Preamp Deal of the Century

Asa / Bwhite,

Does the Sound Application CF-XE fall into your categorization of "power conditioner" ? If no, what do you think of it ?

- Ken

How tall are the feet?

I'm getting a Chardonnay ( black with Chrome ) in 6 weeks and I have RixRax stand that has 8.0" between shelves. None of the photos on Supratek website show the feet. Mick has told me he may need to put on shorter feet to meet my 8.0" requirement.

I'm considering asking Mick to replace stock feet with BDR ( 1.0" ) or StillPoints ( 1.125" ) depending on height of stock feet.

- Ken

Rmml sent me Chardonnay dimensions.

thanks

- Ken

Bwhite - NOS tube suggestions for Chardonnay ?

I'm getting a Chardonnay end of August.

Andy at Vintage Tube Service said the following:
6SN7
Sylvania are extended ( tipped up in treble )
Tung Sol round plate ( very even across freqencies )
RCA ( richer sounding than either of above )
Ken Rad ( pricey, hard to get and Andy said he believes in the RCA )
I ordered Tung Sol.

Mullard 5AR4
I said I wanted to rich sound. And he said Mullard 5AR4 ( 50s ). Andy did not see a reason for buying GZ-32 rather than a 5AR4.

I've read your posts and most others about the Syrah NOS tubes. My room is reflective.

"Standard Ken Rad Black Glass 6SN7GT - Put this tube in a system which is reflective or bright and WHAM! you have air, weight, transparency, body, heft, slam and a natural texture that other tubes only dream of. It s the most beautiful midrange but those who focus on the highest of highs - air and transparency will no doubt be leaving the room. This tube can seem dark to those folks. Using this tube in a darker side of neutral type system or one with dampened room acoustics leaves you wanting something more open... then move up to the VT-231 or NAVY.

Also good is the Sylvania 6SN7w's (metal base). Tung Sol Round plates are pretty good"

I don't have $'s this year to buy a bunch of tubes to try and want to buy from reputable dealer so I can return any microphonic tubes.

The XA777es and Berning are both detailed and fast. And I'm looking to get a lush sound from the Chardonnay. "Asa" likes the Tung Sol but he said you had tried more tubes than him. What would you suggest for 6SN7 and rectifier tube ?

Audio system:
XA777es with Dan Wright mods and TG 688 pwr cord
Berning ZH-270 NOS and Cryo output tubes, TG SLVR pwr cord and ERS kit
Meadowlark Osprey speakers
Sound Apps XE-12
Luminous Synchestra silver speaker cable
Luminous Silver Ref interconnects
RixRax Hoodoo ( plus 60#'s of sand )

thanks for any suggestions,

Ken

Has anyone replaced the umbilical cord ?

Curious is anyone has tried this. And what if any audible changes you heard. Also was it worth the $'s invested?

I'm getting my Chardonnay end of August. I use TG Audio SLVR and 688 power cords. And they made a significant improvment to my XA777es and Berning ZH-270.

- Ken

Do NOS tubes need to burn-in time to reach full sound potential ?

Got my Chardonnay 2 months ago.

Yesterday received NOS Ken Rad Black Glass 6SN7GT.

- Ken

Anyone measure AC polarity as reversed on their Supratek ?

I have 8 month old Chardonnay and today did polarity check as having ground hum issue.

1. did polarity check on FIM wall outlet. It is correctly wired.
2. disconnected every cable from every audio item
3. used cheater plug
4. measured chassis voltage ( AC ) with cheater plugged in both ways
5. Chardonnay had noticeable difference in chassis "leakage" between cheater plug being plugged in correctly and reversed. The "reversed" position was signficanly lower. per Bound for Sound article, use lower voltage as best way to plug in equipment

Pioneer 45A DVD/SACD player had noticeable voltage difference but only 50% of Supratek. And Pioneer polarity was ok.

Dodd 50W power amp was next to impossible to determine as voltage readings ( less than 1 V ) were essentially the same.