Thanks, Steelhead. I'm currently in the process of having a dedicated listening room built for myself, and I had Martin Logan Quests several years back when I had lived in Miami. They were badly damaged by Hurricane Andrew. I've since had a custom built speaker (combination of ribbon tweeters with Dynaudio drivers) that was crafted by a former (and brilliant) friend of mine. I'm also familiar with the C-J sound, having had both a C-J amp and preamp several years back as well. My Air Tights have never displayed the more laid-back perspective typically associated with C-J equipment. In this context, your experience with the Chenin/C-J matchup is interesting. Let's see if I can gain any more information relevant to my concern. Thanks kindly for yours.
Soundstage issue on Air Tight/Supratek matchup ?
I pretty much had my mind set on going for a Supratek Chenin or Cortese. Before pulling the trigger, however, I continued to hone in on as many discussion threads as possible in an effort to get as many perspectives as I could on the Suprateks. Since I have Air Tight (ATM-3) monoblocks, I became quite concerned when I read the following statements from Noble 110 during 2003, after he had compared the Syrah with several ARC preamps, a Macintosh and the Hoveland HP1000 : "Each of these preamps has a unique sound and quite a different soundstage presentation...The Syrah's...soundstage is much further back than one might expect from typical tube preamps...I have Air Tight ATM-3 monoblocks and Genesis speakers. These amps do reflect each component upstream, and I was surprised how different each of the preamps sound, especially in soundstage presentation." Personally, I do not like a distant soundstage perspective. I listen primarily to classical music, and prefer a perspective that is roughly row five to row fifteen. Is there anyone else out there who has a Supratek/Air Tight ATM-3 combo that reflects the description given by Noble 110 ? Since I wish to stay with my Air Tights (They weren't cheap.) and if this description is accurate, could any of you please give me some recommendations on tube preamps that provide the kind of hall perspective I am looking for ? I prefer lps to cds, but would seek first a full function tube preamp so that I could enjoy both lps and cds. I also favor a preamp that gives a big sound. Incidentally, I have never particularly liked the Audio Research sound. Other than that, thanks kindly for any helpful comments.