Preamp Deal of the Century

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...)

Hello all. My Syrah will arrive in a week or two (ordered 6 months age, I don't mind the wait). First tubed component for me, very excited. Also I'm currently listening to two channel music (what I prefer) through an HT processor so the change should be phenomenal. Now comes the education into tubes. I found a place where I can buy KenRads at $125/pair and Sylvania 6SN7 metal base for $250/pair. Are these prices in the ballpark? I have no idea. This is more $ than I expected to be paying for NOS tubes. I assume NOS tubes are not in production anymore; what do when they are all gone? :)

My major confusion at this point is what about the rating letters after the 6SN7. Like GT, GTA, GTB, or WGT. How do I know which I should use? Do tubes like Tung-Sol VT-231 or RCA VT-231 also come with these letters on them? BTW, all these designations I’m using in this post I’m getting from a website as I write this; they mean nothing to me at this point, its like a new language I’m learning. When my pre arrives, will the stock tubes have one of those designations, and all I need do is make sure that’s on the NOS tubes I buy? I read on a tube seller’s site that these designations refer to a tube’s voltage and plate dissipation ratings, and to ensure good tube reliability you should probably run a tube at 70% or less of its maximum plate dissipation. Wow, this tube rolling is technical! :)

So anyone willing to help me out, maybe suggest the complete tube designation I would buy in a Tung-Sol Round Plate (VT-231 or 6NS7), RCA VT-231 black plate, Sylvania 6SN7 black plate, and Sylvania VT-231 black plate. In other words, do I need to buy a Sylvania 6SN7W black plate, not a 6SN7WGT black plate?

Also, anyone willing to share where they buy NOS tubes? Maybe those are well-guarded secrets since good prices on NOS tubes are hard to find?