Preamp Deal of the Century

Well,
I do believe Mick was more attentive to his customers in the early years of Supratek, my experience correlates with the late stages of it's existence, and it was very clear, that his priorities had shifted.
I owned three of his pieces, and my cumulative experience is not insignificant.
Also, I've had numerous interactions with then current and ex- Supratek owners, all off of this thread, and their opinions reflected mine almost exactly. I'm talking about a few areas- sound and built quality more, than anything.
There have been a number of posts here on A-gon, discussing some sonic attributes of Suprateks.
And if one is careful and open- minded enough, one can gather less, than stellar impressions of MANY owners.
Let me be blunt saying this: I've owned and had a number of different preamps in my own system, since Supratek-
Doshi Alaap, Nagra PL-P, BAT REX.
All of them I found to be superior to Supratek, especially in the area of neutrality and timbral accuracy.
Let me be even more blunt. Supratek made my system pretty much unlistenable due to quite extreme sibilance and treble quality.
Again, I'm not being subjective to even a slightest degree- that's in comparison with at least THREE different preamps, in my own system, over a long periods of listening.
Next on to the build quality- please put any Supratek next to Nagra or BAT, then open the case, and then you'll see , that Supratek is nothing more, than a poorly built piece of
DIY.
Looks cool on the outside, though.
Next one - packaging. It's not even funny- the lowest quality of boxes,I've ever seen. They are not even dedicated boxes, just DHL standard box.
The hight dimension of the boxes is way too small for the height of the component, the box pressing against the fake trannies covers, making it way too susceptable to shipping damage. And I can attest to that. BOTH of my brand new Mondeuse amps arrived badly damaged, with bent chassis, entirely due to inadequate packing.
Should I go on?
As to the integrity of SOME members, known for trumpeting this product, I'm willing to explain it, in the best case scenario, by a limited exposure to better products- and that's is nobody's fault, of course. We are all entitled to our own opinions.
The worst case scenario is lack of restrain and objectivity, and willingness to be a messiah of the audiophiledom.
One reservation, though : In my humble opinion, if one is willing to influence many of the A-gon members purchasing decision, and let's be realistic- many of us, myself included, are influenced by A-gon members reviews, by posting unreserved praise about any product, then one should have enough integrity to make that praise as objective and evidence based, as possible. We are supposed to be a community of like- minded and mutually helpful individuals.
Many of us, fortunately are. That's why, I'm not making any blunket statements.
And the last thing- anyone can question my integrity, I don't mind. At least, I stated, what my opinion is based on, make your own conclusions, and tried to stay away from saying, that component "A" absolutely kills component "B".

So, now, here we are a bit later, and some folks (at least one, maybe more) are stating that Mick is gone, and they are owed money.
Isn't this the nature of the questions I asked along the way...."If it takes a year to get one, what about service?" I was villified by some people here, with some saying that I had an 'agenda'. Frankly I did...my agenda was to question Mick's business practice of keeping deposits for a year before delivering, and now, of course, maybe just keeping them period.

Why wait for a year for something that is readily available? The question is as valid now, as when I asked it years ago...the only difference is, some people have lost their money.

During one exchange, in simply asking what to me was the obvious, I received a private email from Mick, and he berated me, and was verbally abusive...maybe under pressure, who knows, telling me to 'mind my own business'.

What is it about audio that elevates some products, seemingly those which are hardest to get, to mystical status, creating a group of people willing to wait for a year?

Personally, I hope Mick is happy and healthy, and that he can return the deposits which some are asking for--for his sake as well as the customers.

My Supratek also had some issues (response of the phono was messed up), and while I would agree that Mick should not have been in charge of service (denying the problem, rude emails, etc), I would like to say that Kevin Covi, the US repair tech for Supratek, is awesome. He fixed me up, politely, professionally and promptly.

So, without questioning the integrity of others, aside from technical/service issues, the Supratek Syrah is still an excellent sounding $2,500 preamp. Best in the world? Probably not... but I would not hesitate to A/B it to any $5,000 preamp

interesting experiences some have had. some people love their suprateks and apparently some people got screwed out of money. very interesting to say the least. i guess i was one of the lucky ones.

