Preamp Deal of the Century

Hey! I've been on vacation from audio for a while since I am in the process of losing my job. I've been focusing on finding another job instead of spending time here - sorry.

Its fantastic to return to the boards and learn that many of you will be receiving your preamps soon! I certainly hope you love 'em!

Asa - Mine is still sounding great however its a pain in the butt to find good NOS tubes. The KenRad Black Glass VT-231's are great and so are the similar (but NOT the same sounding) Black Glass 6SN7GT's. Unfortunately they tend to be noisy - and the Supratek is very sensitive to bad tubes.

Also - the power supply is quite sensitive to where it is placed. There is an audible difference between placing the power supply on various surfaces. I get the best sound from mine with all the feet removed and placing the unit on a MDF shelf. Too hard of a surface doesn't seem to sound too good and too soft is lousy! Black Diamond #3 cones are too soft for the power supply but work well on the preamp itself. I was hoping to get #4 cones to test out but... my company took a nose dive.

Additional improvements came from adding dampening material (Dynamat) inside the preamp on the chassis and on the inside of the bottom plate. This helps reduce microphonics and vibrations in the preamp.

Also a little mass increased the performance of my preamp. I filled double plastic bags with some "special" sand and placed them inside the two domes in the back. These domes used to contain transformers but now only contain AIR... They are only for looks. The sand actually decreased the vibration sensitivity even further and made the preamp sound a bit better.

Gentlemen, I can give you some information on what you may expect if you ever have to send your Supratek preamp back to Mick for repair. (See Ozzy's post of 7-10-02). I recently purchased a used Syrah that produced a hum in my system. I corresponded with Mick. After discussion he offered to update the preamp (which was an old model) to current specs for only the cost of shipping!! We ended up adding a few more things to it (jacks, impedance selector) for a very modest cost. It also came back all polished up. And (I hate to tell you this) he bumped me up to the front of the line since I needed service. The bottom line is Mick believes it is very important to give first class service after the sale. Service to current customers gets priority over new orders.
BTW, after only a brief listening so far, this thing might actually be as good as the hype!

bwhite, yes, sensitive to tubes. I get some noise from the Ken Rad black glass but it varies with the set (I have 4 pr). Still worth it though. I suspect that damping would help, but seems Ok on my RixRax stand, which is quite heavy. Maybe try Vibrapods on the PS; I've had good luck with them as a general rule on tube gear and they are cheap to try. The transformer towers are empty? Really? I never bothered to look and it doesn't seem Mick's style to put something on just for cosmetics. Seems heavy back there. What do you mean "used" to contain transformers? Shun Mook pucks also help in these limited circumstances where component is very good and you don't want to lose harmonic performance or introduce sterility to space with over-damping. Just wood pucks, but darn it, they do work. Here's a story on them: I'm reviewing them for some Indonesian magazine and am quite skeptical. I hear differences when placed on things but no big deal. Decided to leave them on TT plinth because worked well there, but again, lots of stuff works well in varying places and you just keep going til you find the combo. Had put them on top of my ESP Concert Grands - very heavy, vibrationally inert and well-made speakers - and was about to remove them to pack 'em up when noticed that I had put them upside down. Now, I know the "manual" said be sure to put the carving side up, but frankly, with the skepticism, maybe I didn't pay as much attention. So, since I was doing a review I turned them over, not expecting anything, and Whoooa!: liquidity increased, depth increased, transients became more integrated etc. Not subtle, really let the harmonics of the speakers shine.

So, hang in there; you'll find the combo. Of course, you made need deep therapy by then...

Hi Asa, The "older" versions - like yours - actually did have transformers (or something) in the rear domes. The newer Suprateks do not. The new Suprateks are feather-weights and seem to respond well to the added mass.

For example - without the dampening material in my preamp, even a light touch on the top of the metal chassis would cause an audible effect. It sounds much like a single piano note. NOS tubes further increase the problem....

The increass in mass stops this from happening.

The added dampening material does not effect the sound other than making it quieter.

Removing the four plastic feet on the power supply and resing it on the frame seems to be the best so far on all Suprateks I've come across. Vibrapods are way too soft. Placing it on anything softer than MDF sounds sloppy. Anthing harder (for example granite) - can sound shrill (with the feet removed). If the PS had to be placed on a hard surface, the vibrapods would help.

I also added Bybee devices to the AC input and post rectification stage in the power supply which initially added dark flavor but after break-in sound quite nice vs. without.

There is a Chardonnay here for sale. Only 2 weeks old. Is that even enough time to let it settle in?
p.s. It's not mine and I don't know the gentleman.
Patrick