You are more than welcome Tim I am glad so many people have discovered and enjoyed the Supratek products. I spoke to a friend that is willing to put the V-Caps in my Cortese (he builds tube equipment). He seems to think that most Teflon caps have a tizzy sound to them, but I told him that everyone that has tried them on this thread seem to love them.
By the way, do any of you Supratek owners plan on attending the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest? I plan on going and I would love to meet some of the fellow Supratek owners. If anyone is attending, maybe we could meet somewhere. |
I received an e-mail from a fellow Supratek owner today. He is going to the RMAF. If any other Supratek owners are going, please let me know. It would be great if we could get together to meet each other in person. |
I don't know if any of you have heard of Podium Speakers, but Mick seems to think they may be the perfect speaker for the Supratek amps and preamps. He has a pair on their way to him now. he told me he would send me his impressions of them. If you want to check them out the website is www.podiumsound.co.uk |
Hi Tvad,
If you go with another cartridge, I would get a ZYX .24mv cartridge. I believe they make .24mv in all of their cartridges. I have the Yatra and it is a beautiful match to the Cortese. I do have the gain controls and I have them set to high gain. On low gain the music loses dynamics. Did I see where you are going to the RMAF? If so, talk to Merhan in the Sorasound room. ZYX makes cartridges in every price range, so I sure you can find one that fits your budget. I used to own a Benz Glider and a Dynavector 20XL. The ZYX Yartra is in a whole other class. Just a thought. |
The following speakers impressed me. The Audiokinesis Dream Maker at $9000 a pair was very nice, but the Jazz Module at $4500 a pair seemed like a great buy.The Jazz Module has 92db efficiency, 32Hz to 17.5 kHz and is tube friendly. The Studio Electric T3 speakers sounded great. They listed at $8000 a pair. I also heard some monitor speakers in the Soundsmith room that blew me away. Fantastic sound in a small box. I don't remember the model, but they are on the Soundsmith website. For cost-no-object the Proclaim DMT-100 was very impressive. You can see them at proclaimaudioworks.com 3 round balls that set on a aluminum alloy stand. Price $26,000! I am sure there were more, but I don't remember them right now. |
The Audio fest was fantastic! I can't wait to go again next year. I have never seen so much audio equipment in one place. All the exhibitor's were very friendly and accommodating. I was asked if I had music that I wanted to hear in every room I went in. I made some great new friends there. The seminar's were very interesting too. I went to one given by Roy Gregory of Hi Fi+ on proper analog setup. It was a very eye opening experience. I also attended one on mastering of records given by Bernie Grundman. That was a real treat. Bernie has a new record label called Straight Ahead Records. I ended up buying all 3 LP titles that he had. The artists and the recording quality are top notch. I highly recommend them. Check them out at straightaheadrecords.com I heard the Podium speakers that Mick thought would be a great match for the Supratek's. The model 1's had shipping damage, so I heard the model .5's. I was not impressed. I have talked to Mick since returning from the show, and he said the pair he got had some shipping damage too. Apparently, these are not very well packed. He was able to play them, and he too was disappointed in the sound. This show is very consumer oriented and I highly recommend going. BE SURE TO READ MY NEXT POST. I HAVE VERY BIG NEW FOR ALL SUPRATEK OWNERS AND POTENTIAL OWNERS! |
I have BIG news for all Supratek owners. I spoke with Mick Maloney after returning from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. Mick told me that he will be attending the RMAF next year as an exibitor! He will have a full room of Supratek amps and preamps. I am hoping that as many Supratek owners as possible will be able to attend. This is our chance to meet the guy that has put a permanent smile on so many of our faces and to thank him in person! I wanted to give everyone plenty of advance notice so you can set time aside to attend. I for one would like to buy Mick a drink or take him to dinner, and I am hoping that many of you would like to do the same. This would be a great opportunity for all of us Supratek guys to get together. The RMAF takes place next year on October 10, 11, 12 2008 at the Marriott Tech Center Hotel. I will keep averyone informed as to when you can start making reservations. Please try to attend if possible. It is a ton of fun and with Mick there, that would be the icing on the cake! |