Sorry to hear that people lost money and have unresolved problems. I hope you get your due.
I quess I am fortunate to have no problems. I had a channel imbalance after a few months of ownership and it was taken care of quickly. Kevin did the service and I was very satified.
Thank God, been 2 yrs. with no issues. I still enjoy the sound.

Can anybody tell me if I could use a 5u4g in the rectifer postion, emailed Mick haven't gotten a reply yet.

Want to try the EML 5U4G mesh plate, looks like a very nice new production tube. Anybody try them?

My Grange arrived DOA and was sent for repairs twice. Not being a gambling man at heart, I sold it shortly after the second remediation.

However, when operating properly, it was one of the finest preamps I ever owned.

The phono stage was killer.

Ait,
I don't know what is it in my post, that made an impression, I was looking for a fight?
Does it come across as a little bit angry? That's probably because I'm angry.
Allow me to explain why:
First, I wasted many months waiting for the new amps, significantly longer, than was promised. The whole amount was paid upfront, of course.
Then, I recieve the amps visibly damaged, with the chassis of both units bent. One of the amps blew a tube and a fuse immediately upon turnung on, so I didn't dare to switch it on again.
Did I mention how poorly was it packaged?
I contacted Mick, sent him pictures of the units and boxes, so he could initiate claim with Fed Ex.
Clearly, I didn't want him to fix the amp and send them back to me, that wouldn't be a brand new amps, I paid for, whould it? At the very best, they would qualify, as refurbished, which again, not something, I paid the full price for.
So, being pretty much fed-up with all this, I politely asked Mick, if he would be willing to refund me my money.
I have to give Mick credit for agreeing to pay back, I would imagine, he could have said no.
And that's where it is, almost two years later- I owed $2000 still, no response to my last e- mail.
Before somebody tries to make an argument about refunds-
Imagine paying full retail price, 6 months in advance, for a custom made, brand new Mercedes, and have it delivered to you with body damage and two cylinders not working. Would you like it fixed and re- delivered to you anyway?

Throw a little red meat on the ground and watch the dogs run in.

As a business owner myself, I can tell you horror stories about customers who completely make up stories to support their own self-interest. Just last night we had dinner with another couple who also own a local business and we were telling war stories about customers we have had to deal with. It is truly unbelievable to hear what human beings are capable of when it comes to the truth. Prior to owning a business, I would have never believed half the stories I have heard from other business owners if it weren't for the fact that I have experienced mind-boggling whoppers in my business.

At this point we know nothing but Maril555's side of the story. From personal experience, I can guarantee you that there is another side that may possibly paint a very different picture.

The truth is that there are many, many happy Supratek owners who have had nothing but glowing experiences with Mick and the sound of his preamps. More often than not, I tend to go with the odds and in this case, the odds are over-whelming in Mick's favor based on the entirety of this thread. Does that mean that Maril555 is lying? No, but until a few others chime in here to offset the over-whelming numbers of satisfied owners, I'm going to give Mick the benefit of the doubt.

And to the Asylum thread knocking the internal layout of Micks preamp, I would venture to guess a good percentage of them have never heard a Supratek. Just look at their comments about how a Supratek couldn't possibly survive shipping or about how noisy a Supratek would have to be. Well, they are clearly wrong on both counts, but the facts don't matter to them. The only thing that matters is their own self-interest (read: manufacturers whose products got their clocks cleaned by Suprateks) or the others who blather-about online because, like Zack Mayo, they have "no place to go".

Maril, This is the quote that made me think you were spoiling for a fight:

This whole "Preamp of the century" thread makes me to re- think value of A-gon posts and integrity of some of it's members.

You went from complaining about Mick, which is your right, to implying that A'gon members who post positive things about Supratek somehow lack integrity. I for one was insulted.

