Preamp Deal of the Century

Thanks for coming on the forum and clearing things up once and for all Mick. Hopefully, this will put people at ease. I have known you long enough to know there is no way you would compromise the quality of your products for ANY reason.

I'd like to commemt on a couple of topics raised in this forum recently.

As many of you know, I've invited two other persons to join me in ownership of Supratek. I decided to pursue the involvement of these gentlemen for the purpose of building better products and increasing supply of Supratek products.
However, I will still have the controlling interest in Supratek and assure everyone that there is no way that the quality of Supratek products will be compromised, or that a soulless "mass-production" system will be implemented.
I will still personally be involved in building, and will inspect and listen to every preamp or power amp that leaves the factory.
The two gentlemen joining me in Supratek are as enthusiastic about music reproduction as I am- we all love our music and place the satisfaction of building and listening to fine musical equipment above any profit line. It's rare these days, but money isn't everything.
We simply want to build better products that more people can enjoy, and have some fun doing it. Of course we need to make a profit, but good quality products and good service are the means to ensure that. That includes decreasing the delivery times, which I admit are too long.

Secondly,people have wondered why there have been secondhand Granges for sale recently.
I've been blessed with great customers since I started Supratek nearly 10 years ago (after a previous 20 years of tube audio design) Most of the Supratek guys are simply music lovers rather than audiophile or hi-fi freaks- they appreciate the musical qualities that the Supratek gear is designed for.
The Grange attracts a diferent clientle- there's still a bunch of owners with the same love of music , but they are also bought by well heeled audiophiles who can afford the not inconsiderable cost (they take a LOT of work to build) Some of these guys are in search of the "best'" equipment and can afford to buy and sell a new piece of equipment every other month. It's a perilous course as there is no "best" - it's not an easy task to find the right synergy of equipment that suits each individual set of ears/taste, but good luck to those who can afford to find their Holy Grail this way.
I think that is the reason there has been a few Granges for sale recently.
And I suspect a few have been bought by audio companies to see what I'm up too.
It should also be appreciated that the Grange is an ultimate performance piece of equipment, and like all high performance machines it has to compromise a little on useability.
The DHT tubes used in the Grange result in high gain and some microphonics- something that has always bugged me, but the sheer transperancy and glorious midrange vividness are worth the price. The DHT tubes have a real "tube" character, but in the Grange circuit are still fast and exciting. It excells in liveliness.
BTW I'm prototyping a version that uses 6SN7-6AS7 tubes that address's the gain,microphonic issues.
The Cortese circuit uses 6SN7's in the line stage , without doubt the most balanced preamp tube. It does everything well and in the Supratek circuit is the answer for those who want a preamp that will bring the very best out of any component used with it. The Grange is a Lamborgini, the Cortese a Porsche.
And lets not forget the old Syrah/new Chenin preamp that really made the Supratek reputation- it's still easily the best value for money preamp available and now comes with 6688,6922 tubes in the phono, very similiar in concept to the Cortese phono stage that makes it even better value. Let's call this one a 427 Mustang.

I hope this resolves any issues - dont forget I'm always available at supra@supratek.biz

Cheers
MickM

I am wondering why there are all of a sudden so many Granges and Cabernets up for sale? There must have been at least 4 Grange's for sale when I have never seen them for sale before on Audiogon. I believe I saw that Kevin Covi even sold his Grange on Audiogon. Is there a new model coming out? I am a Chenin owner who might consider going to Supratek's higher priced offerings. Is there somthing going on with the new Ownership? I have no evidence to support any of these questions but it seems strange that so many Grange's would come out of the woodwork. I am just a curious owner. Bob

Indigrose and FPV, let me tell you although it was quite a long wait, the preamp is spectacular, in fit, finish and sonics. I have owned, Conrad Johnson, Mcintosh, Lamm and others, and it is the best sounding preamp I have owned, and I recomend it highly. It one of the pieces of gear that has that "missing piece" quality to your set-up and you gaze at it, while listening to favorite recording and just think "wow". That is technical jargon, for this preamp is special. I am putting it up for sale, for other reasons, not audio related.

