Preamp Deal of the Century

BWhite is correct with many more advanced systems, especially ones that aim towards musicality, rather than just always going towards accuracy; namely, power conditioners become percieved as progressively sterile, in that the space is rendered more void-like, and harmonics loose that very-hard-fought-for last smidgen of harmonic depth (leading edge transients on breath inhale/exhale can loose "wetness" also, etc.). So, it gets tough. This is why you saw many guys going to Bybee's some years ago, and why some more are going towards Hydra's now; because their systems get along far enough and they still are following the "lower noise floor gives better sound" philosophy, but haven't realized yet that they can get by with "less" these days (see below)and these conditioners do the least harm in more advanced systems (I haven't heard the Stealth, but the systems I've seen like it do not lead me to a different conclusion).

The Supratek pre seems to act in this manner, in the sense that it likes good outlets (I have a...can't remember the name, the expensive ones that came out a few years back, mine has a "381" model number...I'm getting old), but doesn't seem to be cheered up by conditioners (it hated my Bybee Sig and that is one of the more palatable ones IMHO). I've never had a pre dislike the Electraglide Fat Boy, but the Syrah sure didn't like it. I ended up with the Discovery that I fished out of a box I hadn't looked into in ten years and it does no harm - which is a good thing. (Bwhite, I've got a Bybee PC laying around in the attic so I'll listen to it later on and let you all know what I think).

When you first start a system, and you get everything relatively balanced, power conditioners make a big difference. This is because, invariably, your system is digitally based, weighted towards accuracy (you can improve accuracy in a beginner to mid level system much more vis-a-vis harmonics, space, etc.). The digital gear likes to be filtered and the removal of artifacts and distortion in the space renders the source in greater relief, and whatever wrong the conditioner is committing on the musicality route is unpercieved because the system can't hear it yet, or its lack, so to speak. Then you follow the natural route and look into PC's, and, yes, they help. But, you start getting the creeping feeling (especially if you introduced tubes along the way) that "something" is being taken away. And, so, you get in this PC shopping/auditioning spree trying to find the balance - and sometimes you do, its just everytime you introduce a more musical component, the balance seems to go out of wack again, and always sourced in origin to the conditioner/PC system interaction. Finally, you end up removing the conditioner and concentrate on the cords and outlets, and the last five years of advancement in PC's makes this even more feasible (and, hence, why more people are beginning to see it). Conditioners came first many moons ago and were a good thing in the absense of better PC's outlets etc., but now this approach to system building is not as well entrenched. Yes, still keep the conditioner on the dig gear, and, yes, if you get a lot of crap into your lines from where you live you may need one, but just consider as your system advances that that conditioner that served you well in the mid-level of your system, may not be the same thing later on. Things change...

Thanks Asa. But what about isolation transformers? These aren't really filters, but rather regulators of the power, no?

Asa / Bwhite,

Does the Sound Application CF-XE fall into your categorization of "power conditioner" ? If no, what do you think of it ?

- Ken

Have only skimmed, but this is an amazing thread.

I'd like to know if anyone's heard the preamp with an Aleph? What are your thoughts of this combination? Front end is an Ikemi.

Thanks,

Hi Dennis, I think you know more technically than me, but I never liked transformers - even less than the so-called "purifiers" like the Bybee. Transformers came first - the big Tice's if you remember, commercially - and I always felt that there was some kind of ultra low level...discontinuity, is the only way I can put it (this in addition to the harmonic denuding, which happened because the pressurized "feel" of air, both within the sound projection ans around it, was reduced along with the mechanical artifacts of distortion). It was as if there was a gross distortion removed - the so-called grunge - but then also this subtle tension was introduced. It sounded like a super high frequency oscillation that could barely be heard, so you thought it could easily be ignored, but it couldn't. Hard to "see" if looking for it, but looking out of your peripheral perception, it was always there, and was quite un-natural. Was it the electro-magnetic fields feeding back into the IC's, or the nature of transformers in general, or were they just not good enough then, or...I don't know why technically, objectively, and there might be a good technical argument why transformers should sound better. But I've found that, like most ideas, even scientiific ones, they are good starting points - good pointers towards the truth, some better than others - but not determitive as far as experience. Although, again, I don't claim to be the expert on conditioners because I stopped listening then some time back, just my opinion.

Mprime, I heard the Supratek with an Aleph 3 amp - nice 'lil SS piece - in two systems, both sounded very nice, and particularly with the NBS Pro IC in between, which kept the Aleph from drifting into too much clearness (my experience with Aleph is that you want to accentuate - not tone, but bring out - its spatial qualities. With that approach, it usually maintains its detail/accuracy performance; but if you go for more detail on the IC/PC, you can sometimes end up with an amp that sounds like its not an SE SS Pass design, ie it sounds more "transistorized" so to speak). I had the Aleph/Supra in that later system for three months, but the NBS improved both systems in the same way. Actually, the Supra and Aleph sound quite alike, although the Supra is more liquid. Great dynamics, clarity, naturalness - just like you hear in the Pass stuff vis-a-vis other SS amps - but more liquidity and continuity in the Supra. If you like the Pass, you will like the Supratek.