Preamp Deal of the Century

Well, you could always buy a Chenin and gradually upgrade it. I have done tons of work to mine, changing the output tube type, plate loading scheme, output transformers, bias scheme, power supply, etc. Point-to-point wiring makes it a lot easier to upgrade.

Just now working on an "ultimate" power supply upgrade for the Chenin, which I should have completed within the next week. It is a CLCLCRC design using Lundahl LL1638 low DCR chokes and all film caps. Just fits inside the Chenin PS unit! It simulates very well on PSUD-II, giving a 100x decrease in ripple noise from the stock, while also having a faster settling time. The Lundahls are dual-coil chokes, meaning they can be wired with one coil each in the + and - legs of the circuit, which should give added common mode noise reduction. I'll let you now how it sounds.

Power Supply Upgrade Completed!

Wow, it's so true that you listen to the power supply - the upgrade sounds excellent. Went from the stock values of 33uF/10H/100uF to 6.8uF/10H/47uF/10H/100uF using Mundorf Supreme/Silver oil and Solen caps and Lundahl LL1638 chokes. When I computer modeled the PS, I optimized it so that I would get the same output voltage as stock, and the upgraded unit put out 299.1V versus 300.0 from the stock; a slight tweak of the regulator adjustment pot and I was at 300.0V on both sides. The model showed ~30uV of ripple before the regulator (yes microvolts!), and ripple was undetectable on my oscilloscope, so that was accurate as well.

Way more bass slam, more body through the midrange and smoothness everywhere. The preamp sounded very good before, but it is even better now. I have a attached a snapshot of the new PS unit.

New Chenin Power Supply

Hello, I've read a couple thousand comments in this thread. I'm amazed how little chat there is about pairing an amp with various supratek pre's. Thanks for so much interesting commentary from all. This thread certainly played a major role in my decision to buy one. Just won a Chardonnay on Audiogon and now am in need of an amp. So Chardonnay, Klipshorns and about $1500 (or less) to buy an life enhancing amp. Needless to say I need an amp now... how else will I hear my new pre?

Couple possibilities on Audiogon now. Belles 150A, Audio Sector Patek, PassAleph3 (whoops, now sold).

Any help greatly appreciated.

Hi Eurekasprings,

The best amp I have ever paired with my Cortese is my Berning ZH270. This pairing is magic in my system. The sound is very fast with a beautiful liquidity. I recently had a Meitner MTR-50 in my system for a few days and it sounded good as did a Forte class A amp that a friend let me borrow. The Berning is very hard to find these days, but it is a wonderful match. Of course everything in this hobby is system dependent. Good luck, and enjoy the Chardonnay.

The best amps I ever paired my Sauvignon are the Malbec monoblocks. While I was waiting from Mick to make them for me I used a Quad 606. I was happy with the pair, excellent sound and good midrange. It was like you were looking through a window on a bright day with the curtains on. But when the Malbecs arrived, it was like I removed the curtain from the window and I could see a colourful landscape and at the same time feel the wind on my face. The micro and macro details come in spades from the speakers adding a realistic feeling of space and air between the instruments. The midrange with the EL34 is magical. Also the gain matching of the Supratek preamps with the amps is unsurpassed as the Malbecs are made for high gain preamp match.