Larry,

I said "potentially". Sorry you had such a longer than expected wait. I too am interested in your opinion of it. Obviously something else floats your boat better as you are selling it.

I emailed Mick and he told me he was personally building my preamp, and possible next week. Yahoo !!

Larry, to change the topic somewhat - did you get a chance to use the Cabernet in your system? Since I've just ordered a Grange, which shares the same line stage, I'm really interested to hear your impressions. There have been a lot of people on this thread who have other Supratek products, but not too many who have commented on either the Cabernet or the Grange.

FPV, do you actually believe that one classified ad, which I do believe as a private customer, having been mislead for 9 months, I have the right to assume what I do, on Audiogon for a private sale is going to "derail" business for this company? Do you think that is worse than the 2-3 month waiting time that is stated on his website, when it actually takes closer to 11 months, or more, might be a liitle more damaging? Do you think the 2000 plus posts of "free advertising" which drove me to spend $5,000, is not enough to persuade buyers, and that my ad is still going to "derail" his business? You give me far to much credit. Relax people. I've modified the ad before reading these posts.

larry:

the fact that you titled your ad: "supratek cabernet one of the last" sounds awfully like the company is out of business just from the title. keep in mind that mick's business is LARGELY due to word of mouth. bringing in investors and kevin covi (who is also responsible for assistance with the circuit design) does not mean that mick will no longer be an integral part of supratek.

I for one believe that, without evidence that your claim is true, the ad IS misleading.

One could naturally make the assumption you did, but without any evidence you are simply speculating, and potentially derailing business for Mick.

Mick posted in this thread on December 31 that:

Big things coming up for Supratek this year. It will no longer be a one man operation- Kevin Covi and an European audiophile invester are coming in as partners . Supratek will have considerable financial clout to enable it to increase production and improve service.

I am not trying to spread false rumors. One can reasonbly assume, that as production increases, and the wait time decreases, he cannot personlly build all the units by himself. If the consensus believes my post to be mis-leading, I will revise it. It is not my intention to spread false rumors, just to market my Cabernet.

I'd like to know where Larry get his information from. I've been speaking with Mick for the past couple of weeks, and haven't heard anything about him not personally building my Grange. In fact, it was quite obvious that he had a lot of work to do and was building units as fast as he could. Waiting times certainly aren't down. I see no evidence to support larry's claim. Spreading rumors without fact is poor form.

Thanks Simon!

Hey Indigorose. Congrats on the new Supratek....and a GRANGE no less. Simon, there are many applicable alternative subs for the 6L6 in the regulator position. IMHO the tung sol 5881 as well as the rest of 6L6 family are grossly overpriced/performance due to the huge demand by the guitar guy's. The voltage rating for any version is a non issue in the supratek anyway and nothing to worry about. The early shoulder bottle types are typically the better sounding though. The nutty prices we see on the metal based gz34's are for a very good reason.... they really are that good in most high resolution amplification however, a good old mullard, amperex or Valvo are very close if tests strong and each section is closely matched.

Groovy, we can all hike the price of our handbuilts!
I have only ever heard of one other Suprtek in the UK,
A Cortese which I tried to buy from a dealer - but it was not in yet - so why advertise it.
Simon

Your not alone!

anybody noticed the supratek cabernet that's currently up for sale?

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1142878331

larry is basically implying that mick has sold the business to the european investor and that mick will no longer be building any of his gear. sounds like some dangerous accusations to make considering there's no mention of mick bowing out anywhere on the supratek site (which is over due for an update) and mick's previous post only said that he was taking on partners to improve service and productivity. am i the only one dumbfounded by this?

