Hi,has anyone heard anything new about the DAC? I'd rather not bother Mick,just curious.
Kirby |
Thanks all,sounds like it should be very interesting to see and hear when it's ready.
Kirby |
Cello(Larry)-When you say the newer models are better,which model did you mean? I have an older Syrah,from reading this thread I took the recent improvements to be centered mainly in the phono section of the Cortese or did I miss something? I understand that Mick has continued to improve things along the way,it just seemed like he was happy with the Syrah and most of the large development was on other models.
Kirby |
Maril555- My rack is an older MDF one,so not a great base obviously. I've gone through Mapleshade Brass Cones,Isofeet,Boston Audio Tuneblocks(original ones) and have always come back to a set of three Gingko Mini-Clouds.
The Boston Audio products work fantastically on sources and possible other applications,but they leaned out my Syrah just too much for me. However,the level of detail was very good. There's just something about tubes and those rubber balls. Again,sitting atop MDF which may have something to do with it,YMMV. |
Baranyi- Put me down as another that asked Mick the same thing. He said the Burgandies absolutely won't handle Apogee's,but the new amps will. He seemed more impressed with the construction of the new amps(of course). Probably the Mondeuse to be sure. He wasn't really impressed with the idea of changing the Red umbilical out either,in his words;"con job". Just repeating what the man said. |
Oh,BTW. Srajan over at 6 Moons just awarded the Cabernet Dual one of his "Best of 2006" awards. He remarks that it's;"The best he's heard yet". Way to go Mick(and helpers),well done!!!!!!!!!!
Just wish I could afford one. Oh well,someday....... |
Arkio-
I have not tried the umbilical upgrade so can't comment. However,the cord to use earlier in this thread was the Moray James 1.5. Hard to find used,the latest 2.5 version is what I'm using presently on my Syrah. BWhite said that he could recommend the 2.5 as being either equal,or very nearly equal to the 1.5. That said,the 2.5 on my Syrah replaced a Black Sand Siver Reference III. Either one works great on a Syrah.
Hope this helps. |
I read with extreme frustration these recent "glare" posts. Are you kidding me? Well,I guess all the owners who've made up the previous 56! pages of posts are just a bunch of mid fi hacks who just don't have the proper experiance or equipment to really show the obviously glaring faults of Supratek equipment.
"Consciously or unconsciously" is really beneath contempt.
What do the two of you actually mean by "glare"?
Certain frequencies?(which ones?)
What recordings?(please elaborate)
Solid state thinness?
Grain?
Have you tried other cables?
Have you tried different equipment combos?
The Supratek equipment isn't a tone control. Perhaps the two of you do share a certain sensitivity to certain frequencies.(Doubtfull)
Maril555-you at least sound like you've tried hard to shore up other areas,the GIK panels are excellent and should help tame or conquer the very large room influences.
Have you tried to pair the Supra with the Butler? I find it extremely hard to believe that a Nuforce pre is "glare"free while a Supra isn't?!?! What are you using to isolate your pre from your rack? Boston Audio Tuneblocks for me added a higher level of detail but made the sound thinner and what's considered "ss" like. Could be described as adding some glare perhaps.
Opus88-Apogee Diva has "glare". Yeah,right. I won't even begin to bring up how sensitive those speakers are to amps,cables,and the life long process of constantly moving them millimeter by millimeter to find the perfect spot. Yes,they're thinner sounding than Scinnies,what isn't?Oh,yes,I own multible pairs of Apogees BTW.
You seem to pride yourself in finding flaws where no one had the talent to before. And yes,I'm sure your homemade absorbtion panels are just as good as the professionally tested ones Glenn markets. Uh huh,must have "Golden Ears" while the rest of us are just struggling along with our "Lead Ears". ;^) Let's leave Stereofool out of this.
What isolation are the two of you using on your tubes? At least Herbies,I would hope.
I don't think either one of you are going to "fix" your problems by throwing tube combo after tube combo at it.
By all means feel free,when you get to the point where you've spent as much for tubes as you did for the pre,be sure to blame the pre as you seem to want to do now.
The only fault I can find that's been brought up by various long term owners is that perhaps the soundstage can be a little bit thinner front to back than a few other top line pres and that the stock remote option Alps volume control does add some veiling. The Dact unit does reportably sound better,but won't fit in the case. You picks your poison.
If either of you decide to sell your unit,you will lose a hell of a lot less on resale than for most units.
