Preamp Deal of the Century

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Steve,
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I am really looking forward to hearing your comparison of your new Grange vs. the Steelhead.
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David Roth's "Vincent" is amazing and the LP (CD) should be in everyone's collection. It is that good.
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I hope your Grange arrives soon.
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Rgds,
Larry
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I searched through the threads and found that Snook2 was the other agon member that preferred the Steelhead to the Syrah. I cannot comment on the comparison myself but to note that the Syrah and Chardonnay are no Cabernet. From my experience the Supratek linestages have been very quiet. The Sauvignon produced no hum at all. The Cabernet produces only the barest amount of hum when the volume is opened up all the way. Even then it is still quieter than the kitchen refrigerator and my music server.

If I read the recent posts correctly it looks like the hum has been from the phono stage portion of the Supratek preamps.

No hum for me! Or should I say only slightly! On phono, even if I crank up the volume all the way, or if the needle is in-between tracks and volume crank up, there is only a slight sound. I experienced a considerably louder hum at maximum volume if the tubes use (especially the 6922, try Mullard, these tubes are so noisy in my preamp and unfortunately I have 4 pairs)are not good. Otherwise, the preamp is quiet.

As for the linestage, I agree that there was never a problem there. My preamp is the Chenin with 6922 and 6C4 tubes in the phono stage. Currently using Tele CCa's and Mullard M8080's.

Hello,
Just to chime in on the hum issue, my Cabernet hardly makes any noise at all at my listening level. Unless cranked up to a very high level, there's hardly any hum at all. I run all stock tubes except for two Ken-rad black 6sn7.
A question about "tweaking" that I would like to ask/share with others, did you replace the umbilical cords and did you notice any sound improvements? I replaced mine with a 15" pair from Mick. The pair has silver sleeves and looked better constructed than the stock ones. While I haven't done any extensive comparisons, I got the impression that the sound is fuller, more dynamic, and tighter than the stock cords. This is in part due to the better construction, less cable contamination, and less emi/rfi intervention. Mick charges $45.00 per lead for the replacement cables. I thought it was a worthwhile improvement.

Hi Guys,

hi Steve ! I have a few comments re the noise issues that I don't quite understand. From day one I thought my Pass X-250 was a noisy b--d of a thing (through umpteen pre-amps).
Install the Supratek, lots less noise, install the HT cyberlinks - no noise.
But this is through the line stage which I think is phenomenal.
Now I have set the loading to 100 Ohms, I love the phono stage but it is way noiser than my Quicksilver - not unbearable but much noisier. What annoys me more is I am hearing surface noise and this has never been a problem in my system with any of the umpteen table/combos I own.
Tried all the gain settings on the Syrah and have it set on the lowest without resorting to the switches on the top of the unit.
In my system it sounds way more natural at the lowest gain(on the rear knob - top switches still set to high).
I'm now thinking that some adjustment for the gain on the phono would have been way more beneficial than all the variables for the total gain.
I love the phono stage in the Syrah - it's not as 'robust' as the Quicksilver but has more depth and nuance BUT - if it means sticking the Quicksilver thru the linestage to lose surface noise, that may be the way I have to go.
Before anyone says vta etc - my tables run into the teens
and using zyx's predominently means I'm happy ? to spend weeks tweaking for best effect so it's not down to my table set up.

Tried a pair of CBS red/brown base 5962S in place of the Sylvania 6SN7s - way better - same detail but much warmer and full bodied sound while retaining the dynamics.

On the question of an uprated cable between the units:
a) I would have thought screening might be beneficial over a longer length but 15" ?
b)having converted mine to 240V the gauge of the wire from iec input to transformer makes a mockery of the Shunyata beast I'm feeding it from.

On a final note as it's very late here, I would not dream of installing a tube before I had cleaned the pins and treated them with Silclear - imo a tube without Silclear is like an Irish Coffee with no cream - no comparison!
Cheers Si