This is Mick, the manufacturer of Supratek. Firstly, I'm getting a bit sick of atmasphere jumping in with 20 year old pix of Supratek wiring , everytime Supratek gets mentioned. Am I that much of a threat?
The wiring I do these days is maybe a lot neater , but what makes people think PCB boards are superior to hard wiring.
PCB's are used to simplify construction and because they are great for economics.
It takes me a week to build a LCR preamp. If I used PCB's, which isn't hard to do , it would take a day.
Why dont I use PCB's then? Because they sound like plastic, they sound like they look, one dimensional and boring.
There are many hundreds of hardwired joints in my pres, everyone making solid contact, before its soldered. With a PCB the lead solder is making all the contacts.
The other isssue is reliabilty, the 20 year old preamp with the "messy" wiring is still going strong, with only one change of tubes , no reliability issues at all, unlike some other manufacturers I could name.
The Suprateks aren't a 1950's tube design tarted up with "options" .
They are state of the art tube designs which will drive any or multiple power amps. They have power supplies which would drive a big tube power amp, with tube rectification, and tube shunt regulation, which makes for a big sound that is as quiet as a tube pre can be.
They have a signature sound which is unlike any other tube preamp, and if you like 3D imaging and realism, which a lot of people seem to do, then thinking outside the box and looking past conventional constraints (PCB, 1950 design, soft power supplies) might be very rewarding.
The wiring I do these days is maybe a lot neater , but what makes people think PCB boards are superior to hard wiring.
PCB's are used to simplify construction and because they are great for economics.
It takes me a week to build a LCR preamp. If I used PCB's, which isn't hard to do , it would take a day.
Why dont I use PCB's then? Because they sound like plastic, they sound like they look, one dimensional and boring.
There are many hundreds of hardwired joints in my pres, everyone making solid contact, before its soldered. With a PCB the lead solder is making all the contacts.
The other isssue is reliabilty, the 20 year old preamp with the "messy" wiring is still going strong, with only one change of tubes , no reliability issues at all, unlike some other manufacturers I could name.
The Suprateks aren't a 1950's tube design tarted up with "options" .
They are state of the art tube designs which will drive any or multiple power amps. They have power supplies which would drive a big tube power amp, with tube rectification, and tube shunt regulation, which makes for a big sound that is as quiet as a tube pre can be.
They have a signature sound which is unlike any other tube preamp, and if you like 3D imaging and realism, which a lot of people seem to do, then thinking outside the box and looking past conventional constraints (PCB, 1950 design, soft power supplies) might be very rewarding.