I actually didn't expect anything less, but a repetition on the same theme- majority is always right.
Just to answer some specifics-
Tvad- I did return the amps immediately. I have contacted Mick the very next day, I took delivery of the amps, and sent them back a few days after.
I do believe, Mick filed a claim with FedEx, and I'm pretty sure (no confirmation), that FedEx did pay, since there was a pretty obvious damage to the boxes.
Upon receiving amps, Mick admitted, that they looked, like they were mishandled, and also stated, they "fixed them-up".
I do not know, if the amps were sold to someone else afterwards.
The point is- he agrred to refund my money, got the amps back, fixed them, maybe even resold them, and still didn't pay me.
Fiddler- your whole post is nothing more, than a series of assumptions, base on your less, than positive experience with your customers. I'm having difficult time to understand, what is the relevance in this particular case.
Theris no "other sides" to the story. Mick did admit to shipping damage after visually inspecting the units, after getting them back, and agreed to a refund.
You somehow implying, that I got perfect amps, dropped it down from my second story window, and made up the story to cheat Mick out of his hard- earned cash.
I don't think I ever asked anyone in this thread to vote to neither mine, nor Mick's favor, I just simply shared my experience.
Again, the argument about majority vs. Minority bears no relevance, nor it matters anything to me, or is capable of changing MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
As to the comments about "about how a Supratek couldn't possibly survive shipping "- I would like somebody to make honest claim to a quality and adequacy of Supratek packaging.
It is unquestionably far below standards. Even cheapest of equipment, purchase someplace else, has far more reliable packaging. And, that Supratek is exactly cheap- the amps were $6500

i'd say the supratek packaging is good to mediocre. i've seen better and i've seen worse. the saving grace is typically the shipment method and the speed of delivery. from australia to the usa in 3 days is amazing.

i've received a chardonnay, malbecs and cabernet dual all in perfect condition. i've shipped the chardonnay to puerto rico and the malbecs to new york in the original supratek packaging and they arrived without incident.

Maril555,
Come now, with all due respect you did not "simply tell your story." You questioned the integrity of Supratek owners whose experience differs from yours, and you made a snarky remark when members did not immediately post in support of your comments. You may well have been wronged, but attacking the integrity and credibility of other members does little to advance your cause.

Can anybody tell me if I could use a 5u4g in the rectifer postion, emailed Mick haven't gotten a reply yet.

Want to try the EML 5U4G mesh plate, looks like a very nice new production tube. Anybody try them?

Snopro,

Before you can use a 5U4G, you should know what rating does the filament transformer have in the PSU. The 5AR4 draws around 1.5 to 2 amps, the 5U4 draws 3 amps. It's been a while since I opened my PSU but if I remember it correctly, the rating is only about 2 amps.

regards,

Abe

Waltersalas,
I questioned the integrity of SOME Supratek owners, not of Supratek owners, and that's a principal difference.
And by any means, I didn't look for support, if I did, I would have posted two years ago, when Supratek was still in business. On a second thought, I actually should have, just to give potential Supratek buyers a different perspective.
If I had read anything like that, when I was ordering mine- my decision likely would have been different.
That's what I meant by mentioning integrity- objectivity and balanced opinions, negative included, is a sign of a person's integrity.
For those, who missed some discussions, supporting my listening impressions, please, refer to a post about "sibilance", within this thread.
Well, this is just my opinion, and I don't expect anybody to agree with it.
I do appreciate members sharing their experiences, that are different from the majority here. And that too, doesn't make the majority wrong and the minority right.

Kgturner,
If I remember correctly, didn't your Malbecs had a noise, from the day one, that even Kevin Covi couldn't fix?
Maybe those were somebody else's Malbecs.
Just another testimony to a product being offered for sale to the public, that wasn't exactly ready for the prime time.
Oh, well.

maril:

yes, those were my malbecs. i traded them for the cabernet dual i currently own. mick told me to hold onto the malbecs while he made the cabernet dual. i shipped the malbecs to kevin covi in new york once i received the cab. what became of them after that i can't say, though i'm not as brazen as you are to say that they were resold to another person as new.

Kgturner,
To be exact, I said "maybe even resold them, I don't know", and if he did, hopefully not as new.

OK, hmmm the legend of the highly revered Mick, lives on. And, even in light of people who have been cheated by him, they, not Mick become the bad guys. What did Maril555 do, other than get cheated, then point it out?

This is pretty remarkable, that even when this comes to light, rational people can't agree that some people, not all, have been wronged.

