Preamp Deal of the Century

I've been away from this post for a few weeks. Quite surprised (and disappointed) with the rancorous tone in some posts.

Anyway, I echo the comments offered to Opus88 and Maril555 to look a system contributions, especially silver. Not that copper is better, but some silver wires can react with the wiring in other components in one's system.

To wit, when I first bought my Belles 150A Reference amp, I couldn't believe my ears. It was awful! I was in shock - what were all those folks in the positive reviews talking about! I really wanted to sell it quick. But reason said I ought to look a bit deeper first.

I was using Kimber KCAG interconnects at the time, and with previously excellent results. I spoke to Dick Diamond at Kimber and he said he suspected the silver in it's present construction in the KCAG was reacting to the amp. He suggested I try the Select Series, initially in copper, and then in the hybrid if that worked out. I put in a KS-1010 (3 copper strands) between pre and amp and the glare and roughness immediately went away. I bought a KS-1011 (six copper strands) and put it in between my CD and pre, and the sound improved again. I took a deep breath, and bought a KS-1021 (two silver strands and 4 copper). The sound was even clearer. No glare. Finally upgraded to another 1021 between CD and pre. Better yet. Confident now that the Kimbers would work well in my system (YMMV), I went for further synergy and got Kimber Bi-Focal XLs for the speakers. Further improvement.

When I bought the Chenin, I was curious as to whether my cables would work well with it. They do. The reason you see so few Kimber Select interconnects for sale used is because for most people, they are the end of the line.

Another cable experience that might be of help: If your power cables are not neutral, they can liven up your Supratek too. A long time back, I tried the Electraglide cords. They compensated for some dullness in system caused by a Panamax power conditioner. When I changed to a neutral power conditioner (Shunyata Hydra), whoa! was everything bright and uneven. At the suggestion of Caelin Gabriel of Shunyata, I neutraled-out the system with some Kimber PK-10s (a basic Belden cord) and A-B'd the Hydra and Panamax. That identified the Panamax as the deadener and the Hydra as neutral. Went to Shunyata Taipan Helix cords all round (also neutral, but very fast). That eliminated power cords and conditioning as a source of system imbalance.

I should also mention that I also was not happy with the top end in the Tungsol 5881s in my Chenin. I didn't have glare, but the high frequencies seemed over-emphasized and the low end under-emphasized. The Sovtek KT-66s were better. I eventually went to NOS RCA 6L6As, which are balanced from top-to-bottom like the KT-66s, but more detailed.

Hope this helps. And good luck!

Eccletique...Thanks very much for your concerned and very interesting response. The audio experiences you relate cause me to smile, because I am quite familiar with several of the components (other than the Siltech and Goertz cables, the VPI 'table and the Sonata cartridge) that you mention. At one time, I also had Acoustat speakers, a Conrad Johnson MV-55 and a pair of Harvey Rosenberg's Moscode amps. A good friend of mine also had Moscodes, both the Audio Research SP-8 and 10 and Vandersteen speakers. But let me get to a few other points you mention. The KenRads I have are the black glass JAN Vt231s (a couple of very nice pairs). Today, I followed your suggestion, and bought an inexpensive, small spool of copper speaker cable. I also got hold of an inexpensive pair of ofc interconnects. The first thing I did was to replace the Goertz with the ofc ics, fresh out of the box. All I'll say at this moment is "interesting". I've now got them burning in on my Hagerman FryKleaner Pro. I want to wait until I get a good take on the interconnect before proceeding with the trial of the speaker cable. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I'd experienced the glare with both vinyl AND cd playback. I also found that almost regardless of tube changes, the same fundamental problem persisted. You, Jtgofish and most recently, Ikkyu2 have all given similar impressions and expressed similar feelings about silver vs. copper. Since I never before heard any problems with silver wire in my system, it's possible I may have lost sight about the kind(s)of sound differences produced by the introduction of different components into the audio chain. Based on my long experience with audio, you'd think I'd know better. I think many of us still find ourselves surprised and even shocked sometimes at the seemingly "illogical" sounds we hear listening to a system that just had even one component substituted for another. It seems, at times, that a good deal of the objective data out there can prove to be somewhat irrelevant in terms of what we are led to expect vs. what we actually get, and in addition, whether or not we are satisfied with what we get. Will update later.

Hi Guys,

Sorry if this is off current topic but.....

I have just received my new chenin pre-amp and I am blown away by its (stock) performance. (compared to vintage CJ PV10a)

Not shy of tube rolling I was wondering if there was a (general) consensus (after 5 yrs cumulative worth of posts!!!) as to the best NOS tubes to employ to gain further sonic benefits.

Is the WE 350B, Tung Sol VT231/6SN7 Round Plate, Phillips Miniwatt GZ34 metal base plate still the way to go or has their been progression?

thanks

As an FYI to folks following this thread, I just recieved a notice from Brad at Revelation Audio Labs that the custom umbilical for the Supratek power supply is on it's way to me. To those of you waiting for yours, you should be hearing from Brad shortly...

Hi King,

Not sure if you caught this great thread (http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1112733965&) on tuberolling in the Supratek.
I have a Chardonnay that I purchased last year. After some of burn-in with the stock tubes, I found the sound a bit thin and subsequently did some tube rolling per the experience and recommendation on this thread. After trying many different 6sn7s, and regulator tube varieties, and also many different permutations of each, I arrived at my current tube components which are also, BTW, sited by many on this thread! (National Union 350b, Tung-Sol 6sn7gt RP and a Bendix 6106). With this line-up the sound is big with a lot of weight and substance.(Brimar CV1988 and Kenrads are also quite nice in the line stage.) I have also tried the Philips metal base GZ34 but find the 6106 provides a more focused presentation. You should give both of these rectifiers a try and see what sounds best in your system.