Preamp Deal of the Century

My Cortese finally arrived this weekend. I have only had a few hours with it but I am feeling a little let down by this preamp - of course I had big expectations. It is twice the price of the Syrah and on first impression, sounds almost identical. I'd say that out of the box, its slightly more refined and controled sounding, it has a wee-bit wider soundstage, and is less extended in the highs. Bass is definately better though....

Overall, right now it feels "tight" as if it still needs some time to break in, relax and open up.

The Electro Harmonix EL34 regulator tubes he sends are garbage to my ears and the first significant improvement I made was to re-box them, throw them under the sofa, and install my TS-5881's. Upon doing that, the Cortese sounded even more like the familiar Syrah. Is that a good thing? I don't know yet. You'd think not... since the Cortese IS twice the price of a Syrah.

So far, I've played with KenRad Black Glass, RCA 5692's, Sylvania Metal Base, and Tung-Sol Rounds. I still like the Ken Rads but I have a feeling that as the Cortese breaks in, the Ken Rads may not be the tube of choice... I'll need to find a new brand. :(

Mick has improved his packaging by leaps and bounds since I received my last preamps - outstanding improvement! Also the overall quality of the product seems to be much better than I experienced previously which tells me they are handling these much more carefully at the factory - during production. Solder joints are all well done and the tube sockets are FANTASTIC! Mick's using new (to me) black tube sockets which are securely fastened to the chasis & really hold the tubes securely. Tougher to tube roll though.

The Remote works flawlessly. Nice two function - slow up/down and fast up/down.

Also, Mick did a new Home Theater By-Pass circuit for me which we developed together. I haven't fully tested it yet but from what I can tell so far its an awesome improvement on the previous implementation of that feature.

Well that's it for now. I'll keep this thread going as I hear the Cortese break in.

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

Bwhite, I'm sure the Cortese won't let you down. It will get much better as it breaks in but it will take hours to warm up. When it is fully broken in it sounds so relax and liquid. I couldn't be happier with my Cortese. It is so musical that I can listen for the whole day without any fatique. I'm using the Ken Rad VT231 and I like it better than the Tung Sol 6SN7. The bass of the Ken Rad sounds fuller and with better slam. The Tung Sol round plate sounds clearer in the high but the bass is a bit lean.

Give the Cortese some time to break it and it will give a big smile on your face!

Steven

Hi Bwhite

I read your post and my first reaction was a smile which is to say, I suspected as much. My guess is that the Syrah is such a complete product that anything bettering it would be to matters of degree, nothing that would overwhelm its performance. While I haven’t heard everything out there, you sure can hear when a product has the fundamental rightness of this design, kudos to Mick and his most astute hearing acuity and design capabilities.

You may have set yourself up in expecting that at twice the cost there should be a proportional improvement correlating to the difference? Of course the laws of diminishing returns rears its head and tells us that while there are always improvements that can be made to any design, the cost of doing so is proportionately higher than the improvement realized. My guess is that the Cortese is a big enough improvement for Mick to justify spending the time and charging the difference to justify its cost and reason to exist with the Syrah but at the same time the Syrah is so fundamentally right that maybe we would expect it to be superceded to a higher degree than is possible looking at the 2X difference in price?

I think over time you will come to realize the differences between the 2 pieces but the question is, will you be able to justify the price difference to others that will look to your opinion in whether it is worth it or not? Just my two cents that I’m adding because of my previous experiences in your letdown. Just give it time, you may arrive at a different conclusion as you live with the Cortese and come to recognize something subtle that it does that escapes the Syrah but which you come to realize is worth the price of admission. I for one am waiting for this to develop as you have been a most articulate and compelling spokesman for Supratek products.

Georgia, Of all the tubes I've tried (all on your list and then some) I find the Ken Rad Black Glass VT-231 to be my favorite. The Ken Rad Black Glass without the VT-231 marking is too dark for my system with Chardonnay and the Navy's were too bright.

The thing I really like about the Ken Rads is the midrange I can feel in/on my chest during vocals, strings, horns etc. Some people may not like that. The Sylvania 6SN7W Metal Base is a great tube - sounds really good but once you hear that tube, it will be difficult to find good things about other Sylvaina 6SN7 tubes because they are so different and the Metal is so good. The Metals have fair midrange texture and weight but tends to sound somewhat in-organic to me.

Yes - the Tung Sol rounds are very nice sounding, very liquid, and a touch of sweetness - However, I found them to sound too shallow compared to the Ken Rads on my Chardonnay. I lost the midrange texture and weight I like.

Hope this was useful.