Preamp better than Cortese?

Glreno, good questions! And I agree with you.

When I ordered that preamp, I asked for it to be a single chassis unit with balanced output. These two "options" were not done right but they didn't cause a dangerous situation. No worries there.

To the best of my knowledge the faulty preamp was returned to Mick a while ago. Recently when I inquired about an upgrade of my Syrah, Mick suggested I return my preamp to him and not sell online since it too has a few factory errors. He informed me that he didn't want ANY MORE malfunctioning or mis-implemented preamps floating around out there.

Whatever the case, he seems to have learned a lesson.

I agree with Glreno that Brian's announcement will hurt Mick's reputation, and the value of all of us that currently own a Supratek preamp. My recently arrived Syrah is perfect and equals all of the excellent reviews here on Audiogon for build and sound quality.
I would encourage Mick to consider recalling the "bad" Cortese. In addition I recommend all Audiogon sellers to be honest about the condition of their equipment as it will then encourage more people into the high end market, which includes listening experimentation and resale of components. The component integrity of the high-end community is quickly noticed.

Thanks Brian for clearing-up the recall issue with the "incorrect" Cortese. This confirms my opinion that Mick is serious about providing a high quality product, and is striving to improve his designs and internal components.

Good for Mick! Small manufacturers need to be mindful of their reputations, and the damage one or two bad products can cause to them if allowed to make their way through the audio community. I just wish I would have had the chance to hear a good one. Thanks for the info on the other pres, Tbg. Is there a website for these things?

I was the next person in line to own the
"Gold Knobbed Chardonnay".
To make along story short: At Micks request, I sent the unit back for replacement.After receiving and finding it to be in excellent condition cosmetically, I was given the option of 1)replacement with a new Chardonnay at no cost. 2)upgrade to a new Sarah-I pay the difference. 3)or take back the original unit unit of which he had removed all the components and rebuilt from scratch into a - Cortese Line Stage. This also included replacing entire seperate power supply unit with a new one.
The Cortese is everything and more than I had hoped for.
This transaction took place over a considerable amount of time and I did pay shipping both ways, but considering the outcome, I couldn't be happier.
As far as I am concerned, Mick has given new meaning to the concept of Customer Service.
More than satisfied.