Preamp Deal of the Century

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

Hi again Joe,
I just realized, I think, that you were talking about the M1 part of your AN Soro. Have you heard the M2? I thought that there was an enormous difference between the M2 & the M1. In fact, when I took my M2 in for a mod, I had a M1 loaner. I ended up hardly listening to music. I've also had an M3 home for a listen, and I found it good but not impressively better than the M2 modified. Now I've also just seen your post about having to go up to an M5 to get in the range of the Supratek. Now that's saying something!!!!

If I may ask, would you recommend the Sauvignon or the Chenin? I know the former is line stage only, but I pretty happy with my Audion phono stage. It seems to fit my MMF well, which is set up for MM cartridges & has an installed high out MC. Somewhere down the line I'd like to upgrade my turntable, and maybe then the phone stage of the Supratek will be useful. But right now I'd like to get the best line stage I can, & it seems like I'd get more with the Sauvignon.

Again, thanks for your feedback. This is a difficult and frustrating decision, but it's sure a lot of fun!!!

Anybody else have some advice? I'd love to hear it.

Bill