Take that to mean whatever you want,apparently us "conscious or unconscious" fools don't know what we're doing.
It's been a long day,I hope the both of you find solutions to your liking. |
Oh dear,where do I start?
It used to be expected that anyone complaining of a Supratek problem was directed/expected to at least read all of this thread through first. Apparently it's too long now,oh well.
When you attribute system problems to a single piece of gear,you're slamming the manufacture. This obviously isn't a problem for Conrad Johnson or Audio Research or any large company. The difference is that you do far more damage to a small,formerly single man operation that lives on web word of mouth. Many people reading these complaints might get the wrong impression many or all owners suffer this "glare",thus hurting the reputation of Micks' operation. The reason I brought up all 56 pages is to show that to my knowledge(I could well be wrong here),you two are the first to complain of said problem.
There might've been mention of something similar a few pages back,but I believe it was attributed to a cartridge mismatch? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Opus88-
1)"nothing constructive to say"
I asked for specific frequencies and recordings,so that other owners could see if they could reproduce the same sounds. This is the basis of any scientific research,perhaps you've heard?
2)Your "conscious or unconscious" remark was a pompous,overbearing slam at us owners. You hear the problem,so the problem exists for all owners,we just don't want to admit it!! You missed the point of my followup,consiously or unconsiously ;^) and then follow it up with another arrogant doozie.
3)"All of us have not been fully consious(here we go again) of certain goings on in our everyday experiances"
If I could stop laughing at your runaway ego and arrogance,I might remind you that we're big boys too,and can discern any problems with our systems. So far,not one other "glare complaint" in 56!!!!! pages.
4) "Man to man,imagine the kind of frustration you already alluded to with your Apogees".
Huh? No frustration here,so stop trying to twist my meanings to suit your lack of evidence to back your case. I never said I use my Apogees everyday. The constant moving of those speakers is a labor of love,as any owner of more than 2 weeks will tell you. They sound wonderfull,yet will reward owner involvement with even greater(or sometimes lessor) sound if a person is willing to get off their duff and get involved. Think of it as similar to tube rolling,but with much greater results.
5) "I won't respond to bitter,misplaced statements"
Respond to this,jerk,those two last staements by me were an attempt to show you two that,yes,there are previously recognized faults with the Suprateks. The one that you misquoted(once again,perhaps best to check those reading glasses)is one that Mick is aware of and has tried experimenting with both Dact and Wellborne Labs volume controls to fix the problem with the remote operated pres,but to reiterate,they won't fit.
"Picks your poison" means nothing more than an owner willingly giving up some transparency for the remote option.
Maril555-
Your rebuttal is clearly much more thought out,with several specifics which is what I was aiming for,whether you or your partner in crime(just a joke,relax!) believe it or not.
I was hoping perhaps this was only happening on a few recordings. No such luck. You've tried many combinations and the problem still exists. Well,that's not helping ;^).
Clearly,unless something wrong is found inside your pre,that system synergy just isn't happening for you and no,can't expect anyone to totally redo an other wise fine system for just one component. Bad luck,that. We all can commiserate on that point. However,I do have a difference with some of your points.
1) "Unbalanced post."
I will not sit here and let anyone slam Supratek if I detect the slightest smell to their claims. That's why I keep referring to the entire thread,I would assume you would agree that if you two are the only ones to complain,you're in the VERY distinct minority.
I have also had it up to here with a certain attitude displayed on A'Gon in increasing frequency the last few years. That being:"I spend,therefore I am" philosophy. It will only get you wisdom if approached with an open mind,something I see lacking here by you two.
2)" But I think this discussion is helpful to all of us Supratek owners"
Really? Besides you two,who else? Potential buyers to scare off? No one else has backed your claims. I'm not saying they don't exist,I NEVER said that,but I'm frustrated when absolutely no one else has heard this. There are just so many variables here that you're taking for granted.
3) " 1500-2000 Hz resonant frequency".
Okay,either something internally is wrong with your pre,or you've just discovered a room fault. Resonant is vibration,period! I assume you've at least exhausted all settings on your preamps. Do the gain switches change anything? Could it be some kind of feedback with your TT/cartridge? I know you've probably long past these simple ideas,but I have to ask.
