Preamp Deal of the Century

@galleybob No, it does not.

I am interested. I have a home theater system so I need a pre amp that has a bypass. Does the Supratek have a bypass mode?

@snopro   Thanks!  That’s exactly what I’ll do with the subs.  They do have speaker level inputs, so should be fine.

​@tksteingraber ​thanks for sharing the tech’s info and the thread.

@jslateiv  thanks for the explanation on the grounding — makes sense.  Nowvthat I know how it’s meant to operate, i can set it up properly. The Freya+ spoiled me with features but the Chardonnay sounds so much better.  

Thank you all for helping me out!

 Congrats on the purchase @nymarty.   That pre will serve you well and last close to forever.  Unfortunately only rca or xlr can be used at one time.   A second pair of rca’s could be wired in and both sets of rca’s could be used if needed.     The toggle arranges the ground for the output in use which is why you cant use both at the same time. 

@nymarty  Congrats and welcome to audio Nirvana.  Amazing preamp you will not be disappointed.  Here’s another thread you should read and follow.  Contact @jslateiv he is Supatek’s official repair tech  for your questions.  He is a wealth of information and very helpful. I use RCA’s and have a sub connected with no noise. The bass was so strong I had to add a volume control between the pre outputs and the sub line inputs.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/supratek-owners-thread

Hey nymarty

I’m pretty sure you can only use one or the other. Why don’t you use your amp outputs to your sub. I think it blends better and you get some of your amps character. Just by some copper speaker wire from Amazon not expensive.

That’s how I connect my sub works very well. Just make sure on some amps like Pass labs you have to connect the negative to ground not the negative speaker output. If you don’t know ask your amp manufacturer if that’s ok.

Just bought a used Supratek Chardonnay. Wow! I don't have anything super high end to compare it to -- prior preamps include Adcom GFP-750, Schiit Freya+ with some nice NOS 6SN7 tubes -- but am very happy with the purchase.  One question for Supratek owners -- can you use the balanced output AND the single-ended outputs at the same time?   I'm running balanced right now (with the toggle switch set to XLR) and it's very clean and sounds great.  I'd like to use one of the RCA outputs at the same time to a pair of subs but trying that introduced a good bit of hum to the speaker outputs.  If I switch toggle to RCA, hum goes away but now nothing is going to XLR.  So I'm assuming I can't do it but wanted to check with others.  Thanks.

Markus, 

 I have used the Phillips PQ, Phillips SQ, and Mullards. I also have Valvo and CEI, but I haven't run any of these two brands yet. I can't tell any difference in sound between the Phillips and the Mullards. Mick told me a while back that he thinks that Phillips may have made all of them, which could explain why they sound the same. 

Hey Fellow Supratek owners - 

Just a quick question - what E180F tubes are you preferring?

Markus

Greetings Fellow Humans - 

I just popped by to see what's new in this "most popular all-time" thread in the amps & preamps forum. Nice to see that the thread is still drawing visitors and folks are as enthusiastic as ever.

I'll post a "four+ year follow-up" review:

My Supratek Cortese continues to sound wonderful. Several amplifiers have cycled through my system since I got the Cortese - I'm now using custom SET 45 monoblocks to drive my Altec A7 Magnificents very satisfactorily. The Supratek is always delightful, always reliable.

Oh, one system upgrade that was an eye-opener for me was to switch over to Cardas Neutral Reference interconnects and speaker wires. They are very nice, though relatively modest and not up to Cardas current state-of-the-art standards. But they sound wonderful.

Hope everyone has a wonderul holiday season.

Best regards...

Markus (no longer the) Naimnut

I am a happy new owner of a Cabernet 6SN7. I was a bit worried that I would have an issue with the noise floor or tube hiss on my 100db efficient Altec A7 since I had issues with a Border Patrol EXT, Modwright LS 36.5 and a Rogue RP 7. I can happily report that the Supratek is dead quiet at the speakers when no music is playing. The soundstage, imaging, vocals, percussion etc are the best I have heard in my system. Everything sounds very realistic.

@aldnorab 

I've bought two umbilical cords for the two preamps from Brad and they are a definite upgrade.

I had two of their power cables (not AC cords) for my digital setup years ago. They made a nice improvement. Just ordered a new Chardonnay from Mick. I'll look into an umbilical cord for it.

Thanks,

aldnorab 

I bought an umbilical from them or my solid state pre, and it is wonderful. You won't regret it.

@tksteingraber I did! From right here on Agon: 

@budburma did you buy direct from Rev Labs?  Which cord is it and what is the cost?  I have a Chardonnay being built by Mick.  Thanks

1. I just got the Revelation Audio Labs umbilical and WOW, it's a tremendous upgrade - particularly in presence and soundstage. Remarkable. Such a worthwhile investment. I was going to have someone build another as well, but this will do JUST FINE and DANDY.

