Preamp Deal of the Century

Here's another testamonial to replacing the gain pot. Yesterday, I replaced the stock Alps Blue pot with a DACT CT-2 (both 100k) in my Syrah.

I've had the Syrah since early this year. It replaced what I always condsidered a great "bang for the buck" - my Dynaco (Panor) PAS-4.

Needless to say, the Syrah is miles above the Dynaco but at 5x the price, it should be. The thing that I always noticed about the Syrah though, was a slight grain that veiled some of the music detail. I've got a pretty efficient, transparent system using a Heart CD5000 tubed CD player, Scheu Premier MKII tt, JK45 amp, and Altec Model 19 speakers.

I'm very happy to say that after installing the DACT, that grain has all but disappeared! There is much more clarity to the music. This is very noticeable. Not one of those, "If I listen hard enough, I can hear a difference" type mods.

Anyone who is/has ordered one of the Supretek products would be very wise to consider this upgrade. For those that already have one of these fine units, the replacement is very straight forward. Took me all of 30 minutes to complete.

Happy listening,

Steve

I changed the Alps for the DACT attenuator. After some weeks it seems to me that the sound is clearer but not by a BIG margin and if you need the remote control it doesn´t worthwhile in my opinion. But if you can do it without the remote, any improvement, even if subtle, is wellcome.
I guess that evrybody here have subtleties in consideration.

I get the best sound, so far, with:
NU350B as regulators, GE6SN7GTB as line tubes, GZ34 Philips Miniwatt metal base as rectifier and in my case DACT as attenuator.
As phono tubes I use Sylvania 6GK5 and Mullard or Amperex PQ 6688 (E180F).

Great thread guys, very informative, friendly and with lots of great info and advice. Took me 5 nights to read through it all!!

l took the plunge today and sent of my deposit for a Cabernet linestage. l am fortunate to be in the 1% of Aussies that has bought one of Mick's amps, its remarkable how nearly all of them find their way to appreciative audio nuts elsewhere around the world.

Jazzdude > How are you getting on with your Cabernet, how has it settled in to your system? Tried any tube rolling?

Cheers Simon

Mondie - Keep in mind that I use WE 101D's instead of TJ 101D's. They are not interchangeable because there require different tube sockets. The cabernet is slightly fuller than the sauvignon. Beginning in the lower midrange and continuing on down. There is pronounced bass response from about 90hz on down. It is not obnoxious but it is noticeable. I have excised this from my system through other means. I prefer to focus on the midrange.

One area where the cabernet improves on the sauvignon is inner detail and neuance, esp in midrange and upper bass.

The cabernet is surprisingly quiet for a design using DHT tubes. There is a little hum evident when I first power on the preamp, but that is all. There is a capacitor discharge when you turn off the preamp. This discharge isn't present in my sauvignon. People with high-effiency systems will need to be careful.

No tube-rolling yet. I am still getting used to it. I've only put a couple hundred hours on it. The tube compliment I use is the same as before with the WE 101D's added. Although I am happy with the 6L6WGA, there are a couple of tubes I want to try as regulators. One of those is the GEC KT-66. I am also going to pop in the RCA 6SN7GT/VT-231 grey-glass.

Thanks Jazzdude.

Did you order your Cabernet with NOS WE 101D's? Have you past experience with these valves and knew they were superior to the TJ's?

l am really looking forward to getting this amp. As l have upgraded my system the shortcomings of my ARC SP-9 have become more and more evident.

Cheers