Amandarae, thanks for the information.

Lrsky,
This thread and reactions to my post are very indicative of a bigger phenomenon, that permeates our society on different levels.
It just makes me to reiterate my initial statement- I have to re-evaluate my position on reviews and opinions posted here and also on integrity of some members. Good thing it's only an Internet forum. Imagine these folks on the jury duty- nothing but objectivism and no preconcieved notions whatsoever.

I am another very happy Supratek owner. I have 2 close audio buddies that bought after hearing mine and their systems have been transformed profoundly as well. They will be removing my cold dead hands from mine before I give it up, heheheh Still have not found anything I like better...beleive me I have tried. Sorry for your experience there Maril. Sucks to get burned. I hope you get resolution one way or another. I still have some unfinished business with Mick but am fairly confident based on my history and communication with him and Supratek.

Maril, I just want to comment on the pieces you found better than the Supratek...Doshi Alaap, Nagra PL-P, BAT REX. WTF these are all like, what 12K+... I hope they are better .! At those prices they better not only sound better but better swallow too. hehehe Name some better 4K-7K pieces and I might be able to comment as I have probably auditioned them at length.... to no avail, I have 25 dealers within 1 hour of my house. I still have my Supratek. Also to even mention siblance and supratek in the same sentence... all I can think is what else is in your system.

cheers and good listening. Oh and good luck again.

Maril
Correct if I'm wrong, regarding the "hype" of this six year old thread.
Are you saying you were suckered in, or maybe hypnotized by the hype and bought a Cortese preamp then later put an order in for Supratek amps?

Your comment here of the Nick Dosi preamp and Cortese preamp of 11-24-07 reveals a totally differant story and attitude.

I for one would not of waited a year before bringing an issue like this up for all to read.
However it's not clear what final arrangement Mick made with you over these damaged amps.

Did you save any of Micks e-mails for us to read?

Stiltskin,
You are right to a certain degree- I made my decision solely based on this thread, when I first bought Chenin.
Then the whole sibilance issue became my reality. I tried to deal with it by all possible means- NOS tubes, room treatments, support system, new speakers- NO LUCK.
Then I (wrongly) decided, that Cortese might be a better preamp with regards to sibilance, and combined with Supratek power amps ( I was blaming poor synergy with my then BAT-75SE), will give me the sound, I was looking for.That's how I've made that decision.
Soon after, I happened to find Doshi up for sale, and decided to try it.
What exactly is in my post from 11-24-07 conveys "a totally different story"? I did say Cortese was more dynamic, and served music ina different fashion, which is absolutely true, and I stand by that statement today. What to the sibilance- not one of the subsequent preamps in my system, Nagra, BAT exhibited a slightest trace of it, being equally as musical, expressive and resolving, as Cortese.
I think I still have some of Mick's e- mails, and I post them later.
Arkio,
You are right, all of them are more expensive retail, but when was the last time, you paid a full retail price at a dealer? There are two Nagra PL-Ps for sale now for $5300 and $5900, as we speak. And don't forget, Mick sold direct, with no dealer network.
If you are happy with your Supratek,and like the way it colors music, that doesn't make it the best out there by any means.
I'm not saying, that there is anything wrong with somebody liking certain colorations. My point is and was, that I could not listen to it in my system.
I have no doubts in my mind, that everybody has different level of sensitivity to this particular type of coloration.
So your comment to the absense of coloration in Supratek cannot possibly change my own extensive experience with it, and actually bears aquestion:'WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR SYSTEM???"

Maril, if you don't like the Supratek sound, that is fine. But please... don't pull the "if you like that of coloration" card...

Most Supratek owners are very experienced audiophiles who are familliar with good preamps. These are very neutral and transparent preamps. There is not the slightest bit of sibilance distortion in my system, in various rooms, with various amps, speakers, etc.

Agree.

All audio gear is 'colored', the different flavors are what make this whole experience wonderful. We all pick the 'color' we like, we chose our flavors. What's wrong with Maril stating that his unit (and by extension all Supratek products) had it's own sound? Tvad just said the same thing--yet no one is attacking his comments.
I know Tvad, and he's a good listener, and though I haven't heard the Supratek, I would accept his appraisal. Do other Supratek owners disagree with his appraisal, or do they think the Supratek to be neutral?
Why is identifying any coloration of a product such a trecherous thing?

