2. amps-preamps
  3. 1016931418

Preamp Deal of the Century

If anyone is looking for a true "World Class" preamp at a very fair price..heed my advice. I just recieved a Supratek Syrah preamp that was hand built by Mick Maloney in Western Australia, and it is absolutely beautiful! This preamp is the best deal you will ever find. I would put it up against any preamp out there for both looks and sound. Price? $2500 for the Syrah (includes Killer Phono stage). Not into phono? Try the Chardonney line stage for $2100. Don't get me wrong, I am not associated with this company. I am just a very happy owner! This preamp is VERY dynamic, yet liquid. It conveys the sound of music better than any other preamp that I have ever heard! You can check out the Supratek website at www. cantech.net.au
slowhand
amandarae
512 posts
 
My pleasure sir! I hope it works for you.

BTW, off topic, I live in Diamond Bar CA (91765). I believe you are in Southern Cal too. North Hollywood?

regards,

Abe
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Yes, Abe. North Hollywood.

Previously, I made several sets of RCA loading plugs using 1/2 watt resistors. Today, the electronics store did not have 24 Ohm 1/2 watt resistors, so I purchased 1 watt resistors instead. Hope that won't make a difference.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Well, I tried the 24 Ohm RCA loading plugs, and the result was not what I had hoped. Things still sound tizzy, and the 24 Ohm plugs make the sound drier. The match between the Benz Micro Ace medium and my Wright WP200C was superior. I just sold the Wright, and frankly I wish I had kept it.

Not sure how far to chase the phono match on the Cortese...whether it makes sense to upgrade to the Cortese with gain control, or to just buy another Wright WP200C. It'd be less expensive to buy another Wright, although I'd give up an input on the Cortese, which I fully utilize.

Stuck at the moment.
amandarae
512 posts
 
Hello Tvad,

Sorry to hear that it did not work for you. Does the Cortese have a slider switch to choose load settings? Just in case you miss it, when you load the Benz at 24 ohms using the resistor, is the setting on the main preamp set at 47k ohms?

One last thing, when you are using the Wright, are you using a SUT? If so, what was the loading? I asked this because a 100 ohm loading with the Supratek which use Jfet at the input(like a head amp) is different sounding than a 100 ohm load using an SUT. I believe that a 100 ohms load with SUT corresponds to a 1000 ohms load for a head amp to produce the same amount of current to the phono circuit.

If you already tried 1k up to 2k loading and still does not like the sound then, I rest my case.

regards,

Abe
tvad
9,467 posts
 
10-01-07: Amandarae
Hello Tvad,

Sorry to hear that it did not work for you. Does the Cortese have a slider switch to choose load settings? Just in case you miss it, when you load the Benz at 24 ohms using the resistor, is the setting on the main preamp set at 47k ohms?

Yes, it has a slider switch, and I had the switch set to 47 Kohms.

I did not use a SUT with the Wright, and I had it loaded with 360 Ohm loading plugs.

Do you believe it would be worth the investment to buy a Benz Micro Ace Lo (.4 mv)?

Mick believes .4 mv output is still a little high for the Cortese without gain control.

I sure like the cartridge, though.
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