Preamp Deal of the Century

Thanks for the cogent and very helpful replies. Indeed, the same should be said for Mick. I e-mailed him just prior to my above submittal to this thread, and he replied in well under FOUR (4) hours -- impressive!

Ecclectique: Thanks for mentioning the Luminescence and the ARC sp-10 mk2. While I have heard neither, based on many recommendations from folks whose judgment I highly respect, both these pre’s along with the CAT pre(s) were on my very short list.

Tubegroover: Interesting you noticed that I didn’t mention a “tt”. My interest in obtaining a pre, is a pending return to vinyl.

While I’ve had a keen interest in audio since my youth, until the last decade or so, I haven’t had the highly resolved system that I now do, and because I wanted CD to be good enough, it simply was. However, with help from friends, and information gleaned from sites such as this, I have a desire to return to spinning vinyl (I still have my entire album collection dating back to the ‘60’s) and wanted a pre with phono that would facilitate that process.

I haven’t a clue as to which medium I will prefer; so my primary interest is to obtain a pre that will do no harm and preferably enhance, my present Wadia 861 experience. Based on all of your comments, and Mick’s, that appears to be more than a given with the Supratek’s.

While it’s possible that I may prefer vinyl, my intent is to initially spend $2-3K on a “tt”. My present thoughts are to obtain a VPI Scout, a Nottingham Interspace, or some other “tt” in this price ballpark. I know “tt”’s are totally off this thread’s subject, but any comments relative to a starter “tt” would be appreciated. I’m wondering whether I should use my budget to buy new or used, any thoughts on, or off-line, would be very appreciated. My last “tt” was a Thorens/Shure V15TypeIII (never had a MC), and was mothballed years ago, so my re-entrance into the LP world is essentially blazing new ground for me, and any suggestions provided would be welcomed.

Getting back to pre’s, the Syrah/Chenin with HT pass-through would appear to be a wonderful choice for my purposes, and especially for the price of admission. While it may not present the ultimate in phono capabilities, I’m certainly not looking for that right now, and perhaps never will, but if the line stage enhances my CD experience as much as I’m told it will, and I can spin some of my old LP’s as well, it would be worth it.

Again thanks for your replies, and the continuation of the never-ending thread Cheers, Mike.

I feel like I won an audio lottery of some sort...Finding out last summer about Audiogon... Coming across preamp deal of the century,and especially what Mick had to say on his web site...Many thanks to many audio savvy members...All of this has sent me into a new direction putting a system together,building one around a great preamp instead of a front end...And finally, just learning about Mick installing his upgraded phono section into my Syrah/Chenin has made me SICK with excitment...

Tubegroover. The phono stage of the syrah is truly outstanding,and very flexible regarding cartridge choices.Due to the higher gain and loading flexibilty in the syrah, It will better the cat,the sp-10 and the lumi when using mc cartridges with outputs below .5 mv. I have run the phono stages of every one of them through the line of the syrah. Higher output coils or magnets are another story as each one of the above pre's have top shelf phono stages that are very engaging and incredibly good by anybody's standards. My cartridge of choice is the Koetsu rosewood [circa 1980] that I recently had rebuilt by Koetsu. While it was being rebuilt,I used either a denon 103,shelter 501 [briefly] or the low output grado reference[.5mv]. With the denon[.25mv]the syrah won hands down.With the Koetsu,I do preferr the phono stage of the both the sp-10 mk2 or the lumi when loaded below 100 ohms and run through the line of the syrah.With the shelter however...I much preferred the syrah with the cat coming in a close second.The grado sounded simply wonderful through each and every one of them,but did have more weight and the tightest bass through the phono of the syrah.Comparing the phono stage of the supratek to these other great phono stages is not only a testiment to its credibilty but was a revelation of sorts to me and the main reason why I think it has no real competition at it's given price point. Given it's phono stage flexibilty and oustanding line stage all in one package......It is stupid good and really a no brainer!!!!! Mike... There is no doubt in my mind that the Wadia is at a whole higher level than my humble sony cd player,........however.....be prepared to be mesmerized with the analogue experience if your thinking of going there...I'd take bets it will put another big dent in the old savings account once you hear it in that fabulous system of yours.

Ecclectique et al: Thanks for your kind remarks and helpful comments. Count me as another prospective Supratek owner. Yep, I just ordered a Syrah (Chenin).

As with other comments in this thread, this buying unheard, is a leap of faith, but one, I have a fairly high level of confidence in. I first tried Harmonic Tech cables well before any periodical advertisements, or reviews simply based on “internet word of mouth” and was very satisfied with them until a local Engineer/Audiophile acquaintance fabricated his own, for which I became quite smitten, and replaced my HT’s .

Internet “word of month” also prompted my audition of the Audio Resolution Opus 21 CDP. Albeit expensive, it’s a wonderful machine for its price point (and lives up to its “Resolution” name), and if I didn’t get a really good deal on a Wadia 861, I would have kept the Opus 21.

With that said, I hope the results of my purchase are as positive as everyone’s herein. I intend to re-read all the posts about tube rolling and start contemplating doing same.

Additionally, I intend to research turntable and cartridge combinations, and if as I requested above, anyone is of the mind to share some of their insights regarding $2-3K (+/- within reason) combinations, I would be quite grateful ..Cheers, Mike

Yeheey, yeheey!!!!!

Stiltskin's pre is about to be completed and ship! That means mine will be next (if not second or third)!!! I ordered a few days after him!!

Congrats Stiltskin! Please update us about your impressions once you have the Chenin in your system!!!

Aaahhhhh, Patience is a virtue but time moves soooo slow when you are waiting.......

On the positive side, it's a good thing to know that although I am waiting, I am waiting for something great!

cheers....