Goatwuss, Arkio,
There is no need for an argument about coloration. Here is my explanation why.
Nature didn't create us all equal, as you know, some of us are white, some black, some are brown, some are tall, some are smart, and there are some, who are less so.
The same goes for our hearing apparatus. Being a physian and an educator, I feel compelled to give a short anatomy and physiology lecture here, which I feel is long overdue.
Our hearing apparatus is strictly analog mechanical device.
Our external ear is simply a horn, designed to amplify sound.
The other part of our internal ear is a membrane, consist. of a different lenghts fibers, designed to response to a different frequencies of the audible spectrum. It looks not unlike xylophone.
With some stretch of imagination, one can assume, that that part of our internal ear differs from one person to another.
To stretch our imagination even further, it's safe to assume, that being different lenghts and thickness, they would resonate at different freuencies, causing different amplitude of the electric signal, generated in the corresponding receptors to go to our auditory cortex, to be percieved as a sound of different loudness.
So, all of us, hearing the exact same signal at specific frequency, will have an electrical signal od different amplitude generated in their receptors, and will hear it at different loudness levels.
All this said, I don't really understand, how come we still having an argument about a sound signature of a certain component(s). The simple truth is- we all hear differently, and that explains why Goatwuss and Arkio do not hear sibilance and Tvad, Mrjstark, myself and many others do.

That should put an end to all arguments of this kind, hopefully.
Most likely it won't though.

Marill555,
Physian, what is that exactly? You had me until you apparently misspelled
P H Y S I C I A N.

Lrsky,
I did misspelled- busy at work. I'm actually a physician, believe it or not.
Tvad, I didn't say there is something wrong with the coloration, it's that I didn't like that particular one.
And yes, it did sound exciting.

Tvad,
Got you. I know you didn't discuss sibilance. I'm not even sure that's the right term to use. But it was colored.
My subjective impression was, that no matter, what I put in front, or after Supratek, the whole system sounded like Supratek, it had it's sonic imprint on every recording also.

My take on Supratek,

I would like to vent and pass along what I experienced, it's not good. I am aware of others also who had issues but don't want to post do to being ridiculed.

I ordered a Sauv. pre and was given a date of delivery which turned out only to be a lie, the pre arrived months late. I was in contact with Mick on numerous occasions once the delivery date passed, what really pissed me off was he contacted me saying it was ready for delivery and for me to pay the balance in which I did. Weeks after paying I still never received anything and when I was back in contact with Mick he only gave me excuses which were lies, one lie after another, not a good way of doing business.

When the product finally arrived, in a DHL box. Not even a manufacturer's box or double boxed. The worse packaging I have ever seen, the packaging was a joke.

I opened the package up to only find my new pre looking poor in the quality of the finish. The corners were all cracked, the high gloss black finish had some runs and other areas with an orange peel effect, the chrome top plate of the pre it's self appeared to have smear marks or water marks. I tried to clean but found that this was just a poor chroming job. The power supply chrome plate was only partially plated. I was disgusted.

Prior to buying I had read and discussed with Mick that he personally inspects and listens to every piece during burn-in prior to going out the door, humm! I don't believe that either.

When you read the owners manual it also refers to this along with the reference to being hand made saying there will be marks etc. but for you the owner to appreciate this like owning a rug, bla! bla! What a joke this was! if I had read that prior I would have never bought it.

When I connected the pre., well there were issues there also.

Contacted Mick and was given excuses suggesting it was to do with the shipping company, humm! Didn't believe that either, how could you.

A friend also got a Gra pre around the same time, his had quality issues also, some the same but others which included the volume knob would not even turn.

The remote what a joke! I have never seen such a piece of crap! I paid allot of money for this pre.

Got another one, replacement months later again waiting and again, poor quality of finish, same crappy remote and crappy packaging. The chroming again wasn't all that but better, cracks in the corners again but this time my volume knob would not turn. The hole cut was off set just like what my friends was which was causing it to bind.

