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Supratek Owners Thread

Greetings All - 
It appears that the 26-million-plus view, multi-decade "Preamp Deal of the Century" Supratek thread has been removed. I'm not sure why, but suppose there must be a reasonable explanation.
In any case, on that thread I recently asked whether there might be interest in a "Supratek owners thread" and received some interest. 
The purpose of this thread is for Supratek owners to share the details of their system, ask questions, share information about any tube-rolling they have done, and so forth.
I'll kick us off here with a few details about my system -
ancient Linn LP12 with Ittok arm, Dynavector 17D3 cartridge into Cortese LCR phono stage
Power amp is a fully serviced Innersound Electrostatic amplifier
Quad ESL63 speakers (not USA monitors) or JBL 4430 studio monitors
Digital sources are immature and evolving - ancient Fostex CR300 cd player/burner
DacMagic 100 DAC
Nordost Blue Heaven 75ohm interconnect
Due to the fairly long lengths of speaker wire required in the new listening room, speaker wire is Belden 12 gauge wire designed for low-voltage outdoor lighting systems. 
Next steps - dedicated circuit, new power cords, new interconnects, new wires.
128x128markusthenaimnut

Showing 3 responses by longinc

longinc
35 posts
 
@luisma31 

the LTA preamp and amp are based off David Berning’s OTL designs. He advised/designed for LTA.
longinc
35 posts
 
Hello Supratek owners,

I am upgrading my 15 year old VAC standard preamp. I pair it with my First Watt SIT 3 power amp. I am deciding between the Supratek Cabernet 6SN7 and the Linear Tube Audio MZ3 (using their linear power supply). I have reached out to a few on this thread directly about this comparison and they have been very helpful. And I thought I would pose this same question to a broader group in case you have had the opportunity to compare the MZ3 with one of the Supratek line stages. Cortese LCR is fine too (esp if you were using your non vinyl source) since according to Mick, the line stage in the Cortese LCR is the same as the Cabernet.  
For me I am optimizing for realism (accuracy in timbre, 3D imagery, musician/instrument presence - they are here presence) with a touch of warmth that doesn’t compromise realism. 
If you by chance  have heard these 2 preamps in the same power amp and speaker setup, I would appreciate your impressions.

Thank you!
longinc
35 posts
 
Are there any Supratek Cabernet owners out there who might have had the chance to hear a Shindo or Allnic or BorderPatrol preamplifier? Per @luisma31 , I am not trying to (or unintentionally) knock any brand down. I'm sure these preamps together with the Supratek are all wonderful preamps. But they likely have different sonic flavors that appeal to different people, and so was hoping to get a feel for the different flavors to help me decide. If you have experience with any of these other preamps and would be happy to share your impressions, i'd love to hear them. If you prefer, you can private message me too. Thank you.
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