4)" He didn't have the glare in his system until he brought the Supratek in"
I hope to God you're not in charge of any important scientific research anywhere. The leaps of faith you're making are huge. Do you personally know opus88? You seem awfully sure his hearing is good,have either of you actually had your hearing tested lately? I'm serious,all of our ears change as we age,can you be absolutely positive that nothing physical is contributing to your problems? I've had my ears tested,BTW. You might be surprised at what can happen as the years go by.
5) " Almost live by Dlanslem"
You know,you had me leaning towards your side,and then just lost me with that crap. Are you kidding me? Look,anyone here can find in a matter of minutes a review that isn't totally positive about ANY piece of gear that you or I have ever heard. That's why there's so many choices. You overplayed your hand with that one,it shows you really have nothing substantial to back up your claims.
6) "A voice of wisdom at last."
Really? What specific wisdom? What actual questions were asked by Joe? None,just feel good thoughts meant to soothe. You two want your hands patted,go find your Mommies.
Oh,and opus88,I live with someone that has a degree in Psychology. Please refrain from your simpleton pop Psychology tactics. On second thought,continue,it provides us with no lack of laughter,very important these days.
Please,both of you sell your Suprateks and move on to other things,I'm sure you'll both be much happier. If not,I wish you the best of luck with your problems. |
Well,if between the talents of Ecclectique and Mick this problem can't be resolved,I don't know how it would be. It's a shame we can't get more ears physically to these two systems,very difficult to solve tough problems via the web. I hope eventually we can get this solved to everyones liking. |
F1a-Sraben uses the Zu Definitions which are internally powered for the woofers and aren't biampable. Zu owners please correct me if I'm wrong. He tried both the Monads and the Yamamoto,Monads too powerfull for the 101db Zus. Seemed to prefer the Yamamoto,and said he'd like to try it again with proper speakers that could be biamped. |
Kgturner- You're right,thanks for the correction. Looked like he was using his Audiosector Patek SEs on the Bass,at least initially.
Agree that it would be best to get any questions answered by Srajan himself. |
Houstonreef- I tried to send an email thru the A'Gon system,but received a delivery failure notice. Email me directly if you still need one.
zachzdb@yahoo.com |
Tvad,
The bleed thru is because of the unshielded point to point Silver wire used. I believe a little bleed thru is normal and the price for the transparency. Forgive obvious questions,as I know you're rather knowledgeable,but I believe there's a tape monitor switch of some kind located on the top,in the front on the right hand side. I have a Syrah so it's different,but I think the Cortese has it as well. If it's turned the wrong way,it'll act as a mute. As a rule,don't fool with any of the top switches while the pre's on unless you like to test your speaker's max excursion(HT bypass excepted). ;^)
Also,if I read your question correctly,wouldn't Aux 2 input correspond to selector position 2 or 3,not #4? Given #1 is phono,I would think you'd get sound at #2 or #3. I'm not at home so I could be remembering incorrectly.
Good luck |
For what it's worth,6 Moons has them on their upcoming reviews list,to be reviewed by the Crystal Cable couple,with an intro.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/podium/1.html |
Ethifi-I don't know the impedence,but I've used my Syrah with multible SS amps,ranging from 10k to 50k or so impedence on 4 ohm,90 db speakers. The Syrah worked well with all,only problem is that most amps had relatively high gain as well so I ended up running the Syrah on low gain settings which doesn't really let it show what it can do unless you run high dbs. There's a big difference between the lowest gain setting,and the next ones up if you have some horsepower behind it. |
I don't know what credence anybody here gives Martin DeWulf of "Bound for Sound",but he thinks it might be the best P.C. out there,maybe even better than the Aluminata.
Never tried it myself,but thinking of it. |
Unfortunately any long running owners thread develops a "circle the wagons" attitude toward unasked postings. Personally,I'd just as soon hear direct comparisons made if there's a complete rundown of equipment used/room set up to estimate system/hearing differences and to figure where differences(if any) could originate.
There are ways to hopefully keep the flames down. Perhaps if owners of differing high achievers would start out by asking first if any of the regular posters have made any comparisons,or heard first hand the differing piece in question,maybe the window for "rightous" anger would be a little less wide open.
I would hope we all would still be open to new things mentally. Doesn't have to mean that you'd even be interested in changing anything. Just be open to hear about new products,if posted respectfully.
Would any of us here have been so interested in Supratek if there weren't many comparisons to other pres made,especially in the early days of this thread? |
Does anyone have an email address or contact number for Kevin Covi?
Thanks. |
Snopro-Thank you very much.
take care |