Well gang, I have to say that I am surprised at the lack of response to my announcement about Mick telling me he will be at the 2008 RMAF. I would have thought that many of you would like to have a chance to meet Mick in person, but it looks like I may be wrong. I had such a good time at the RMAF this year that I had made up my mind that I wanted to attend next year, but with Mick announcing that he is going to be there, I am making my reservations as soon as I can. |
I made my reservations for the RMAF next year. We should make a Supratek badge to wear so we recognize each other at the fest. Maybe we can get Mick to host a private listening session in his Supratek room after the show closes for the day on Friday or Saturday. |
I think the real highlight for me was getting to meet so many people in the industry. I met Thom Makrus of Galibier Turntables. He invited me up to his listening room on Saturday night along with a few other people and we spun LP's from 7:30 to 10:00 PM. It was great. On Friday, Duke LeJeune of AudioKinesis invited me over after the show closed for the night to hear his Jazz Module speakers. That was a blast. I also met Jim Hagerman of Hagerman Technology and Allan Bhagan (I may have spelled his last name wrong). Allan is David Berning's right hand man. Allan was showing David's new $30,000 monoblocks (killer sound). I also had the pleasure of meeting Ralph Bagge of Artisan Audio. Ralph is the designer of the Artisan tonearm that Thom Makrus is using on his new Serac turntable. Price of the table, arm, and cartridge is about $4000 and it sounded very close to Thom's more expensive table. I heard the strain gauge cartridge in the Soundsmith room. Beautiful sound. The M-A Records room was using a 10 year old Sony cd player to demo their cd's. It was a very interesting design that was never imported to the USA. The designer of the player was there. He was an elderly Japanese gentleman who spoke no English. There were 2 younger Japanese gentlemen there with him to translate for him. He was very interesting to talk to.
There is so much to see. I was there on Friday and Saturday (we had to fly back home on Sunday). I hope to be able to stay for all 3 days next year. You really need all 3 days to see everything. I only ran into one other Supratek owner (docsavage). He is a very nice guy. We were in Thom Makrus's room together for the vinyl party.
We really need to make firm plans to have all the Supratek guys meet up at the show. You think you will run into each other, but it does not seem to happen because of all the people and the fact that the show is spread out.
I did want to mention that although there are many people there. I never had a problem getting into any of the rooms. The fact that the show is spread over many floors helps. I hope this convinces many of you to go. I really want to meet all of my Supratek friends next year. |
Audiophile 1958,
Is the Dodd preamp a linestage only pre? |
Fiddler,
Would you say that the Mundorf's have a warmer sound and the V-Caps have a more detailed sound? |
Kgturner,
Have you tried putting a "cheater" plug on your Malbec amps to get rid of the hum? I have a friend that has a Grange preamp and he could not get rid of a loud hum it had developed. He was ready to send it to Kevin Kovac, and he just happened to plug a power cord into it that did not have a ground. The hum disappeared! It plays perfect now. |
Pablovila,
Glad to hear you are enjoying the Malbecs! |
Hi Guys,
I just want to wish all of you in the "Supratek Club" a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I continue to be amazed at the life this thread has. I am proud to call each and every one of you my friends. And thanks also to the veterans of this thread for your kindness in helping the "new" guys with answers to their questions.
Tom |
I spoke with Mick about 5 months ago about the V-Caps, and he said he needed more time to form a final opinion. He only had about 50 to 70 hour on them. I contacted him recently and he said after putting 400+ hours on them that he did not like them and would not recommend using them. I continue to stand by my opinion that Mick got my Cortese right from the start. It sounds great to me in stock form. I have no desire to change tubes, volume control, or caps. I just continue to enjoy music!
