Preamp Deal of the Century

Devils Advocate? Interesting analogy and some food for thought here.How does one qualify as a "Devils Advocate"?? Perhaps... we can post an internet polling station here, and all of us "insecure members" can vote for you or whomever else aspires to assume this distinctive title "The Internet Devils Advocate" Yeah! Who knows... you could become really famous here on the Gon ... Maybe even become a "Legend in your own Mind". You would get my vote.

Waltersalas, extremely well-said.

And beyond that, I am not sure why anyone here is wasting anymore time with Khrys. He obviously just wants to hear himself talk even if no one else does.

Khrys...I will admit, at times in my life i have had fellings of insecurity and confusion... Other times i have strung human ears on a boot laces to validate numbers... You have been a laugh... Its time to move on...

I do not own the Supratek Syrah but I have heard it on more than one occasion in different rooms and with different amplification. Once was with the Berning and Merlin VSM speakers. Another was in my own home with both the Joule VZN80 and the Berning amp and my own Merlin VSM speakers. If a preamp can keep up with those components/speakers then it is pretty good. There is no doubt the Syrah is all it is cracked up to be. No way are you going to find anywhere else the performance, build quality, looks, and a phono stage in an all tube preamp for $2,500. If anyone knows of something better for the money please let me know. It is an absolute no brainer and based on what I have heard, makes spending a lot more money on a preamp a lot harder to do. Personally I am going to try the Joule LAP 150. Mostly because I expect (and hope) it will be better. It may not be. And I am very partial to the Joule equipment because it's works so well with my Merlins and sounds so good. And partly because I know of one available for a great price. If everyone were lucky enough to hear the Syrah they would have a much better frame of reference for performance and would likely save themselves a lot of money. Of course, Mick would also be backed up for years with orders...

Jim

Let us know how you like that Joule, Jim. It would be interesting to compare and contrast it with the Syrah. I think Asa has one of each in two separate systems and loves them both, if memory serves. We all should be so lucky.

If I ever have the scratch for a second system, I will definitely try out the Joule. But my Syrah isn't going anywhere--unless Mick comes out with something better in my price range, that is. The latest iteration of the Cortese is awfully tempting, but just a tad out of reach...