Preamp Deal of the Century

Well, I have been comparing the Cortese(stock tubes) to the the Syrah (stock tubes). Thus far I am only listening the line stage with my Resolution Audio Opus 21 player. The Cortese is better by what I consider a small margin. More refined and and in control is what I would say. Then my NOS tubes showed up. I ordered these based on the info Bwhite gave me on what NOS tubes to use in the Syrah. Thank you so much Bwhite and others. Your ears are very good. Now going head to head, the Syrah with a Mullard 5AR4/GZ34 and the Ken Rad black glass VT-231's vs. stock tube Cortese!

The winner - very close and it just comes down to personal taste. The bottom line is for the money the Syrah with these three tubes is a better value to me. It is half the price and with NOS's almost all of the sound, if not all, in the line stage anyway. I understand the phono is better on the Cortese also. I am still looking for KT-66's Genalex or 350B's. I am sure this will put the Syrah in the giant killer league. These last tubes just cost to much and I am not sure I will ever pay that much!

I also have a CJ 16LSII in my home for the weekend. I never though CJ was all that good, but I am dead wrong on this one. Forget what you hear about it being slow, thick, lush or whatever. To be frank I feel it bested both the Cortese and Syrah in my system - line stage only, but I cannot afford it even used. It is very transparent and beautiful sounding. It is in the same leauge as the two Supratek units in the highs and mids, however it has a little more bass weight and foundation. I do like this as it makes music sound more live to me! But remember the CJ costs $8500 new! The Syrah with the NOS's costs less than 1/3 and has phono! I also find the Syrah with the NOS tubes mentioned sounded 90% as good as the CJ in my system. Perhaps the KT66's or 350B's would then cause the Syrah to be on par or better than the CJ. This is amazing for the money folks. I mean amazing.

Outside of the costly 350B and KT66, please give me a NOS tube that is affordable to use in the power supply. My Syrah has three tubes like the Cortese in the power supply.
I did open it up and while both have 3 tubes they are very different on the inside. The Cortese has many more parts and is laid out more cleanly.

Grannyring

Hey Grannyring! Great review! Are you SURE you don't have a Cortese? The photos of your pre are dead on CORTESE!!

I've compared the Cortese and Syrah extensively and must say that the sonics of each are quite similar - very little difference from a tonal standpoint. The Cortese is quieter, more solid and refined but aside from that.... its not really what *I* would call "better" if sheer value is what you seek. It is however better in a more intangible way - difficult to explain. At a certain point in this hobby we begin paying big bucks for certain refinements which are ultimately, not necessary unless the rest of a system climbs above a certain level - which exceeds the performance of the lower-priced-less-refined component. I've been up and down with my system and there was a time when I felt my Chardonnay was perhaps the weak link. I have yet to feel that way with the Cortese.

As for the NOS tubes.... Glad you like the Ken's. They're great but they are an acquired taste.. (I believe that's what Asa was referring to in above posts) There are many great tubes to try & when you identify a combo which complements your system & tastes, put it up to the CJ again and you'll be amazed at how much better the Syrah becomes - then, stick those tubes in the Cortese and you're likely to understand why the Cortese is twice as expensive. There is just something unquestionably right about it.

The prices for NOS tubes (350B's) is scary.... but I would expect them to last a lifetime when used in the Supratek. So... a 200-300 investment isn't all that bad for the gains.

Other tubes to try - relatively inexpensive...

Regulator
Sylvania 5932 double black plate (nice)
Philips 7581A (massive impact! & dynamics)

Rectifier
Bendix 6106 (mixed reviews - but still worth trying)
RCA 5V4G (clear, open and detailed)

Thanks for the reply Fiddler! Looks like I'm going GZ34 / 5AR4 shopping!! :) Loving the 350B's right now after a few power cord changes in my system.

Do you have the National Union 350B or the Western Electric 350B? I'm currently using the NU but the box says they were "Manufactured by Western Electric Co. Inc." and packaged in March 1945.

Some folks claim the WE is flat out better - others say there is no difference - same tube, different label. I am curious to know your thoughts on this.

Jim2...Did you and Tubegroover get a chance to hookup and compare the joule pre./amp. and the syrah / berning with your merlins?...If you did, i sure would be interested to read what you two experienced...Thanks for your time...

Bwhite, my 350 B's are WE's but I suspect the NU's are exactly the same tube. You might want to ask in the Tube Asylum. I am sure someone there can give you a definitive answer.

Grannyring, I know that Bryan isn't as big of a fan as I am of the 6L6 metal tube, but I liked them even better than the GEC KT 66's. And they are about $35 a tube. If I wasn't running WE 350 B's I would use the 6L6 metals.

I know the isolation issue was debated here earlier, but in my system I found a solution that worked wonders. I ordered the DH Labs large cones and put them under my Supratek on top of a piece of 12 x 12 slate - not tile, but a cheap slate from India that I found at Lowes. When you tap this slate there is no ring, just a dead thud. I thought what the heck, I'll try it. Under the slate is another layer of material I also found at Lowes. It is an inter-locking mat that is sold for garage floors, weight rooms, etc. I cut a 12 x 12 piece of this material, which has a 1/16 inch thick hard plastic outer shell laminated to a tough 1/2 inch resilient foam. Under this foam I put a 12 x 12 piece of Sorbothane with another piece of the foam under the Sorbothane and another piece of slate under that with one more piece of foam under the slate resting on the MDF shelf.

The resolution and soundstage is amazing when the Supratek is resting on this sandwich. A deaf person could here the difference. As clear as I thought my system was before, it is laughable how big the difference is since employing this combination. And the most expensive part is the sheet of Sorbothane.

I now have all of my components on this same sandwich and I am thrilled with the results. Only my transport is not sitting on this combo, resting instead on a Neuance shelf which is even more amazing.

Since I plan on over-hauling my entire system in about 9 months, I haven't ordered more Neuance shelves, but I highly recommend them. My home-made shelf seems to be very close to the Neuance shelf, but I suspect it adds some color to the sound that the Neuance shelf doesn't. But I can happily live with whatever color my home-made solution may be adding.

I did not find cones and an isolation sandwich for the power supply section as beneficial as the linestage, but the PS does sit on one of my DIY isolation sandwichs. If you don't have your Supratek isolated yet, you may want to try it. It made this giant killer even better for me. YMMV

When I upgrade my System, I suspect I will seriously consider the Grange or Cabernet, but after reading about the H-Cat, I would love to hear one. If it as good or better than the Suprateks, I would probably go with the H-Cat to avoid the hassle of tubes, but I am skeptical that the H-Cat will better the Grange. Just a guess, but as good as my Chardonnay is with NOS tubes, I can only imagine how good the Grange must be.