Kgturner,
Glad to hear your Cabernet Dual is on it's way to you. I hope you enjoy it. I am sorry the Malbecs did not work out for you. |
Have you tried using a power cord that does not have a ground? I have a friend that has a Supratek preamp. He was about to send his to Kevin Kovi because he had tried everything to get rid of the hum he had. He happened to plug a power cord in that did not have a ground on it. The hum went away and the preamp was dead quiet! |
Outlier,
It is funny that you bring up this story. The same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Turned on my Cortese and none of the tubes lit up. I too tried replacing the rectifier. No luck. Put the old rectifier back in. Replaced the fuse and I was back in business. |
Yes, it is true. I exchanged e-mails with Mick. He is just not making a profit anymore. He told me he had to step up production to make any money, and he felt quality was suffering as a result. Mick is very proud of the preamps he builds and he is not willing to let quality suffer. He is going to manage a vineyard and he seems very excited about it. As a result of starting the "Preamp of the Century" thread, I felt I had become good friends with Mick. The news hit me pretty hard, but I told Mick that he has to do what makes him happy. I wish him all the best in his new endeavor.
I hope this won't mean the end of this thread, as I have made many new friends here. Mick should be in the audio hall of fame for his brilliant designs. As you know, specs never meant much to Mick. The music is all that mattered to him. HERE'S TO YOU MICK! |
Mint604,
I have owned a Supratek preamp for years with no trouble whatsoever. NO, I don't sit around staring at the wiring inside of it. I prefer to sit back and enjoy the beautiful music it produces. This is what make me happy. I hope sitting there staring at the inside of your Marantz 7C makes you happy. |
I just received most of the parts to do the 7193 conversion to my Cortese. I still need to get the wire. I will keep you posted. |
HI Guys,
Don't know if anyone is keeping up with the thread anymore, but I have a problem with my Cortese and I was wondering if anyone might be able to help.
I am getting a spitting static noise through one channel. I have fliped all the tubes and the noise still comes through the same channel. I have a friend looking at it now. He thinks it is one of the adjustable resistors in the line stage. He replaced them, but there is still noise in the same channel. He is going to check connections in the power supply next. He has already checked connections in the preamp and they seem to be ok.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Tom |
Thanks guys,
I got the Cortese back last night and it seems to be fine now. very quiet. Thanks again for the help. My guy replaced some of the resistors in the line stage and re tensioned some of the tube socket pins. |
I have been using SRA VR3 iso bases under my Supratek Cortese preamp and power supply for years with no sign of glare. Just pure sweet music. I use the Berning ZH270 as my amp and no glare issues from it either.
I recently pulled all my more expensive interconnects and replaced them with Acoustic Research Master Series interconnects. The sound is better and the cost for 4 pair of interconnects came to a total of less than $100.
Glad to see the thread continues. |
Hi Eurekasprings,
The best amp I have ever paired with my Cortese is my Berning ZH270. This pairing is magic in my system. The sound is very fast with a beautiful liquidity. I recently had a Meitner MTR-50 in my system for a few days and it sounded good as did a Forte class A amp that a friend let me borrow. The Berning is very hard to find these days, but it is a wonderful match. Of course everything in this hobby is system dependent. Good luck, and enjoy the Chardonnay. |
Ironsienna,
How long have you had the Malbecs and how long did it take to get them from the time you placed the order? Just curious. |
Thanks for the info on the Malbecs. I started this thread back in 2002. I can't believe how big it became. Mick makes some amazing amps and preamps. Where do you live? Your system looks great and I am sure it sounds fantastic. |
Thanks Tubegroover. I too am still using my Supratek Cortese. It has given me many years of musical pleasure. I just returned from the RMAF in Denver, and I did not hear any preamp that I felt would make me want to give up my Cortese. Thanks Mick for making such a great preamp! |
Hey guys, looks like Mick is back to building Supratek preamps again. This is great news! Mick has a new phono design for the Cortese preamp. Sounds like he has new products in the works. Here is a link to his blog. www.supratekaudio.blogspot.com.au
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Thanks guys, I miss the camaraderie we all had on the posts. |
Hello Markus,
You have only touched the surface of the sound you will get from the Cortese. It continues to get better over time and should amaze you. I know my sound got better for quite a while after I got the preamp. This preamp should suit you well since you don't seem to be the type to change equipment often. I have only owned 2 preamps since 2003 and they have both been Supratek's. |
Sorry, it was 2002 when I bought my first Supratek. |