Hi Ray,

I was using Sovteks that were ok & quiet. Lots of duff sylvanias initially caused me grief.
I was very pleased with the grey glass rca's but I think the Sylvanias are slightly better (in my system)- these are the green lettered ones which I'm told are not as good as the yellow lettered ones - sorry I don't know all the nos..
The sylvanias are just slightly warm sounding, not as warm as the rca's but they sound tighter, a bit cleaner ,have very good bass and give a bigger/wider image.
The added 'sparkle' over the rca's gives the impression of more detail/dynamics although I don't think they really give anymore info than the rca's.
The tungsol mouse ears are just too laid back for me and the
cbs 5692s, apart from one being very noisy are really nice & warm but don't have the 'grunt' of the sylvanias imo.
Neither the rca's or tungsols have any obvious shortcomings, I just prefer the Sylvanias which test very well and seem to give lots of gain - I may have to turn down the gain on the syrah as it seems to be giving 10 o clock volume at 8 !.
Just completed a load of room panels - these & the new valves are a revelation. Listened to Steve Earle, Guy Clark & Townes va Zandt Live at the Bluebird Cafe - I've listened to this 100s of times and in all honesty, I'd never heard the cars passing outside or the plane that flies overhead before - it was quite astonishing !
Hope this helps a bit,
Rgds Simon

Simon,Ive been thinking of trying some Sylvanias,could you tell me what you like about them,Thanks

Help !
Trawled the net & searches mainly relate to marshall guitar amps, must buy a book on valves
Using Tungsol 5881s very happily in my Syrah.
Have a spare pair of 6L6EHs which I've not tried.
What are the equivalents - offered a pair of Brimar 6L6Gs but not sure the difference in voltage - GBs, Gc'S etc, etc.
Nuts I know but they are crazy looking valves - screw the sound, I want the best looking Supratek - joking, although I have thought of a piano black finite reference just to match the Syrah - waf & all that( tried to tell her they do not sound as good as my rack but hey, what does she care- about sound)

Ran the gauntlet of 6SN7s - mouse ears/boring, grey glass rca's/nice, cbs5962's/expensive & noisy, sylvania gtb's - finally got some non destructing ones and imo very hard to fault.

Still looking for a Mullard Roehre ?(getting the hang)metal base GZ34 but so is half the world given the f-- ridiculous prices? $350 each for a tube???
Strikes me there are people extracting the pure p--s from
us transistorallaly ? challenged people
Any pointers, good threads re 5881/6L6s welcomed,
Thanks Simon

Wow! It took me three days, but I actually made it through the whole thread. My eyes are burning! To be completely honest, I did skim through some of the stuff in the middle...

Anyhow, I did it. I put down my deposit on a Grange. It's going to replace a LAMM LP2 DELUXE phone stage and a KRELL 280P line preamp.

Now all that's left to do is sit back, turn up the tunes and wait... :)

Colin

Bill I'm sorry I meant to ask you how the Canary 903 4 chassis dual mono preamp sounded in comparison to your Grange. I thought you would have made that comparison by now in your home or at least in your shop. We are anxiously waiting your report. Tom

Wc65mustang, man oh man waiting to see the pictures of your hifi rig. When are you going to post those pictures for all of us to see, not at your place of business but in your own digs, in your own home? Tom

Looks like Supratek site is back up!

This should be interesting,,maybe the DAC that i heard rumors of a while back will be one of the new products!

Investor means someone who put money in because he believes in Supratek and Mick Maloney.
More capital for the company means faster delivery times and service, more products and customization.
Selling is still direct , no middle man , no distributor charging more.
Dan

Good point Simon,I wonder if Mr.Covi will be moving to the Land Down Under? I would think if anyone sitting on the fence over their first or second Supratek purchase, best decide soon...

Hope a European investor doesn't mean a European distributor
with the appropriate doubling in price or upgrading my Syrah to a Grange or the like will become a distant dream???
Happy New Year to everyone.
Rgds Simon

Good catch on that one BWhite...

Hi Everybody
Yes i did forget to renew my domain, or rather the reminder got sent to an old dead email address. It should all be back up in a couple of days and i'll be able to access my email and reply to any outstanding enquiries. Sorry for any inconvenience- if you urgently need to contact me mostex@westnet.com.au will work.
i'd like to take this opportunity thank all for their support and to wish everyone a happy and peaceful new year.
Big things coming up for Supratek this year. It will no longer be a one man operation- Kevin Covi and an European audiophile invester are coming in as partners . Supratek will have considerable financial clout to enable it to increase production and improve service. Look out for some new products and the same commitment to giving you real musical enjoyment.
Best regards
MickM

all right! quick. who wants to cyber-squat? i'll sell mick back his domain for a cabernet and a pair of merlots. j/k.

