Thanks for the responses about the Burgandy. I was wondering if anyone here has heard the double Cabernet that received the rave review. Bob |
Cello,
Are you using Symposium Rollerblocks under Supratek main unit or under both (main unit and power supply) ?
Are you placing balls directly under Supratek rubber feet ?
Regards |
Oh,BTW. Srajan over at 6 Moons just awarded the Cabernet Dual one of his "Best of 2006" awards. He remarks that it's;"The best he's heard yet". Way to go Mick(and helpers),well done!!!!!!!!!!
Just wish I could afford one. Oh well,someday....... |
Baranyi- Put me down as another that asked Mick the same thing. He said the Burgandies absolutely won't handle Apogee's,but the new amps will. He seemed more impressed with the construction of the new amps(of course). Probably the Mondeuse to be sure. He wasn't really impressed with the idea of changing the Red umbilical out either,in his words;"con job". Just repeating what the man said. |
Baranyi,
I asked Mick the same thing. He says the new amps are better. |
I was wondering if these new amps are supposed to be superior to the Burgandy amp that Mich used to manufacture. |
Have a great time at Disney World Kgturner. Hopefully your new TOY will be on it's way to you soon. I waited 11 months for my Cortese! |
WOW! one week turnaround time. i waited 8 months for my chardonnay way back when. still waiting on the word for the malbecs. last i heard, mick told ray it would be any day now. i'm going to disneyworld for a week starting tomorrow, so hopefully when i get back, i will have received "the email" from mick. |
Thanks Zarco,
I am really happy that so many people have enjoyed their Supratek products. I wish someone would get their Malbecs so I could hear some impressions of them. Zarco, that is amazing that you got got preamp in such a short time! Enjoy! |
Oh,I forgot in my previous post to thank Slowhand for starting this amazing thread.Thanks dude ! |
Hello, I have been following this thread for a while now and finally pulled the trigger and ordered a Chardonnay preamp from Mick a few weeks ago.Total time from my initial talk with Mick to the preamp arriving at my doorstep...one week! He says that is the norm now that he has some additional help . I was a little leary of buying something sight unheard and half way around the planet! (I"m in south florida).But big thanks to Raytheprinter and Allanbissett for allaying any such fears!This preamp replaced an aging audible illusions l1,and what a replacement! Everything Ray, Allan, and you guys said about the sonic qualities of this preamp are right on the money and then some! I have a friend that could care less about this high end stuff and was familiar with my sytem..well the first day I had it playing in the background as he passed by the room and the first thing he said was "sweet sound!" never had commented on my old system! lol Even my girlfriend is playing cd"s on the system more than ever.Well just thought I"d say hi and put my 2 cents in.....time to roll some tubes now! |
.
I have been using Symposium Rollerblocks (cryoed) to great effect and have found them to be the best of any of the cones or other devices that I have tried.
.
Rollerblocks work incredibly well under Pre-amps (both pre and power supply), CD Players/DAC's, Amps, and power conditioners (big surprise here how much improvement when placed under the power conditioner).
.
If you have your Supratek just sitting on its own feet, you are missing out on a lot. I spent a lot of time fooling around with platforms and couplers and de-couplers. The Symposium Rollerblocks are by far the best of anything I have tried. Get a used set on Audiogon and try them under each of your different components. I now have them under every piece of equipment except my Turntable. I have put them under my Teres TT battery supply and was more than a bit surprised in the improvement in detail and air.
.
The more resolving your system, the more improvement you will gain from the Rollerblocks.
.
Rgds,
Larry
. |
Wonder why nobody has reported about their Malbec or Mondeuse? Maybe Mick is still putting the finishing touches on them before sending them out. I can't wait to order a pair of Mondeuse to drive a pair of ML summits I have on order. But I need the first positive reports before making another order for Supratek equipment. |
Maril555- My rack is an older MDF one,so not a great base obviously. I've gone through Mapleshade Brass Cones,Isofeet,Boston Audio Tuneblocks(original ones) and have always come back to a set of three Gingko Mini-Clouds.
