down to me from my father. 
 

My father had told me that the pre amp was bought directly from Clifford D’Souza from Audio Synergy which was a brick n mortar shop that existed a few decades ago. 
 

The only things I vaguely remember my father saying is that was custom made, was Cliff’s own personal pre amp, and he used this particular unit for competitions. 
 

I could barely find any hard info on this unit so I thought I would ask on here. 
 

I have taken some photos and tried to process them to make any text more clear, so the colours or contrast may be exaggerated. 
 

it’s standard width 19inch, black with shiny mirror finish gold accents and at the front is engraved with “Clayton Silver” alongside a single volume knob (internally connected to a macintosh potentiometer?) 

and the Audio Synergy emblem in gold also. 
 

im looking for any info whatsoever, from what type of tube pre amp it is (if there are different kinds I have no idea), to any specs, to wth Clayton Silver means, and any ideas on the price. 
 

My old man had a lot of expensive gear but truth be told he was pretty much dead from working on the trains earlier in life lol

 

that never stopped him from throwing money at audio gear! 
 

in fact I’ve even got a 200w 51kg Dared dv200 monoblock tube amplifier too that I will start another topic on. 
 

so yeah, any info would be much appreciated as I may want to sell it depending on its value if I can’t get much for my tube amp. 
 

im personally more of cheaper Chinese gear guy who relies more on specs and bench tests for pure transparency who listens to only electronic music so “warmth”, nostalgia and talk about the “micro dynamics, the leading edge of notes” etc are not my cup of tea however i might hang on to it for sentimental reasons. I’m not sure yet as I need to fund a new pc build to start making music again. 
 

I’ll stop waffling now lol 

 

but thanks in advance for any info whatsoever 

[thejt]

Cliff's stuff is terrific but no two are the same even if they have the same model designation.  From what I have seen Cliff regularly updated his designs but he also offered upgrades to customers to higher spec etc. These weren't cheap but second hand value isn't reflective of the quality it is fairly niche. If you can use it, keep it. 

[Mendes]

1 minute ago, thejt said:

If you can use it, keep it. 

Very sage advice indeed, secondhand market sux at present 

[lujiez]

Ahh thanks guys. 
any idea whatsoever on price during the good times lol 

 

I asked chatgpt and it reckons $2000-$5000. 
 

knowing my old man I’d say he would have spent over $2k, but I don’t know if it’s leaning more towards $500 or $5k tbh 

 

any ideas on what a good asking price would be in todays market and if it were you personally if you had to sell, what’s the minimum you would take? 
 

are there any specialists forums or groups in Perth that anyone can recommend? 
 

if they are all unique then I’m assuming mine ain’t anything out of the ordinary? 
 

I know on here the last audio synergy pre amp or amp was a dual mono design that was being listed for $4k. 
with no info at all and mine not being dual mono a really rough guess would be 3k. 
 

im trying to get in contact with Cliff himself to confirm some things like if it was his personal one or how good it was compared to the rest or how it went in the competitions etc

 

i managed to reach out to his daughter a year ago (before I forgot about it) who gave me his number to which I texted with no response. 
 

lol I’d be happy just to know the relevance of the words “Clayton silver”.

normally gold gear looks a bit tacky but this unit witg its mirror finish and single dial at the front looks pretty slick. 
 

If I can’t fetch good money I’ll use it with my pc setup once I’ve got the money…

 

even if it’s just for show

 

thanks for your time guys it’s truely appreciated 

 

 

[Mendes]

3 minutes ago, lujiez said:

lol I’d be happy just to know the relevance of the words “Clayton silver

Clayton was his son, he named his gear after his kids, Chad, Clayton and Charmaine.

Silver could be the internal wiring being silver. But I am guessing on that part.

You will find it hard to sell if it's not hooked up to a system for people to audition.

Not wanting to be a bearer of bad news but tough selling anything at the moment.

Just keep it 

[thejt]

I recently sold my clayton pre including an upgrade to outboard power supply. This would have been around 3 - 4k I think new but I think you would be looking to be getting around 1k for this at the moment. It is alot better than most preamps new and second hand you could get for that. 

 

Cliff may not respond as last I saw him he was already not too well and that was probably two years ago if not more. 

[xlr8or]

You can roll some really nice vintage tubes in this preamp (12AX7's and the 6X5 rectifier), to tune the tonal characteristics to your liking. This type of preamp is becoming increasingly challenging to find, particularly ones made with point to point wiring and the presence of an additional PT and tube rectifier. It also looks to utilise a dual mono design across the 2 channels. Plenty of internal spacing and shielding also suggests minimal noise during operation. If it were me I would hold onto it. No Chinese modern tube preamp would come anywhere near close to its quality of build.

 

Pricewise, it's challenging to put an actual value on it, but if I were to guess it would be somewhere in the vicinity of around $2K +/- 25%.

Edited February 19 by xlr8or

[muon*]

Hovland Musicap's, Black Beauty volume pot, nice build.

 

I'd keep it.

 

Edit: should sound reasonable.

Edited February 25 by muon*