Preamp Deal of the Century

Kevin (Ella4ever): My purchase of a Chenin was motivated by this thread. Planning on a return to vinyl, I needed a pre-amp with phono (was running a Waida direct into my amps).
Just thought I would advise that the Chenin exceeded my expectations. Rather than being a detriment by being between my Wadia and amps, it was a wonderful addition. More importantly, playing vinyl again is a blast. Other than to compare a CD with an LP, I haven't listened to any of my CD's, since the purchase of my new vinyl rig.
Cello advised you to check out Teres, and I did, but after fliping a coin, I decided to go with Galibier. Both Chris at Teres, and Thom at Galibier started down the the same Turntable development path, but eventually took separate courses. While I've had great results with my Galibier Quattro, and I can't say enough good things about Thom Mackris of Galibier, I'm sure Chris and his Teres Tables would provide similar results.
In any case, if you decide to go the vinyl route, you won’t regret it, and the Supratek purchase.

I'm searching for a preamp upgrade. I have an AN M2, modified with blackgates, wire, etc. I've tried the new Lector ZOE out of Italy, and I'm currently trying out the Audio Valve preamp. The Audio Valve seems like the best so far, but I'm curious about how it compares to the First Sound and Supratek preamps.
I have AN Quest Silver SET monoblocs, Zingali Overture 4 speakers, AN 2.1x CD player, Music Hall's MMF 7 turntable, Audion phono stage, AN silver interconnects, Apature speaker cables, and Analysis plus power cables. The front end is all plugged into Richard Gray 400.
I'd really appreciate any feedback, advice, thoughts about what preamp I should go with for my system. The AN 6 is way beyond fantasy for me.
Thanks, Bill

Mondie
>>l am not sure what happened to the Grange, it must have disappeared only in the past few days.<<

The Grange is now a "special order" product and, as such, not displayed on the website. The time and cost of its' production has forced Mick to emphasize the other products as demand for the amps, preamps, and linestages continues to increase.
I ordered my Grange over a month ago and probably won't take delivery until mid-late February. So be prepared to wait 8-10 weeks if you are thinking about taking the plunge.

Bill,

I use the Supratek with AN gear. I have a Soro SE Phono, which is the M1 with a P2SE in one box. It does have a few mods. I also use AN speakers, CD player and some AN cables (I constantly switch, AN and others), both silver and copper.

While my Teres is a little better than you MMF, your amps kill mine. I've heard them, and if I could afford them.... Between the tubes I'm using and the mods there is not much difference on the pre side. So, what I am trying to say is it is a very good mix, the Supratek and Audio Note. I too would have the M6, but 7 grand used I can't swing. Not having heard the Audio Valve I can't offer a comparison there, but I REALLY like the Supratek. Mine is an oddball one, I call it the SyrTese. I may have the only Syrah with the Cortese power supply. To quote Mick "I did some neat things with that one."

The only thing that would possibly knock the SyrTese out of my system would be building an Audio Note Signature pre kit. Based on the M7, but upgraded heavily, it may be one of the best values out there.

But for now, all I can say is from my experience, the Supratek works VERY well with Audio Note gear. Give it a shot. If you can find one used, one thing you don't have to worry about is losing money on it if you don't like it.

Thanks a lot Joe, I really appreciate your comments. Yeah I love the Quest Silvers. With Western Electric 300Bs & NOS 6SN7s they are truly special. My M2 is UK designed, with the outs on the side, and it has been modified as I said. I've also got some great CBS-Hytron tubes in it. So my question is do you think that the Supratek would be a significant upgrade from the M2. With the CES going on I was able to take home the Audio Valve, and it is notably better than the M2. It's just that the Supratek looks so damn beautiful. I can't get them out of my mind, but I also want a significant sound improvement over the M2.

Beautiful turntable, by the way.

Thanks again,
Bill