Preamp Deal of the Century

Fiddler, you are correct. While Mick's products have been successful as a result of how they sound, that does not diminish the fact that his customers -- the ones willing to "bite the bullet" and buy a preamp on faith, without ever listening to it -- are the ones who financed that progress and therefore should be given the respect of an upgrade path.

I commend Mick on his progress both in the development of new products as well as his ongoing customer support & loyalty to his customers but I am a bit stunned at how careless this "new product introduction" was and how little it took those die-hard Supratek advocates into consideration.

My take on Mick's post was basically that it was a slam on the Cortese / Grange and the general overtone somehow seemed that Mick was never happy with that design to begin with. The slow progression/evolution of the Cortese design into something which is much more like the Syrah than it was in its inception is clear evidence of this dissatisfaction. Yet, Mick's never failed to tell his potential customers how great his preamps were and how he couldn't possibly build anything better - in so many words.

Now.. we hear it again. With this post, Mick claims to have done what he never thought possible. Just like what he said when he built the Cortese and then again when he built the Grange.

Sorry for rambling here. I'd really like Mick's input on this before writing more speculation. :)

So in closing, Fiddler... It's not just MY pain. If the value of Cortese and Grange preamps fall, so will the value of Syrah. This pain is for all Supratek owners. I am as I said, interested in Mick's follow up comments on this topic because I feel it would be in his best interest to provide an upgrade path for his customers - for many reasons.

BWhite, once again your points are well taken, but AA is full of posts complaining about manufacturer upgrades. Cable companies (especially power cords) seem to be the worst offenders.

I suspect that Mick thought his products were the best he could build at the time, but with continued testing and computer modeling, he discovered better circuits.

I wish everything I have purchased in audio was the last and greatest, but it ain't gonna happen. I know you are pissed, but look at Levinson, Krell, CJ, Plinius, MF, etc. They are constantly upgrading and last year's model drops like a rock.

Mick's products have held their value very well and I suspect they will continue to do so. They have consistently out-performed other gear in the used market because of the hype (justified), long wait and reputation. Will used Suprateks continue to sell in the used market for nearly 100% of the original purchase price? I doubt it, but they will still probably beat the averages.

I guess I am not upset because I never buy any audio gear as an investment. I figure going in I will lose 50% of the original purchase price when I go to sell it. If I can eventually sell Mick's gear for anything over 50%, I figure I am ahead of the game.

Good luck and happy listening.

Actually the body of my message disspeared,,,it wasnt supposed to be that way...

But thanks for the advice!..;-)

Hi Fiddler, I'm not pissed. I simply think that there should be some consideration for existing customers. The post didn't seem to indicate there was any - and I am waiting to hear back from Mick before getting too emotional about this.

Mick's products are great and *I* look forward to hearing what his newest designs sound like but truth be told, Mick's "sales force" is mostly made up of existing customers. I cannot even count the number of emails I've received/answered and the amount of personal time I've spent communicating about these products - and in effect, selling the Supratek brand. Likewise, I am sure there are many more people out there doing the same thing - and in essence, helping spread the word about Supratek products.

You'll notice that Mick doesn't advertise in the audio mags nor has he ever. The popularity of his gear has been generated by word of mouth and by satisfied customers. This "preamp deal of the century" thread is by far the most active/popular thread on Audiogon which in turn is the most active/popular audio website on the internet. This is where a great majority of the Supratek advertising happens and it's no wonder Mick posted his announcement here.

I am confident that Mick will offer an upgrade path (but dismayed that there was no mention of this in the "new product announcement"). If existing customers do not upgrade to the new design and confirm to the world that there is an improvement, the "sales cycle" as it is now will stop functioning. I'm not a sales genius but it occurs to me that taking care of his customers would be the best way to ensure his "life's work" continues to be successful.

I agree with Bwhite regarding this matter. Furthermore using this forum for such an announcement seems inappropriate to me. I would hope for a nominal cost that Mick would offer to upgrade the existing Cortese and Grange out there to the level of the "new and improved" models if it is possible. If not, he might have been wiser in not using this forum to display his enthusiasm.

Having said that and getting back to the topic of the thread "Preamp Deal of the Century", don't believe for a second that that the value and performance of the Syrah and Chardonney have been diminished by Mick's post. They are superb performers in their price range and above and most importantly, a great value. After all, how many handmade, hardwired, transformer coupled full function all tube pre-amps are available for 2.5K? I would welcome knowing of just ONE that performs to this level at this price point.