Preamp Deal of the Century

Thank you Walter and larry.
Walter, did you employ stock tubes on the First Sound and Supratek, or did you apply NOS to them?
Larry, you justly point out that sound quality rises along the Supratek lineup. According to Emmanuel Go this may also be a significant fact in the FS lineup.

I have scanned with interest this thread, seeking info about perceived differences between the First Sound family of linestages and the Supratek family.
It seems that a probable majority of posters prefers Supratek devices over the First Sound Presence II. On the other hand, First Sound has a wide range of devices, very much like Supratek, with approx 15 different models. A number of chassis ranging from 2 to 6 per unit. Power supplies ranging from approx 200K MF to over 500K MF. Choice of series step attenuators or ladder step attenuators in the volume controls. Choice of Holco or Vishay resistors in the volume controls. MIT, Cardas or custom copper capacitors. A variety of wiring and grounding designs.
I have not had the fortune yet of listening to either the First Sound directly, or the Supratek family as such I cannot comment on audible differences. yet I seem to have observed that the comparisons this far may have been mostly between various models of Supratek against the lower models of the First Sound lineup only. Has anyone performed some matrix comparisons? Or at least compared the higher end Supratek against the higher end First Sound models in the Paramount, Special Edition and Statement series?

Thank you TVAD, loved your post!
But no, alas I have no bias. Rather I think in matrices. I was just observing and pointing out the slightly skewed distribution of comparisons in this thread and tried, and should say succeeded, to elicit a reaction. I did speak to Emmaneuel just today: unfortunately there is no First Sound in Austin where I live. Next week I'll be travelling to D.C. but there is no FS dealer there either. There is a proud FS owner in Virginia, not far from D.C., but that is outside of the D.C area.
I should really kick myself though. In january I ended up in Florida in the general vicinity of High End Palace and should have visited there, but did not realize Larry Diaz carried First Sound at the time.
I am delighted that you are defending FS!!

Thank you TVAD for the well thought railing.
Product line analysis is a very interesting exercise. The sweet spot of any given brand may lay anywhere along the range, from the most expensive unit to the least.
As for ways to enjoy this hobby and related shopping/researching activities, there are a nearly infinite ways to enjoy it/them. Clearly though, unless I find an FS dealer on the way of my work travels in the next few months, I will likely need to create a black-cloaked side trip to a relevant watering hole.
In the meantime I will keep asking questions on this site on areas of interest to me. Thank you for your understanding.

The URL posted above is invalid.

I went to the Supratek site at:
http.www.supratek.biz
hoping to find information and pricing on options available for the Supratek preamps, namely internal electronics options, and external finishes.
Unfortunately I found no such info. Does it exist at all on the Internet, or do I need to contact Supratek directly?

Simon, is your keyboard broken? All your 'I's are showing up as 'l's.

Sorlowski, the best place to rattle Roger paul's own corporate H-cat cage is likely on the:
Is there anything better than the final H-cat" thread.

I'll be back to RMAF next year for sure as well. Auditioning Supratek will be one more reason to attend. . . by the way, It was great to meet you in Denver Slipknot1! Guido