Just ordered my Supratek Chenin Preamp

Hi Ait,When you take delivery of your Chenin and log acouple of hundred hours on it.Heed Ecclectique advise on changing the power supply rectifier tube.With a good close matched sides n.o.s.rectifier.This single tube change will have a profound effect on the sonics of your Chenin.I have tried many,giving each one time to settle in for a period of weeks.My personal choice came down to a 1954 Bendix 6106,both sides measure exact,100%.I bought a few until I found one with exact matched sides.This tube was recommended by Ecclectique.Prices vary from $20.and up for single n.o.s.Bendix.You can spend up to $300. for a single n.o.s.1950s metal base Philips Mini Watt GZ-34....However,I find the Bendix equally good in my power supply.It boils down to liking a personal sonic flavour.Regulators are the next pair that will have a huge effect.Again tried a few,early 1950s brown base smoked glass n.o.s.matched Genelex KT-66s $$$,and Genelex Gold Lion $$$.Ecclectique recommended a 6F6G in the regulator position.This tube is old and was used in early radios,juke boxes,some early audio amps and t.v.s.It is a great audio tube. A n.o.s. pair can run from $8.00 apair at a vintage radio flea market and up.Audio tube venders are selling pairs of these 6F6Gs for $30.and up.I requested matched pairs from a vender and bought afew.I then checked them with my own tube tester.Good old Andy of Vintage Tube Services.According to Ecclectique it is very important to have a matched pair of regulator tubes,the closer the match the better.Im using late n.o.s. 1930s Sylvania 6F6g that are mirror matched.Thanks to Ecclectique and his expert advise.I love them.In the end I spent $50 for three replacement tubes,that sonically stomped the piss out of the stock Russian tubes that came with my Chenin.I put the stock tubes back in,listened to one side of a L.P.,out they came.The 6F6gs hands down out performed the $$$Genelex Kt-66s in the Supratek design .The key here is to be patient....Give your new Chenin time to burn in thoroughly....Then start with replacing the rectifier tube. Give the tube time to burn in,50 plus hours. The Bendix takes 100s of hours.If you find a good one,it is well worth it.Don't worry about the other tubes for now.You may like what you hear with the stock ones.

Congratulations on your score. You have every right to be excited.

Listening to the Beatles blue box set through the Chenin is a friday night joyous ritual.

You'll have a ball. A great preamp, worth every penny.

Have Fun.

I just received my Supratek Grange yesterday. After getting it set up, I only had enough time to listen to a few favorite songs. Wow! Even though there has been zero break-in time, it is still *very* impressive - and that's comparing it to my old Krell preamp with a LAMM LP2 Deluxe phono stage.

Mick told me 2 months also, but it took 6... It's worth it though!

Mick told me 6 months... it took around a year... I wonder why he doens't understand that he really doesn't need to lie to his clients about the timing on his products.

If he told you 2 months, give it 6.

Ait,
I do have to agree with Goatwuss on the waiting time. There have been some cases where people have recieved their units in 3-4 months, but the average wait has been in the 6-8 month range. I ordered mine at the end of March 2004, and recieved it at the end of November 2004. Trust me it is worth the wait. I would not even contact Mick about where you are in the line until about 2-3 months in.

Fiddler,
I do agree with you somewhat about the EH6SN7 being a great choice, but in my setup, and with my listening priorities, I have found the RCA Grey Glass tube, to work very well. With regard to tube rolling further, I was VERY disappointed when I replaced the stock 6922 with a matched set of highly regarded Amperex. I would be interested in getting your opinion on possible choices for replacing the 5A4 regulator in the PS (the thread on the Supratek has gotten too big to wade through all the tube comments);)