Preamp Deal of the Century

After following this thread for quite some time, I have jumped on the bandwagon. After emailing back and forth with Mick, last night I ordered the Chenin with a bit of custom work to change the output tube in order to better mate with the input impedence on my amps. Mick is an amazing and very acommodating gentleman. I was able to get in the line for a new Chenin at the pre April 1st price increase, and only an additional 100.00 charge for the custom work. I am going to TRY to wait patiently for it's arrival and not pester Mick about how long it will take to get here. Judging from what everyone is saying, the phono will blow away my ARC SP 9 MKII phono stage. I am so impressed by how the units look as well. They are works of art.

I have been reading this thread off and on for the last several months. I have to admit I am very interested and indeed considering one of Mick's pre's. I was curious if anyone has an opinion whether the Cortese is that much better (for the money) than the Chenin (Syrah)?

Also, how does payment work? Does Mick require payment in full at order time or is it 50/50 or something like it?

Anyone compared these to the VTL 2.5 and 5.5's?

Thanks,

Erik

Erik,
As I said, I just ordered mine last night, a Chenin that will be customized to the input impedence of my amps. Mick took a 500.00 deposit with the balance due on completion. Not sure how long the wait will be, I'm guessing several months anyway. Judging by what I am hearing about the Sryah/Chenin, the Cortese would have to be way over the top better to justify the much larger price. Never heard either so I am buying based on what I've read, but a 2500.00 pre that offers this kind of performance just might border on being a world beater. Plus - the looksand build are are great bonus too.

Slipknot- I had an SP9Mk2 in my system not too far before I got my Syrah. Its a VERY significant improvement to the Syrah. Can't even imagine what the Chenin will do. You should be a very happy camper. You can use the waiting time to shop for some NOS tubes.

I just recieved a pair of NIB WE 350B's today and installed the insanely priced tubes in place of the 6F6G's, currently in service.

Ecclectique is correct, the 6F6G sound very similar to the 350B's with the real difference being a slightly less glorified bass and mid range treatment as noticed on the 6F6G's. It does seem on the surface, that the 350B's tend to have a little more detail, but proper burn-in time will really tell the story. Please note, do not take this comments as gospal as this result is system dependant and also very much dependant on speaker placement in the room. By moving my listening position around 3 feet forward resulted in less of booming effect as noticed with both the 6F6g's and the WE 350B. The booming effect is most likely due to the listening position, where the rear lounge is placed up against the back wall, thus amplifying the bass effect.

So, are the 350B's worth 8 times the asking price of the 6F6G's. Probably not, but don't let that stop you. Try it for yourself, your milage may vary.

Having said that, I still find the lower treble to be a little weak and the bass still not as tight as it could be. This Phenomena is probably due to the Ken Rad VT-231 Black Glass. I've ordered a pair of Tung Sol Round Plates as suggested by Cello, and they should arrive in the land down under in around 10 days. I'll keep you posted as to the results.

I think it's time to seriously start rotating the various tubes in my collection, to hit upon the magic sound I'm looking for, which is probably the same as everyone else's holy grail, Brillant highs, rich mids with strong, deep tight bass.

Note: Tubes Currently on duty in Sauvignon:

Rectifier: Mullard GZ34
Regulator: WE 350B was using 6F6G (Sylvania Green Letters)
6SN7 : Ken Rad Black Glass VT-231

Any thoughts?

Cheers