Supratek Owners Thread

Hi guys, one of my Electro Harmonix 300B tubes stopped working on my Cabernet 

and I was wondering getting some other brand,

as I was not so impressed with the Electro Harmonix,

they did not have enough detail for me.

What tubes would you guys recommend?

Thanks.

Yes, it is both speakers, I will try some stuff out this weekend, unfortunately I at this moment do not have an other power amp or tubes to try, will try the 300b output first, I don’t mind some tube noise, but I just thought it sounding louder than it maybe should.
Very happy with pre music wise, truly wonderful to listen too.

Are the pre amps microphonic ?

Thanks, that’s good to hear. 

Ordered my Supratek Cabernet DHT/6SN7 pre earlier this week, hopefully I will get it before Christmas.
My system is Primare Dac 30 dac, Belles SA30 class A power amp and Graham Audio LS 5/9 speakers, having been in correspondence with Mick for some time, he assured me that the SA30 and the Cabernet would be a great combination, so I am really looking forward to getting the pre, I choose the Chrome and Black Wood.
Can I ask how satisfied you all were with the packaging and shipping, am a bit worried that something should break, I live in Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, so a long way from any repair shop 🤔 did you get updates on the build from Mick or just when it was ready for shipping?
Also when changing tubes, are the tubes sockets sturdy ? Or does one have to be very careful ?

Thanks!

Great initiative Markus, I will hopefully have a Supratek pre later this year, will follow this thread going forward and hopefully many Supratek owners will join inn.

Was walking around fortune town mall in BKK when I stepped into a non assuming shop and was shocked to see a full Supratek setup, owner said it was a ten anniversary models, pre with two mono blocks playing on some cabasse speakers, what a sound, was invited to listen for over an hour before I had to go to other appointment, some of the best sound I have ever heard, the owner offered me the setup for a very reasonable price, if I had a house in Thailand, I would have bought the amps on the spot.
the owner was unbelievable friendly and knowledgeable, he put on a lot of great music, from jazz to classical and everything sounded sublime, very realistic and also very impressive bass, the speakers he said was about 89db, not a brand I know much about but they sounded bigger than they looked, 2 x 6 inch drivers, seamed to go very low when necessary.
i never thought I would have the opportunity to listen to Supratek amps, without and before buying them unseen/heard, but now I hope some day to own the brand, also I think they look better in real than on websites.
all in all, an unexpected and wonderful experience. A big thanks to the owner for the good conversation and listening session, a pleasure indeed.

That is some listening room :-) enjoy your music.

Any of you guys using solid state Power amps with your Supratek pre’s ?

I am not worried about custom as I know that the package will nearly 100% be open by the Faroese custom, it is more the padding around the amp and tubes, it worries me to hear that the tubes are not taken off and packed separately in the box !

Will ask Mick when the time comes how best to do it.

He is building me a DHT/6SN7 at the moment, send him a email, maybe you will be in luck.

I was supposed to get my Cabernet for Christmas, but unfortunately Mick is waiting for supplies! So I have to wait patiently a few more  weeks, I’m afraid these Covid times are not making things easy.

Drowning my tears in a Cabernet, waiting for a Cabernet.... Na... System sounds good, knowing when Mick’s Cabernet arrives, the sound will hopefully improve and music will be even more pleasurable.

Got my Cabernet last week, beautiful sounding even before burned in, one bummer is that only the 300B has the output gain adjustment, also the balance knob is very mild in the adjustment, something Mick says is done for sound quality.
The construction is beautifully made, got it with heat sinks, the domes will arrive later, the heat sinks looks good on the amp, will see what I will prefer when the domes arrive.
Only disappointment is the remote, very cheap plastic Phillips remote, really would appreciated Mick making a nice wood one, think he would sell a lot of them.
The sound is very satisfying and will only get better as it gets more hours, not thinking about tube rolling as of now, want to get use to it first before making any decision.

About the looks, off course people have different taste, but I think it looks gorgeous, in my opinion it looks better in life than in pictures.
Hopefully it will stay with me forever as I feel it is a end destination pre amp.

It has, but not sure what the gain is. 

I hear a faint hum coming from the power supply also, only hear it when listening close to the unit, not anything I worry about, plan is to move system to an other room with dedicated mains line, will see if that changes things.

Hi, I posted this in the Supratek or Don Sachs - which way to go? thread, though I would post it here also.
I got my Cabernet a few weeks ago now, very happy with the quality of construction and the sound is very good, one thing I have noticed is that after a week or so I started noticing hiss from the woofer on my Graham Audio LS 6/9, I am sure it was not there before and I sounds like it is the woofers not tweeters, have not tried the 300b output again since trying it out the second day of ownership, for me the 6SN7 output sounded better and more resolving.
Could the tubes gone bad already ?
A family member did shot down the Hi-Fi the right way, but pre amp first, which gave a small thump from the speakers, but no damage to speakers, I have noticed that I have to wait 3-5 min after my Belles SA30 class A amp has been turned off before turning of my Cabernet, otherwise I hear a small thump and sucking noises from both speakers, if waiting a few minutes everything is fine. My speakers are 87db so I would thing the amp to be totally quiet.
Will investigate in the weekend, but if anyone has any input, I would be grateful.