This was my most horrid experience in audio and I'm not alone as others have shared their experience with me.

The sound, nothing all that special.

Not shocked to see him gone and would never recommend his product.

I can only weigh in as a happy Supratek Syrah owner. I bought my direct from Mick about six years ago. One of the remotes died about two years ago (four years after I had had the pre). I got a prompt response from Mick, who sent me a new remote for about $15 including shipping - which was perfect. Also, the remote dying was likely my fault (wear and tear). I also had an issue with the volume knob siezing up. I got it fixed locally by an audio tech, and Mick offered to pay half (and he sent on a new volume pot).

I'm guessing that perhaps service/quality dropped in more recent years? As, it's hard for me to reconcile my very good experience with that of others' bad experience. One thing I will say is tht the pre was late, by maybe a month, but he only asked for final 50% payment days before shipping.

Finally, the pre is a gem - like some others have said, I've tried 'upgrading' the phono stage, but to no avail - I guess I need to spend way more $$.

Dev, sorry to hear about your experience. I think the input you provided is all valid - the only point I have trouble with is the references to the remove(s). Yes, they are crappy, but there were never advertised or marketed as otherwise. The remote met my expectation based on discussions in the online forums here.

happy listening..

Just kidding you Maril555, TVAD, I agree about coloration. Actually, all of audio, regardless of ad hype, is a series of 'pick your color'. Every manmade piece has it's own unique sound. We end up simply deciding which one's seem to be more real to us than others. "Pleasant colorations are the order of the day." One man's overly rounded Vandersteen is another man's 'musical', and one man's sterile THIEL is another man's neutral.
Personally, when I set out to design a speaker, I made it sound the way that I thought it should sound, picking my favorite 'flaws' from a series of flaws.
The only design which escaped that was a 'no holds barred' (sort of) LSA10, in which I picked VERY expensive drivers, then had the crossover made to minimize the known limitations of each one therein. THAT was fun. But even with them, they had colors, but at least, my favorite colors.
As to Micks preamps and amps, he selected a color which pleased a great many people obviously.
It seems that this is the 'thread that wouldn't die', because his products had such a following.
I do find it surprising that there aren't a ton of his products for sale on the Audiogon pages. I suspect that the lack of warranty could be an issue for many.

after a long silence quite a spray - Maril55 - sssso sssibilance turns into coloration - I am sure ssssupratek owners are surprised by your vassilation on this matter.

Lrsky - it appears you can can establish coloration from reading posts and can divine that no resales mean warranty worries rather than satisfied owners

amazing

Have no time to read all of the mammoth tread but I vote for Promitheus TVC. I have not heard them all but just can`t imagine another preamp for $500 that comes even close to it.

Pjwd,
At this point all I can say is this- dude, go calibrate your ears and be a little be more respectful talking to adults.

Maril,

What?

You're not to be questioned?

How was Pjwd disrespectful? His post was clever and succinct, but not disrespectful. It sounds like you've spent too much time convincing yourself and probably your patients that you are special. Relax. Doctor or not, you ain't special and no one here is impressed.

Pjwd makes the excellent point; how did sibilance turn into coloration all of a sudden? Those are two completely different diseases.

And it begs the question that if a doctor caught "syphilance" from Supratek once, why would he possibly go back to the same well two more times?

--------------------------------

What's the difference between God and a doctor?

Answer: God doesn't think he's a doctor!

Whoah,
Fiddler, I expected nothing less, than just such a response.
Before I comment any further, please, refer to page 57 of this very thread, post, initiated by Opus88 on 03/13/07, and the following discussion.
Pjwd is disrespectful in dismissing other's opinions as invalid, based on his personal experience with Supratek, and that's is disrespectful.
What he said, in essense means this: "I'm a better audiophile, than you are, because you hear things, I don't"
let me make one comment, though.
It's a well proven fact, that different people, listening to the same system, at the same point of time, will come out of that listening room with different impressions.
Is that something so difficult to understand???????????
Please, read posts about any of the audio shows, CES, RMAF, when people, after being exposed to exactly the same system, and sometimes being in the same room at the same time, expressed very polarizing opinions about it.
Why is that you and Pjwd question my personal experience with my personal system?
I didn't question yours, I just said, that your experience is likely to be different.
And what me being a doctor has to do with anything????
It never fails to puzzle me, how many of the A-gon members have such rigid and limited understanding of simple facts of life. What are you, a member of holy Supratek church?