The Boston Audio products work fantastically on sources and possible other applications,but they leaned out my Syrah just too much for me. However,the level of detail was very good. There's just something about tubes and those rubber balls. Again,sitting atop MDF which may have something to do with it,YMMV. |
Maril555,
I have my Cortese setting on a rack that is similar to the Mapleshade racks (Rock Maple shelves). The preamp is supported by Mapleshade brass cones. I think the best isolation would be Silent Running Audio isolation bases. These are custom made to the exact size of your equipment and they take into account the weight and weight distribution of the piece of equipment they are supporting. |
i'm just using the regular old boring feet that came with the chardonnay. i've thought about possible tweaking with some cones / spikes, but i really don't have any audible issue with microphonics or vibration that i can notice. maybe one day i'll try some isolation devices for chuckles. |
Kgturner,
Thanks for your response. Sorry, but I actually meant a type of isolation or absorbtion used, cones, sorbotane, etc.
I'm buildng flexi- rack with 2" Maple shelves, but not sure what type of isolation I should use. |
my chardonnay is sitting in a salamander rack. i'll have to double check to be certain, but the bottom plates of my chardonnay are made from a thin layer of steel or some other type of metal that appears be powder-coated black. |
What kind of support are you guys using under your Supratek?
I'm sure, there been a discussion about it, but I really have no time to read the whole thread right now.
The bottom plates of the preamp and the power supply look like they made from MDF or something similar? |
How do you open the fuse receptacle without using a sharp object on the Cortese (2006 vintage) ? |
Hi Ray,
I would love to hear your Malbecs also! I forgot where you live, is it Florida? I hope you get them soon. I can't wait to hear your impressions of them. |
Cant wait to get my Malbecs!!Tom ,I sure wish we lived closer to each other,,I would love to hear your Berning,,Id also love to hear my Malbecs!,Peace,Ray |
Hello Asa,
Good to hear from you. Yes, there is a lot of new blood on the Supratek thread these days. I am glad that new people keep discovering how good the Supratek products are. I have been waiting to hear from somone about the sound of the new Malbec amps. If I did not own a Berning ZH270 (which I feel is one of the best amps in the world), I would have already ordered a pair of Malbecs. I will probably still order a pair to try and compare to the Berning. |
Hi slowhand. Lots of new people I don't recognize; the Supratek tide keeps rolling. Good for Mick. Carry on... |
No Malbecs out there yet. Man, I am getting frustrated and I am not even waiting for one yet. |
fyi:
mick has updated the site with new pics of the sauvignon and cabernet dual. i'm amazed that he was able to incorporate his new dual circuit for bi-amping while keeping the cost at it's original $5k mark. still foaming at the mouth for my malbecs, but what can i do? |
Hi Georgemg,
I have been using a Supratek Chardonnay for two years. It is a very versatile preamp in a sense that you can tailor its sound to suit your taste, by tube rolling. It never failed to amaze me what it is capable of in regard of sound reproduction. The baseline is : it is very musical but not without the details that loved by audiophiles. All dependent on your other equipment and the tubes you used. I have a brief audition of the Melody 1688II in the Hong Kong showroom. It was partnered with Zu droid speakers and a tube power amp (I forgot the brand and model). It was too mellow for my taste in that setting. The piano was bloated with lost of attack. Voices were sweet but big.
I have no experience with the Wytech, perhaps someone else can help.
Preamps that I owned previously : ARC SP9, LS1, LS2, CAT signiture, Matisse reference, Marantz 7 (remake) and Nagra PLP (which I am still owning), but I enjoy the Supratek most.
Hope that is helpful
Regards,
ywLee |
Does any one listened wytech preamplifires( opal or jade) or melody 1688 preamplifier, and compared with supratek preamplifires? I need to buy one preamplifier , but where I live is impossible to listen any one of these preamplifiers.
Thanks |
Hi
Anyone got their MALBEC or MONDEUSE from Mick? How do they sound? :) |
ASA:
Very good to see you back! Where the heck have you been?
