As the SLI-80 Signature became more and more popular, we started having Cary build them with Jensen Oil and Copper capacitors as a factory-option. These caps give you more clarity and more mid-band reality and is a significant upgrade.

So then… as I am prone to do… I went overboard. I use one of these in my own office (cause it sounds bitchin' and looks cool) and was getting a new demo built. I spoke to Dennis Had, the owner of Cary Audio, and we thought over every upgrade that we had done for customers, and what worked best.

The result is the SLI-80 Signature F-1. I'm a fan of Formula One racing where every single nut and bolt is special and nothing is looked over to increase performance. So like a Formula One car, we added the following:

Jensen oil and copper capacitors: Gives you the midrange we crave by giving you a more pleasing midband, while increasing clarity & texture.

Hexfreds in the power supply: Results in better pitch and definition especially when music becomes complex, and is most helpful in the bass arena.

CD input wired with Kimber Kable: We could actually do all of them, but it could get quite expensive. So we did one input and you put your most critical component there. Want them ALL done that way? Call me to get one special-built.

WBT Speaker terminals: Other folks will always refer to "WBT Style" terminals. These are the real ones which cost many times more, but hey dude… it's where your speakers get the music. Don't cheap out.

Grayhill Selector switch: All the music goes through the selector switch for the components you plug in. Grayhill makes gold plated premium switches that are typically pretty expensive but when we put it in our super mondo-cool package, it isn't so bad.

 Special finishes: If you go to all this work making a super-cool amp, why not have a super-cool finish? Remember… this is going in home-boy Kevin's office and I don't want to look like a schlub. So we had my personal unit done in anthracite gloss black instead of the regular flat black, and we had a nice silk screening done in silver leaf. Add a silver faceplate and you have something really special. I even had a new script done just for us that is similar to the script on the big 805C and 211 mono power amps and makes the amp look like it costs $10,000.

So after I got mine a dude sees it and has to have one for himself.

Well…. it's expensive to do all this. Cary made it for my personal use so I get a great deal. Through a special arrangement I am having them done in a limited edition so you get a great deal too. Then you have a unit that is truly special.

Now, what if you want your SLI-80 Signature to have more snap on top and bottom?

In case I have not made your head spin already, we have another upgrade. We can make the preamp section of the unit direct-coupled. This is a first, made by the hand of the Master, Dennis Had, just for us. We listened to it carefully here and the result is more pop on the top and bottom. We can advise which is best for your needs and speakers.

The SLI 80 Signature F1 is made by Cary Audio Design, exclusively for Upscale Audio.  They are no longer available as Cary doesn't want to spend the time and dollars to make something special.  The retail is $4300. Only have a couple of units left in stock so don't wait!