Preamp Deal of the Century

On the subject of tube rolling, this was in my first post on Audiogon in 2003 ...

" As a final point, I have noticed that there is a lot of discussion about the merits of tube rolling with the 6SN7 output valve in the Cortese and Syrah. Personally, I think that Mick has carefully chosen the stock 6N8P (a 6SN7 equivalent) based on its sonic merits and there is no real need to replace the valve with another. I have in my collection the 6N8P and various 6SN7's including the black Ken Rads; black Brimars with red bases; Toshiba; Raytheons; Mullards and the Sylvania VT231. If I had to chose a favourite it would be the Sylvania VT231 because I find it the most transparent and the highs are sweetest(it can sometimes be a bit be microphonic though). I feel the Cortese and Syrahs are so inherently musical, that it does not make a huge difference swapping valves so long as the valve is nice and fresh, and not noisy to begin with. My advice on this is don't get anal about it, just enjoy the music! "

Having personally heard and seen seen Mick Maloney develop Supratek products since its inception around 1996, I know the guy to be meticulous in tuning each preamp on an oscilloscope to get them to sound the best before they are delivered to the customer. While this doesn't rule out tube swapping (it can be interesting and good fun) it probably does mean the preamps are optimally tuned when they leave the factory, so best to leave well enough alone.

Regards,

Steve M.
Western Australia

My Chardonnay is on the way. Mick emailed me this morning to say its done testing and ready to ship.
Its only been two months since I ordered it, so the wait wasn't too bad. Can't wait, I should have it by the weekend I guess.

Hi Allanblissett,

That is great. Mick must really be improving the time that people have to wait. You are going to love your pre. A word of advice. Let the stock tubes burn in good before tube rolling. In my opinion, tube rolling is not even necessary. Mick is tuning these preamps to the stock tubes. I don't think you will get better sound and you will shrink your wallet on NOS tubes.

Thanks for the advice. Two question if you don't mind.
How long do they take to get here from down under, and
How long to burn in.

You should have in in about a week or maybe less. As long as it does not get stuck in customs that is. Did you give Mick your SS#. I am told customs is requiring this now. If you did not give it to him, you will probably get a call from Fed Ex or DHL telling you it is waiting in customs.

As for break in time. At least 100 hours, and truly more like 200 hours. Don't worry though, the pre will be a pure delight straight out of the box. As it breaks in it just keeps getting better. Don't even think about tube rolling during break in. Let those stock tubes sow what they can do.