Pjwd,
Why not heed courtesy on this site and not be so antagonistic.
Generally, the markets are flooded with used products which have sold this well--which doesn't portend dissatisfaction as much as the wonder lust of audiophiles.
As to coloration, I would say again that ALL audio gear has a unique signature, call it coloration or whatever you please--I merely state and will repeat it that Mick picked a 'color' that most people like, a compliment.
I can be more detailed if you don't understand these comments. Most of the people here got it the first time.

Hi Marill555. I'm still "alive and kicking". Yes, I recall well that time when some considered us the equivalent of partners in crime when we detailed the problems we had with the sound of our Suprateks. I want to also say, though, that there were some concerned and sympathetic Agoners who came to our aid because they felt we were being treated unfairly. Obviously, all people owning the same component never respond in exactly the same way(s), and when you and I "bucked the tide" some out there got pretty nasty. Sorry, but no component is a sacred cow. In my response you sited above from 3/13/07, I indicated I had not yet tried the 6SN7 Tungsols, Ken Rad black glass,etc. in an effort to neutralize the glare I had heard with my Cortese. Well, eventually I did shell out big bucks for those tubes, and still found no respite from the leering glare. After trying a gaggle of other components, including other speakers, I reached the point where I said, "That's enough". The rest is history. I had no ill will whatsoever toward Mick. His preamp just didn't satisy me in my system. To others who have enjoyed the Suprateks in their systems, I am happy for them, and I sincerely hope they continue to derive great pleasure from Mick's creations. As for me, I am extremely happy with the preamp I now own. It's always a joy when someone finds real satisfaction with the sound produced by their system or any individual component. In closing, I hope your money issue with Mick can be resolved soon, Ilia. Good listening too all!

Opus88,
Glad to hear from you, and that you are happy with your current preamp. I moved on, as well, with no regrets, just $2000 lighter, and a little bit wiser.

Plutos - I tried the Promitheus TVC. Super clean, nuanced sound with a tube like warmth to it. I enjoyed it, but it did not have the dynamics and openness of active preamps. Though I'd bet it was one of the most transparent preamps available for the price. Promitheus has a preamp with an active tube stage in it that probably does the dynamic thing also (haven't heard it). Back to Supratek. One of the best preamps I have owned, and I have been through many. No glare on my system, running a Pass Labs X-150 Eminent Technology speakers, a ESound CD player. I am loving the sound. I have the Tungsol tubes as well as other NOS tubes. I actually like the stock 6SN7s on it best. I trust my ears. Not to boast, but I play piano professionally (1 of my professions - need to do other things to get by in the music business :) Jazz is my love. I know what live music is suppose to sounds like (amplified and unamplified) and attend acoustic concerts- yes classical music. Lang Lang is one of my favorite young pianist) I went through about 5-6 preamps before this one to get that "you are there sound". Those that own one should be proud. Those that have purchased others and have moved on, great. This is a hobby! You have to trust your own ears. Doesn't make the Supratek a bad preamp.
Thanks for listening. On a side not, please support your local musicians. You are missing out on some great talent, even if the sound isn't perfect and the acoustics stink. I don't know how many times I have invited audiophile friends out to listen to some great jazz, and they would rather sit in front of their systems at home - all the time. To bad - nothing like the real thing baby! Sorry going off on another topic. Selah!

Jeffjazz - thanks for your answer. Its most valuable for me because believe it or not but I also use Pass X-150 as power amp. Speakers are Focal 926 and have owned several digital sources lately but Marantz SA-1 is my favorite till now. It seems that I need to try Supratek.
Also wanted to ask what Supratek pre are you using?

Chardonney. The "low end" of Supratek. I have had more expensive preamps, and like it better. Mates great with the Pass amp because you can adjust the gain which is rare on a preamp. No impedance problems either. - Jeff