Looks like Mick forgot to re-register his domain:

supratek.biz
Domain Registration Date: Wed Dec 19 10:37:03 GMT 2001
Domain Expiration Date: Sun Dec 18 23:59:59 GMT 2005
Domain Last Updated Date: Sat Dec 31 05:39:57 GMT 2005

No e-mails, and the web site is gone. Does anyone know if Supratek is on hiatus? or worse? What a shame. I hope it's just a much deserved holiday for an overworked audio genius.

Thanks for the link Simon74.

has anybody spoken with mick recently? i can't even email him because all my emails are bounced back as undeliverable. if anybody has his phone number, please email it to as i'd like to ask him a few questions about purchasing a cabernet. thanks.

Hi Slowhand,

link to the isolator -
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?anlgcart&1138465292

Cheers Simon

Sounds good guys,,i just ordered "Soular Energy" have not found "Tasty "yet! I heard a few samples of Ray Brown,,very good indeed!Thanks

Do any of you guys have the LP Soular Energy by Ray Brown on Pure Audiophile label? I got it for Christmas. WOW! this thing will test the limits of your system. The LP sounds fantastic! Some of the bass notes from Browns bass shake the whole house! I do experience some mistracking because of all the energy on the LP.

I do! Have it since 2004. Great stuff especially "Cry Me A River".

Have not experienced any mistracking on my rig with this LP. Maybe you have some rumble issue or a case of mis-match compliance between the cart and the arm. Assuming that the arm, VTF, and tracking force are all set up correctly.

Since we are on this topic, may I suggest Ray Brown/Jimmy Rowles "Tasty". From Concord Jazz CJ-122. This is the only record I have so far that bottoms out my 4 x Peerless XLS subwoofer drivers even at moderate volume setting on the preamp. Talk about dynamics!

Thanks Simon74,

I have been looking around, but I don't see anything on this Cartridge Man Isolator. Can you tell me where to look for it?

Hi Slowhand,

try the Cartridgemans Isolator, I never knew how good my Syrahs phono stage was till I installed this thing.
I've never had any problems with my Airy 11 at 1.91 gms but with this thing installed, it will track anything without complaint or any sign of strain.
Rgds Si

Do any of you guys have the LP Soular Energy by Ray Brown on Pure Audiophile label? I got it for Christmas. WOW! this thing will test the limits of your system. The LP sounds fantastic! Some of the bass notes from Browns bass shake the whole house! I do experience some mistracking because of all the energy on the LP. I am tracking my ZYX Yatra at 1.95gm which is fine on my other LP's, but not on this torture test. If you run analog and don't have this LP, I highly recommend it.

I use my Supratek with my Merlin VSM. It's not exactly the same as the TSM (which I've also owned), but I will say that I enjoy the combo immensely.

Kgturner: many thanks.

Mick is probably updating his site. Maybe he is updating the site with regards to the new amp he is working on.

vicks7:

according to a system search, nickatkins uses merlin speakers and a supratek chenin preamp. i'm sure you could email him and ask any questions you have regarding this combo.

I am also having problems. I am also seriously considering a blind purchase as I am in the market for a preamp to use with the Merlin TSM-MX Speakers - has anyone used one of these amps with Merlins?

anybody else having trouble with the supratek website? i tried emailing mick, but my email just bounced back. hopefully he's updating his site as it's definitely due for an update.

.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Guys.....
.
Rgds,
Larry
.

Merry Christmas and happy new year from Italy to everyone on this great thread.

Sandro- happy owner of the only one Cortese in Italy

Slowhand,
Here here!!! or should I say hear hear!!

Hi Guys, I just wanted to wish everyone on the thread a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I wanted to thank everyone for contributing the this thread and for spreading the word about Supratek!