Preamp Deal of the Century

Yes Tim, I would expect the Supratek will match up very well. It has plenty of gain that is also adjustable, very flexible and great fit and finish. At this level of performance both the CAT and Supratek are excellent pre-amps. I don't think you could make a bad choice with either. The differences may be more a matter of price, how much you are willing to pay and taste. The title of this thread is most appropriate.

Yes Walter, I have no doubt about how good this pre-amp will get. And now for my search for the right tubes to get there.

There has been some comments questioning the ability of a balanced SET configuration. I have one by Mick and this is how he refers to his implementation.

"Of course, strictly speaking, when you use the balanced outputs, it isn't SE, but it is the purest form of balancing you can get- it's often called SEPP (Single Ended Push Pull) although the use of the term push pull isn't
quite correct."

Tubegroover, do not overlook the regulator tubes.

Yes, the Ken Rad VT231's and 52 Syl's are great, but NOS regulator tubes made more of a difference in the sound than the NOS 6SN7's in my Supratek.

There are a couple of others here who tried some NOS regulators based on my experienced and they were floored at the difference.

Well guys, I have paired my Syrah with a Berning ZH270 amp and I have to tell you that this is a match made in heaven. I have had the Berning for about a month now and I absolutely hate to turn my system off! The Berning gives you the option of running your CD player straight through the amp, but bypassing the Syrah is a BIG mistake. The Syrah adds more resolution and low level detail to the music. The Berning has such a low noise floor that details that I had been missing in the music are now extremely clear. What I really like about this combo is that NONE of the dynamics or details are lost at low listening levels. Both micro and macro dynamics are incredible! Soundstage width and depth is huge also. I had my doubts as to wheather 70wpc would give my Gallo reference speakers enough power, but that has not been a problem at all. I can't recommend this amp highly enough to owners of Supratek preamps. I am taking the amp over to a friends house soon and we are going to hook it up to his SoundLab M1 speakers. This is a true David and Goliath situation, but I am told the Berning sounds great with the Sound Labs. I will let you know how this combo sounds. Oh, get this, the Berning amp weighs only 10lbs. That's right, 10lbs. It also has 3 feedback positions to match to your speakers for proper damping of the woofers. David Berning is a true design genius, right up there with Mick Maloney!