Preamp Deal of the Century

I have never found Supratek preamps to sound "forward" or "in your face". This is what I love about Mick's preamps, they are very good at conveying the music without adding to it. If the recording is bad, you will know it. If the recording is great, you will be in heaven.

If you guys are not listening to analog through your Supratek's, I highly recommend that you start. As good as the line stage is, the phono stage is the real gem. I am ALWAYS able to relax more when listening to LP's. They just have a more organic sound to them.

Maril555, I believe the "hard" sound that you are hearing must have to do with lack of break in. Remember, these preamps only get better with time. This is why so many people throughout the thread have recommended not tube rolling for the first 200 hours.

When I had my Syrah, I used to tube roll, but now that I have my Cortese, I just don't feel the need. It is fun to do for a while, but Mick tunes these preamps to the tubes he puts in them, and I trust his judgement. I own various 6sn7's, VT-231's, but what I use in the Cortese is EH 6sn7's. They sound great and you won't go broke buying tubes.

Hi slowhand

Feet? Shun Mook. Experiment w/ them, around, here and there. Don't ask me why.

6 moons, sjaen (sp?) Good ears, a smattering too much Zen (capital "Z", is he listening?)

Koetsu? Of course...

Adcom to Supra. Good, hear that, but know that when a good part goes up it doesn't raise all boats. At first, yes, but, later, exposes other boats.

Supra upper mids/lower treb? Are people always working on that part? Ken Rad black glass 6SN7's? Hmmmm....Has anyone listened to how Kondo deals w/ upper mids/lower treb while still maintaining dynamics?

Interesting topic.

Hi Slowhand,

thanks for the reply. Just one more question. I can see two small switches on the Chenin main chassis (front left and right). What are they good for?
Best,
frankiealverti

Asa, could you elaborate on your statement regard. "upper mids/lower treble? People working on that part"?

Frankiealverti - Those two switches are left/right gain switches, the choices are low gain or high gain. You can adjust the pre to match your power amp with these, additionally there's a gain dial on the back for further fine tuning of the gain. With my Connie J MF2250A I run the switches in the high setting, and the dial next to the highest setting sounds best to these ears.
This is a nice feature of the Supratek, the ability to fine tune the gain for best synergy with your amp.