2. amps-preamps
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Options to replace Supratek Chennin Pre

Looking for suggestions for a replacement pre for my Supratek Chennin Preamp. I absolutely love most everything about this pre except in my system it is slightly lean. I would like to stay with tubes unless the nature of tube pres is to be a little lean. HT pass thru is a requirement. The Supratek has a HT pass thru and I love how simple it is to backdoor HT through the hi fi. Price range will be about $3,500.00 new or used. I want something that will retain or exceed the holographic, open, precise sound stage that the Supra offers but with more slam and extension in the bass. I recently pulled the pre out of the system and ran direct from the wadia 861 and bass slam was improved to an exceptable degree but obviously lost all benefits of tubes.
System:
Wadia 861
Supratek
Parasound JC 1s
Vandy 3A sig
2WQ subs
Audioquest Cheetah, Cardas Golden Cross intercon
Alphacore MI2 spk cable bi wired
braro
fiddler
581 posts
 
John, I use WE 350B's as regulators. They are expensive, but they are the best. GEC KT-66's are also quite expensive, but are not in the same league as the 350B's.

And to answer your question about my source, I use a Forsell Air Reference Transport and an extremely modified Audio Note DAC 1.2.

Jtgofish is correct. Van den Hul The First Ultimates will definitely give a rich, organic sound. They are a little loose in the bass and can induce a little hum. If the bass was tighter and the IC's were hum-free, they would be my interconnects of choice. In your system they may be just what the doctor ordered.
fiddler
581 posts
 
Sorry Ikkyu2. I thought you meant my CD source.

I purchased my WE 350B's from Andy at Vintage Tube Services. I have purchased almost all of my NOS tubes from Andy. As I recall I paid $500 for the pair, but they should last for years.
ikkyu2
35 posts
 
Thanks, Fiddler. Yeah, Andy's cool. Got a great reputation for trustworthiness. I'm awaiting a shipment from him of Tungsol 6NS7-GTB's.
braro OP
87 posts
 
Hey gang, got the KT 66s and the Bendix 6106 coming. I should have them by Friday and will report back with results. On a side note a buddy brought over his TT which he got at either a garage sale or Goodwill or something for $5.00 and has what appears to be a lamp cord for power cord. I can not believe how good this thing sounds. The images and sound stage in general with vinyl are so much bigger on my sytem. So now Im looking for a good entrylevel TT. Im thinking VPI Scout maybee. What do you guys think? Also will I need to roll tubes in the phono stage? Oh I also notice the phono stage sounds different depending on what flavor of 6SN7 I have in the pre. Should this be happening or is something wrong? I thought the phono stage and line stage were seperate.
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