Preamp Deal of the Century

When I ordered my Sauvignon Mick installed the V-caps. They certainly do not sound brittle and harsh IMS.
I can't compare, though I never had the Auricaps might be something to try in the future.
Everybody hears differently what somebody dislikes might be the other person cat's meow.
On second thought with the stock EH 6sn7's instead of some good NOS I rolled in, the sound is a little less smooth.

well...after many months of waiting, my cabernet dual has arrived and is burning in as i type. i'll reserve judgement on it's "sound", but what i'm hearing straight out of the box is VERY impressive. if i had pick one word to describe what i'm hearing right now, it would be detail. loads and loads of detail without the slightest hint of harshness or grain. lemme take two words and say effortless detail.

being the nitpicky person that i am, one thing i would prefer the cab dual have that it doesn't is gain controls for the 101D section. the 6H30 has a gain control between the tubes, but there is nothing for the 101D. not even the high-low switches next to the 6SN7's that my old chardonnay had. unfortunately, i sold my chardonnay so long ago, that any audible comparison between the two would be an exercise in futility. of course, this is only a matter of functionality and not sound quality. if i had my druthers...

as with anything bearing the supratek name, the fit and finish is beyond reproach. i still marvel at how mick can sell such visually and, more importantly, audibly beautiful preamps at such a low price point. packaging is extremely sturdy. it's almost impossible to pry the preamplifier from it's packaging. i was worried i would scratch the piano black finish pulling it out, but everything appears tip top.

one thing i noticed right away is that this thing is super high gain! paired with my yamamoto a-08s (using EML 45 solid plates), i can't turn the volume knob past the 8 o'clock position without blowing myself out of the room. standing next to my von schweikert dB99 SE speakers with nothing playing, i can hear some hiss and hum. however, i can't really hear it at my listening position and it doesn't interfere with the music at all. this may be due to positioning and/or vibration control. the cab dual is sitting on top of a salamander synergy stand with the yamamoto directly between the preamp and power supply.

well that's enough, perhaps i'll post some more later, but for now, i'm gonna go listen. and as always, a very special thank you and debt of gratitude to slowhand for introducing me (and us) to these amazing preamplifiers.

SWEET!

I thought you got a single?

Enjoy the Bliss!

I'd just like to say welcome to Srajan, your input to this forum is greatly appreciated.

As to tube rolling and cap swaps, I'm one of the Supratekies who doesn't believe in upsetting the apple cart and listen to my Grange preamp as the maker intended - with Auriecaps and the tubes as it left the factory. Living near Mick here in Western Australia and having known the guy for over 15 years, you get a feel for the way he thinks and the pride he takes in 'tuning' the sound of his preamplifiers before they are delivered to customers.

That is not to say I am not a tweaker as you can see from my many ramblings and playing around with my hi-fi at: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1146370182&view

So IMHO, its best to leave well enough alone and just enjoy the Suprateks as is.

Regards,

Steve.

Here's what I don't get. It seems that some here think that one shouldn't change caps, pots or even tubes in Suprateks simply because, "Mick didn't build 'em that way."

I think that is just so much nonsense. As much as I respect Mick's work, he's not God. I clearly happen to disagree with him on the DACT and the V-Caps. That's okay with me that we disagree, I still respect his opinion, I just have a different one.

Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere also has a different opinion. He offers an expensive cap UPGRADE on his preamps to guess what ... V-Caps and I think Ralph has a pretty good reputation in the business.

I find it ironic that while some believe that Mick's preamps "shouldn't be tinkered with", Mick offers this on his website:

"The Cabernet Single uses 6SN7 and 101D tubes , but can also be ordered with your favorite DHT tube. Choose from the 45,300B or 101D (standard) or if you would like to hear the lush smooth tones of a genuine 1930's NOS tube we can supply the single with 6SN7 and 33 tubes..."

Well, what the hey! That's some major tinkering.

To some it's heresy and just short of a crime to change to a cleaner, clearer, better defined, more musical cap (V-Cap or Mundorf) or better attenuator (DACT) because, "That's not the one Mick uses." However, I'd bet these same people would find it perfectly okay to change to a 45, 300B, 101D or a lush 33 all in the same preamp simply because Mick says it's okay on his website!

Hey, sorry for the rant, but it's silly to think that four different tubes can be chosen for the same preamp to alter the sound to one's preference, but heaven forbid one should change a stock tube, cap or pot!

Don't get me wrong. I think Mick's preamps are works of art, but I'm still going to trust my own ears no matter who may have a different opinion.