Hear anything revelatory lately in the tubed amp genre that you'd care to share with us? |
Many thanks for the tip, David. I'll be on the lookout for the metal-based GZ34 then. |
Hi Colin. When used for regulation duty [rather than used as an output tube] the 350b, 6f6g or any of the other tube choices should last longer than you will! That said: the rectifier will have a far greater influence on the sound of the amplifier regardless of ones choice of regulation tubes. Considering the cost of admission for a pair of strong testing 350b's, one would be miles ahead investing in the metal based version of the GZ-34. Yes, they are rather expensive....but far and away the best sounding full wave rectifier on the planet. |
Thank you Tom,Looking forward to getting that email from Mick soon! |
Can anyone give me an idea of the life span of regulator tubes like the 350B or 6F6G in the Chardonnay? thanks |
Hello Ray,
Hopefully your wait without an amp will be short. |
Slowhand,I found a good home for my beloved CJ MF2500A,,I actually love the sound of this amp ! Crazy hobby!I just cant resist wondering how the Malbec monos are going to sound with my Chardonnay,,,I ll be shipping my CJ out Monday,,so ill get a taste of what Kgturner is going thru,,staring at my ampless speakers!!! |
Hello Mark,
Good to hear from you. Have not heard from BWhite in a long time. Some of us have decided that Mick was right about the fact that tube swapping is not really necessary for great sound. When I replaced my Syrah with the Cortese, I found that it sounded best to my ears with the stock tubes. These are the tubes the preamp was tuned to and Mick has a great ear for sound. The talk now is about the Malbec amps that Mick has started building. Amps that are a perfect match the the wonderful Supratek preamps are what we have waited for. And they are affordable to boot. I am getting ready to order a pair, but I must say that they will need to be extremely good to best my Berning ZH270 amp. I love this amp and can't see ever getting rid of it, but I would love to directly compare it to the Malbecs. Mick has taken on a couple of partners, and it seems that orders are not taking near as long as the 11 months I waited for my Cortese (worth every minute)
Sorry, that was more than 10 words. |
Hmm, quite a thread...
You leave for a couple of years, come back, and 2500 posts!
Has anybody told you guys lately that you need very, very deeeeep therapy?!
I see slowhand. Any bwhite, or did he burn out before hitting a Kondo M1000 with NOS tubes that don't exist anymore except in a small stash recently discovered in an abandoned army depot just across the Maginot line? :0) (hi bwhite, wherever you are, are, are...)
I don't have the time to read everything here. Can some knowing-soul offer an evolutionary synopsis, in 10 words or less?
Great to see everyone still at it; the music, that is.
Mark |
no amp at this time. i was previously running cary audio slm-200 monoblocks into my gershmans. then i had an art audio carissa which wasn't powerful enough for the gershmans. i've now sold the gershmans and bought von schweikert dB99SE speakers which i've only used a denon receiver (avr-3806) with thus far. as you can imagine, i'm EAGER to get the call on my malbecs. |
Question for all the guys who have a set of Malbecs on order. What amp is the Malbecs replacing? |
Kgturner,I hope yours are ready! I think you may have been the first or one of the first to order the Malbec!Ray |
hopefully my name is on a pair as well. of course, mick has said that the chroming process is very time consuming due to a high rejection rate. i'm keeping my fingers crossed. it's so hard to walk through the living room and see my von schweikert's standing there begging to be played. |
And a pair has my name on them,,,!!!! |
|
Hey Guys,
Mick says 4 Malbecs will be finished in the next week or so!!! |
Hi Stiltskin, I am actually using the Bendix with Sylvania 6F6G's and I like the bass this combo produces, however even though the Sylvanias are quite sweet on top, in my system the treble is still a little too bright. I know it's the Bendix as I don't have this problem with Mullard 5AR4 or any of the 5V4s I tried. The other rectifiers however, have much softer bass. That's why I'm looking for something with superb bass like the Bendix, but with the top end of the Mullard. |
Hi Markxiii,You may want to try apair of Sylvania 6F6G in the regulator position.These are the two tubes closes to the transformer covers.The power supply tube and the regulator tubes work directly with each other.For now I have switched back to the stock tubes.Though I have used the Bendix 6106 and the 6F6G combo to exceptional results. |
Cello,Did you ever get your Grange up and running? |
Other than the Bendix, which rectifiers did you find to produce the best bass in your Suprateks? I tried Mullard GZ34 (5AR4), GZ37, Tungsol and Sylvania 5V4s but the Bendix offered the tightest and best controlled bass of them all. What else should I try if I like the Bendix? |
A McIntosh MX-132 for $1500. Is my bast deal so far. |