It has, but only on the 300B output.
That is the only small disappointment when buying, I had the understanding that both outputs could be adjusted or at least the 6SN7 output as that was the reason for buying the Cabernet and the 300B would be a bonus.
Maybe Mick should make other buyers aware of that.
I have only listened shortly at the 300B output, will try to get a better listen over the Easter holidays 

A few days after my last post, my Cabernet started outputting a loud hum in both channels, can hear it from the kitchen 7 meters away when it is at the loudest, have tried everything I can think of to get the hum away, but to no avail.
After emailing Mick, his conclusion is that the power supply must have gone bad.
Mick is sending me a new power supply.
Unfortunate that this should happen, but that Mick right a way offered to send me a new power supply is encouraging and hopefully that will cure the problem.
Anyone else have any problems like this ?

Still waiting for the power supply, will be shipping this week. Will post my findings after putting it in my system.

By the way, would be interesting to know what power amps you have tried with pre’s from Supratek, I find that the output gain is very high and can be a problem for a lot of power amps, it is for my Belles SA30, although the sound is sublime, I am open for a change in power amp to be able to use the volume control better. 

It is better, but still a bit high. Unfortunately I like the sound of the 6SN7 output better, but I have not done any tube rolling yet, so that might change.

jaymark- do you hear any hum from the speakers or from the power supply from the Cabernet?

Thanks for the reply Johnny, interesting points you make, unbelievable the hum suddenly disappeared last weekend and has not come back yet, although I have not had time to listen since Sunday evening, I have not done anything to the system for at least a week before, where I have been trying everything I could think of, like the fase on the pover cables, tried 4 pairs of different rca cables and 2 pair of xlr cables, also unplugged various other units like dac, Mac mini that is on separate mains, but nothing helped, then suddenly it’s gone, I am a bit perplexed of it all, Mick is sending me an other power supply, which I am grateful for as it would make me feel more comfortable with the purchase in the long run.
When I got it, there was no hum at all, although I thought the power supply could be more quiet, the hum came after 1-2 weeks.

I need to clarify a thing, when using the 300B output the gain is okey, although I have to turn it way down, it sounds quite good after using it exclusively for over a week now, but, I still like the 6SN7 output better, if not for the gain.

Maybe a better pair of 300B tubes would give me more clarity while keeping the warmth.

Yes, I am not a fan of the biblical cord between power supply and pre, seams unnecessary stiff and unwieldy, a softer cord would be preferable, will check both connections if, or probably when the hum comes back, as I suspect it will.
Now I hear only a slight hiss from the speakers, but I have not tried it with the 6SN7 output since the hum disappeared, unfortunately I am swamped with work all week and probably weekend too, so no testing until sometime next week.

Update on my Supratek Cabernet pre, it is packed down, ready to being shipped back to Mick for warranty repair. Hopefully I will have it back soon in full working order.
Will keep you updated.

What system will you put it into ?

Only thing to be mindful of is the high gain.

it is a beautiful pre amp and sounds sublime.

Only minor gripe I have is the terrible remote that in no way

mirror the design of the pre, a wooden remote with volume buttons

would be great.

Unfortunate I have yet to find one I like, mostly cheap Chinese remotes on the market!

Thanks for input, I ordered a pair of Genalex - Gold Lion PX-300B

Looking forward to try them out.

Have you checked the tubes ?

Would be interesting if you will hear any improvement with a new umbilical.

When I asked Mick that question, he replied a little bit more of everything 😜

The chrome looks very nice especially in the evening when other lights in the room reflects of the 2 big domes, but I think there will be many that think it is too much bling, I did not get the domes until later and it took a while for me to get used to the new look! But they have grown on me, so now I kind of like the look.

If there is a sonic difference? I really can’t say, probably a question better suited for Mick to answer.

The balance knob on Supratek pre’s only changes the balance in very small increments, according to Mick that is intentional.

I had some problems with my Cabernet when I got it, problems with hum, it ended with the pre being sent back to Mick for fixing,

When I got my amp back the hum had disappeared but unfortunately while the 6SN7 was working great, the 300b output only works as long as I don’t use the gain control, as soon as I engage the gain control switch I lose the left channel, therefore I can not use the 300b output to my satisfaction.

Not sure if it is a quality issue in production or it is shipment damage, have open it up and taken pictures of the inside but I can not see anything loose soldering or otherwise or out of place.

I think it is a bit challenging to buy from a small company and having it shipped halfway across the world.

 

 

@jslateiv the gain adjustment is only possible on the 300b something I wish Mick had informed me about before I decided to buy, buyers should be made adware of that I feel.

I am certain it is the switch that is the problem, but unfortunately I live in the North Atlantic Ocean with no real tube experience person to help me with this problem, really don’t want to send the pre back to Mick one more time.

it’s unfortunate as I feel only half of the amp works as intended, but I paid full price.

 

Anyway, the sound from the 6SN7 is great, even if I have to use 12db attenuators

to match better with my power amp.

Would these tubes fit the Cabernet that has both 300B and 6SN7 ?

seams to be very little space !

 

https://premiumvacuumtubes.com/product/treasure-globe-6sn7-se-pair-gf-limited-special-edition/