Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi Steve,

Thanks so much for posting your thoughts on Supratek. I agree with you completely! Mick is a first rate guy. He was great to deal with and he does take care of his customers. He always answers e-mail quickly and in terms you can understand. I had hoped to buy his new Burgandy amps, but I am not able to afford them. I have spoken to Mick about them as he was designing and testing them. I am sure they sound as incredible as the pres do. Good news though, as I found an amp that I could afford that is a beautiful match to the Syrah. It is the David Berning ZH270 amp. Like the Supratek, it has a very clear, liquid sound. It is very neutral sounding with a beautiful midrange and bass that you would not believe is coming from a tube amp. I highly recommend this amp for Supratek pre owners who need more power than Mick's SET amps and can't afford the cost of the new Burgandy amp. By the way, I like Mick's new website. You just can't go wrong with Mick Maloney and his beautiful equipment. I do however feel that NOS tubes do make a difference in the sound of my Syrah, as long as the tubes are quiet. Steve, you are a very lucky guy, getting to test Mick's designs and being able to know and deal with such a great guy directly.

I agree Steve. You can go overboard on spending money on tubes, which is why I wait for a good deal to show up. With the Ken-Rad, Tung-Sol, and Sylvania tubes, I feel I have a good choice of sound in the line stage. I have a Bendex 6106 coming to me to try in the Rectifier. I am told it is much better than the Mullard GZ34 I am now using. We shall see. I think the reason people love tube rolling the Supratek is because the pre is so sensitive to tube changes tht you can tailor the sound to your system. I think we will all agree that Mick's preamps and amps for that matter, will stand up against anything out there. You may be able to buy better, but you are sure going to spend a lot of money to do it.

It's amazing to see so much discussions on the Supratek preamp. My friend thought I was crazy when he knew I've bought a $5K preamp without hearing it. Frankly, I wouldn't have done it if I haven't come across this thread. Thank you guys for all the information.

I've been using the Cortese for more than one month now and I'm still crazy about it. I'm running out of superlatives to describe the sound of the Cortese. All I can say is that everything is so musical and real. Isn't it wonderful if you can actually feel the emotion of the violin player in a concerto?

I agree with Steve that the stock tubes sound pretty good in the Supratek. The 6N8P is really respectable and you won't feel lacking of anything. However, if you can get hold of some decent NOS 6SN7 at good price then it's worth giving it a try. I'm using Ken Rad VT231 and I'm happy with it. As for the phono stage, get yourself a pair of WE 417a and TFK cca then you can sit back, relax and enjoy the music!

Happy listening to all Supratek owners!

Steven C

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