Preamp Deal of the Century

I ordered my cortese in the middle of november and it was completed in the end of february, much sooner than I expected. So not everyone has the long wait. Don't know why mine was done so quickly but it is a linestage only with no source selector so that may have been a factor.

Someone here recently commented on the "open" tube style of the preamp's design. I think that is one of the strengths of the preamp since it allows for a wider selection of tube substitutes. It also allows the tubes to resonate in the open and dissipate heat.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about people selling the Supratek's. Firstly, be glad that they do sell. Secondly, if you are a happy owner why would you care what someone else thinks of your preamp. I have purchased about $7k in NOS tubes for my cortese, a lifetime supply. Me and my cortese will be together till I croak.

Good. Very happy for you guys.

I went out on a limb and wrote a glowing review on the Supratek (never published by UA) a couple years back when there were only a few units in the country and have been very supportive in encouraging others to buy it, so, more than usual, I watch to see if people are hearing what I did and are happy. If not, then I want to hear that too.

Yes, its a no brainer...and, good point about the NOS tubes: without them I also hear it as subtlely, um, too clear, or, perhaps, a tendancy towards that with the wrong matched IC's, and particularly wrong IC's on all digital systems. Something to keep in mind if it sounds a bit "lean" in harmonics...

Well Asa, I wish I could just comment further on my impressions of this pre-amp after an almost 7 month wait but I'll just have to wait a bit longer to offer my imput. My last post sums up where I am right now as I wait for replacement tubes, it is quite frustrating.

Any comments on which IC's work well (or poorly) with the Syrah or Cortese? Or is that determined by the TT or amps more than the preamp?

As a general rule, I would stay away from IC's like Nordost. Or, put another way, cables that tend to reduce spatial qualities relative to the source, and particularly those that advance a detailed orientation to ones that are more balanced and holistically natural. System synergy is always a consideration, but I think these general rules would still apply to the Syrah. I use NBS Pro series I RCA IC between pre and AirTight amp and an Audionote Kondo Az series IC from CD to pre. This does not mean you should veer all the way towrds Cardas Cross, just that "accuracy school" IC's should be avoided. I don't have the experience with some of the newer IC's that many here do - Virtual Dynamics, Sakura OTA, etc. - but I would guess that a Purist Proteus Rev B might sound pretty nice too (caveat: some good ears here hyave said that the new lower priced Purists compete with the Proteus line quite well). So, maybe others could chime in (I'm also still waiting for that PC advice...)