2.  Manuals?! My Syrah has a 3 way switch front right that I'd love to know the function of....If anyone has a manual they scan or copy and share regardless, I'd love to have one...

Now that we've cleared up a few things, a couple of matters worth mentioning. Yes, hiss is documented as a possibility in the manual(s) -- but not from the remote; it is dependent on the setting of the gain knob (and gain switch). And for those who dare to ask, I found that Mick has the adamant perspective of a diehard, traditional engineer when it comes to umbilicals, which means that he doesn't believe another umbilical could sound better, and thus there's no reason to change. I've got two that do improve things, including one that was built by another guy of similar background who ironically didn't believe that what he was building me could affect the sound (btw, I'd be glad to sell it inexpensively if anyone is interested or wants to give it a try; it's not quite the Revelation, but it is a substantial improvement over the supplied one -- send a PM for more info).

On a lighter note, I got word from Mick this morning that my pre amp is done and would be shipping.  

My amp is made in a one man shop as well and the build quality is outstanding.  Mick's track record is excellent and I'm expecting an exceptional product.

deutscherhififan,

I inspected in upon receiving it and everything looked fine. I closed the box and have not been back to it.

I may take it out this weekend to take photos. 

@noske You are trolling. Please go away. Unlike many other threads on Agon, this one is for people seriously interested in Supratek products and the experience of using them.

@noske I've never owned a Supratek. Product doubts are a consideration in any purchase. To be fair, nothing is perfect. We are seeing a 20 year history in this thread. What company has a perfect 20 year history? 

What car company do you find worthy? They've all had recalls. Multiple things that didn't work.

How about cellphones? The top two companies are major technological juggernauts. They've had numerous problems. Catching on fire/exploding, bending in the middle, etc. Most any company can be made to look bad with enough research over a 20 year history. 

People buy Supratek for the sound quality. If they didn't perform so well, it is doubtful this thread would last 20 years. A positive 20 year thread is a great accomplishment for any company. Look how quickly a used Supratek sells. Most sell within a week. Few of those sellers state insufficient sound quality as the motivation to sell. Many are actually moving up the line for even greater performance. 

Mick builds an excellent product and stands behind it with a life time guarantee. He really takes care of his customers. Music lovers are lucky to have him building equipment.

Thanks,

aldnorab 

I don’t get the sense that you took a look first before posting, 

I looked at these words where it is conceded that

-  a mix up in a case

-  one man operation

 - requests, orders and building

 - rigours of point to point wiring

 -  dealing with his hon audio hon everyday life (??)

and all is forgiven on account of where he lives ("hardly surprising mistakes are sometimes made..")

Nah, not good enough.  Others may get a sense that I demand higher standards for some quite expensive kit.

Highstream. Everything I posted has been brought up in this thread. Go back and read and you,ll find it... verbatim. I understand some of the issues were many years ago. Let's hope he has resolved them. Good day mate!

@noske I don’t get the sense that you took a look first before posting, 

Slow news day for all.

Do you guys even realize this thread is 20 years old?

Seems to me Mick handled this as he should have.  

take a look at where Mick lives — it’s hardly surprising that mistakes are sometimes made. 

Where does he live and why ought where someone live be some reason to indulge in making the mistakes you mention?

@rbertalotto What you are missing, and what’s going on here, has mostly to do with your ability to read.

Best preamp on earth — Where’d you get that? - Hissing, noisy remote control — Where’d you get that? Doesn’t know how to use XLR connectors — Where’d you get that? Bad solder joints— Where'd you get that? Bad paint— Where’d you get that? A loose tube socket — disappointing but hardly the first time an audio product has a missed defect that needed follow up in the field or back in the factory (do you ever read reviews?). Having a tech in the States to help solve problems, vs. having to return the goods to Australia — What’s your beef with that? 

What led to an aspect of a (special order) Grange getting a little mixed up re rhe case is not clear, but in the context of a one man operation dealing with lots of requests, orders and building, including the rigors of point to point wiring, plus dealing with his hon audio own everyday life — e,g., take a look at where Mick lives — it’s hardly surprising that mistakes are sometimes made. 

Okay what am I missing here. Deal of the century. Best preamp on planet Earth. Yet we are talking hums hissing noisy remote control bad solder joints, bad paint,and a designer that doesn't know how to use XLR connectors. And you need to find a technician stateside to "finish" the product? With all the preamps available on planet Earth I simply don't get what's going on here. 

I had a Cabernet Dual connected to my Atmasphere MA-1 and it was magical.

Sold the cab dual and got a Grange currently matched to a GFA 545, well it's a GFA with the Hoppes Brain circuit SS amp, and sounds great.

