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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.
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aldnorab
139 posts
 

Thanks @jackd for the information. I'm borrowing a preamp, need to see if 4 months is OK. 

Thanks again,

aldnorab

 

johnk's avatar
johnk
1,973 posts
 

Have a used Syrah with phono if you are in need.

aldnorab
139 posts
 

Thanks @johnk . I'll keep it in mind. Which Supratek did you replace it with?

My friend is OK with the 4 month loan. Have to decide if I want to wait so long for something that hasn't been auditioned. Leaning towards Chardonnay, but maybe a Cabernet makes more sense for such a wait. Want to be careful to avoid thin & analytical sound. The borrowed Sound Valves 101i is about a perfect match tonally for my system. There could be more color and I can't live without a remote.

Thanks,

Aldnorab

jackd
1,041 posts
 

@aldnorab

Supratek preamps are certainly not thin or analytical and you can make minor adjustments to then tone by changing the two 6SN7 tubes and upgrading the supplied rectifier tube depending on what he is using these days. The Cabernet will get you a better power supply unit and a general parts upgrade but not a real difference in overall tone. I am completely happy with my Chardonnay but since I was going to buy a second Supratek to compare against the Don Sachs at a second house I decided to go up the chain.

highstream
204 posts
 

@aldnorab3 I got a Chardonnay a couple of years ago, wanting to dip my toes in first, but my hunch is you’d not be unhappy moving up right off, if you can handle it.. I’m now going to a 6SN7 Cabernet and glad to hear someone say what I’ve been hoping, that the overall tone will be the same. Since I’m not interested in messing with more tubes or wanting a dual option, I’ll be able to stick with what I’ve come to like. I would add that the two power tubes on the back of the main unit are also worth playing with. Replacing the Sovteks with RCA 6L6GC’s from the early 1960’s made a noticeable improvement.

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