Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi,

With some reluctance I make this post to ask a question about the sound of a Supratek Cortese preamp. I know by asking this question I will be breaking the current flow of the conversation almost like a complete stranger coming late to a party in which he doesn't know anyone except the plant in the corner.

I have read about half of the postings here which span about 300 pages when printed out. I had planned to read it all before asking my question, but I guess I couldn't wait.

My questions is this: I am having a little trouble getting a handle on the sound of the Cortese, the preamp I am most interested in buying. Can anyone help? What does it sound like?

I am looking for a romantic sounding preamp, but not one that is overly lush or one that obscures too much detail and transparency.

The Conrad-Johnson Premier 17LS, EAR 864, and Sunfire Classic Vacuum Tube Preamp fall to this more romantic camp. Not too many preamps these days do.

Does the Cortese have any warmth, or would you say it's a very neutral, clear, present, dynamic, and natural sounding preamp? Would you describe it as having yin or yang energy, or do these terms even apply?

The C-J unit mentioned above has some warmth, sweetness, nice harmonic layering, ease, decent texturing, and a suaveness to it that makes that preamp easy to listen to. I would not call it overly dynamic and it does not have gobs of immediacy.

Would you say the Cortese is closer in sound to, let's say, the First Sound Presence Deluxe or to either the EAR 864 or Conrad-Johnson?

Todd Warnke at SoundStage! described the First Sound this way:

"Utmost clarity, jaw-cracking dynamics, intense and deep bass, and newfound layers of nuance," but a "complete lack of mechanical sound" too; "of all the sonic skills, detail retrieval was the most astounding"; "the preamp for those who want a passive but need the facilities of an active."

Does any of this apply to the Cortese? Is the Cortese ruthlessly revealing?

I know I am asking far too many questions, and I do apologize for that.

Waiting 6 months or more will not be a problem for me, even if I have to wait a year. What troubles me, though, is the possibility that after I receive the Cortese I either won't like the way it sounds or it will be too noisy for my tastes.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Artar1

If you order the Cortese and find out you don't like it chances are you'll be able to sell it for nearly what you paid if past sales on this site are any indication. In the meantime, buy a used First Sound. There's one available now. You'll probably keep it.

Artar1 - I have an older model Cortese linestage with only 12db gain. Current models have 27db gain. I can't comment on the phono stage but judging from the linestage I don't think there is the any romanticism in the Supratek Preamps. They tend to be about as transparent as you would expect with a passive linestage. FWIW, I also have what is perhaps the most transparent of all passive-preamps, EVS nude-attentuators. Maybe that qualifies as "ruthlessly revealing", I'll let you decide.

Painting with a broad brush in this comparison, I would say the Supratek preamps are the antithesis to the CJ and Hovland house-sound and more in-line with the First Sound products.

Jazzdude,

Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I get it.

I like a more golden, relaxed sound, which others might find cloying, uninvolving, veiled, or syrupy.

I have very keen hearing and have a very difficult time tolerating high-pitched, overly defined, etched, clinical, bright, or overly dynamic sound of any kind. If you can believe it, Rock music has never appealed to me, especially Acid Rock, Heavy Metal, or dynamic electric guitar solos because of what I hear as excessive upper midrange energy.

Thanks again for creating an effective frame of reference for me to understand the sound of the Cortese.

Cheers

Artar1 - just for clarification purposes. I would not consider the Cortese "high-pitched, overly defined, etched, clinical, bright, or overly dynamic". It is certainly not etched or cinical. However it also certainly does not have that "golden" sound you are looking for.