I've used my Chardonnay and Cabernet with four different SS amps so far with input sensitivities from .6 volts to 2.4 volts and the adjustable gain feature has allowed me to get a noise free match with all of them.  The amps so far are the PS Audio BHK 250, the Van Alstine SET 400, the Nuforce STA-200 and the Kinki Studio EX-M7.  If you need "specs" then contact Mick and ask him.  

@jhajeski Hey just curious, looking to see if any of our happy (or unhappy) Supratek owners have mated it to a solid state amp?   And if any, what’d you mate it to and how did it go?

Me too, being in fishing mode for such a combination.  No hurry..  I looked, but I cannot find any relevant (to me) specifications on the Supratek site.  Lots of words, though.

Things like RMS voltage output and output impedance are important considerations when matching pre and power amp, of whatever topology.   

Hey just curious, looking to see if any of our happy (or unhappy) Supratek owners have mated it to a solid state amp?   And if any, what’d you mate it to and how did it go?

I saw a post here where a member touched on this, but it was very early on in this discussion, like 15 or 20 years ago….lol.

Thanks all.  
jim

@ duramax747

You have still not unpacked? Wow, this would be killing me!

Report please...!

Mick is doing the right thing and building me the black unit I ordered ASAP. He asked me to ship the current wood version Grange to his service guy in NC to have the socket swapped out. It will then be sold. If anybody wants pictures, let me know. The wood unit looks and sounds amazing, it is just not what I ordered 7 months ago... 

I retrieved that photo from Mick's blog. I have one new in the box (line stage) but have noi had time to pull it out to set it up or I would have taken a photo of mine. 

If you swapped the tubes from side to side to determine they both have the same size pins and they both wobble in that socket then you can tighten the socket's grip with just a jewelers screwdriver.  Many vids on You Tube of how to do it.  Usually doesn't need to be done for years with a tube swapper but I guess they can be loose out of the box.  

http://www.swartamps.com/tech/socket_retention/

It's both. Right side is perfectly fine and tight, left side has a loose socket (I am sure I can tighten that), but the tube wobbles in the socket.

@deutscherhififan 

Is the 300B socket loose in the chassis or is the tube wobbly in the socket as if the pins are too small? If the later that's a simple adjustment.

I heard back from Mick. He says he is sorry about the color mix-up, but in his humble opinion wood looks better anyhow and that I should not worry about the socket being a bit loose..... Hmmm. I guess we are all blessed to be able to buy from him. I have to consider my next move, maybe a PayPal dispute will wake him up. 

Btw, the picture of the black unit above shows the 'full' Grange including phono. I ordered a line stage only, no phono. Mick builds this into the Cabernet chassis, hence it is smaller than the full Grange. Less tubes, too, obviously. 

After one day of listening to the dual Grange Linestage (using the DHT output, not the 6SN7 output) with 6 out 7 tubes being new and the unit obviously not broken in, either, I can only say ’wow’. If this is any indication of what’s to come, I can only tip my hat to Mick (despite the color issue...). My system sounds out of this world - tonality, spaciousness, texture, detail, and 3-dimensionality are far above and beyond anything I have heard in my living room. This is definitely a step up from the Chardonnay and I thought that preamp was amazing. I will play with the 6SN7 output over the next few days and compare. My system is fully balanced so it is a drag the 6SN7 outputs are only RCA, hence it is not that easy to swap back and forth. I had asked Mick if all outputs could be XLR, but he said that’s a major re-design. I am currently using EML 300B Mesh, EML 274B Mesh, Gold Lion KT 66, and Linlai 6SN7 Elite tubes. Also, for full transparency, I use the Revelation Audio umbilical power cord. I have other new and NOS rectifiers (Sophia Electric Mesh, USAF 596 with adapter from Woo Audio), 300Bs, NOS 5881, and 45s I will try out over the next few days and report back. I hope to hear from Mick tomorrow.

There is a good chance that two shipping labels got mixed up and we may soon know who  belongs to the unit in your possession and they have yours.  Also 12 hour time difference so Mick doesn't usually see US e-mails until much later in the day for us.  Also his US tech is a member here who participates in the other Supratek thread.

juanmanuelfangioii,

Thats why I was encouraging deutscherhififan to hold out for the black/chrome.  It's two separate chassis that are larger than the photo eludes too. 

The black unit is stunning.  

Your temporment may effect how/what you listened to with the frustration of a long awaited product not arriving as intended but with that said what are your initial impression? 

I contacted Mick and asked for a replacement black unit, holding on to this one in the meantime. No response yet and god knows how long that will take. The good news is that sound is not impacted at all and the preamp functions as intended.

Grange Black/Chrome