Preamp Deal of the Century

As far as I know, no one has suggested that the Supratek is "beyond criticism." It is simply a preamp that very many audiophiles have bought and now consider the "crown jewel" in their systems because they find it pleasing to their ears. Maril555, with all due respect, what evidence do you have that this number represents a "scewed (sic)sample"?

Obviously, audiophiles are a finicky lot by nature, and no product will ever satisfy every one of us. I think what I find irritating about these recent posts is NOT that they are critical of Supratek gear--if you guys say you have a glare in your system, I don't doubt that that is what you hear. It's the assumptions embedded in these "critiques" that irritate me: One, the positive reponses represent a skewed sample. Two, people who have less than satisfying impressions are reluctant to post them because they don't want to be negative. Three, people cannot be relied upon to give their real impressions because it would negatively impact resell value. In short, it is assumed that there is this "pool" of people out there somewhere who have had bad experiences with Supratek gear who are simply not posting about them.

In my years in the hobby, it has certainly not been my impression that audiophiles are reluctant to post their impressions--good or bad--of the many different pieces of gear that come and go in their systems. My own impression is that people in the hobby can be as ruthlessly honest about stuff they don't like as they are prone to hyperbole in lavishing praise on the stuff they do like.

What we have seen in this thread is that a great many people love the Supratek gear, while a handful of others have found problems that detract from their enjoyment of it. It is absolutely true that the experience of the many does not negate the experience of the few. It is also true that the experience of the few does not negate the experience of the many. If we can agree on this, why look for theories on why there are so many more positive responses than negative ones, UNLESS you have an ax to grind?

I personally don't have any axes to grind, but my point is this:
Just to make an example- in the field of medical research there is a term called "file drawer effect". What this means is- for instance if one is to read all published studies about drug X being efficacious for the treatment of desease Y, one will possibly find 3,4,5 or any number of published studies that found drug X indeed more efficaciuos than placebo. So you wou would assume, that this is a scientifically proven fact.
But, and a very big one is- at least in medicine, where most studies are sponsored by drug companies, only the studies with positive findings get published, and the ones with negative go to the "file drawer".
To a certain degree you can see the same effect here. Hypothetical people, who didn't find Supratek working in their systems are not likely to post in this very thread (I know, I wouldn't).
There are components I had in my system, that I didn't like, but after selling them, I simply will have no interest to post in the dedicated thread my negative impressions. I know I didn't like it, and will never buy it again- why spoil enjoyment for those who did?
Audiophiles are not hesitant to post a negative view in appropriate context.
I'm sure there are people who do not care for say, CJ or Krell sound. I can hardly imagine them going to forum dedicated to CJ, or Krell and bash the product there.

Walter, live long and prosper.
George

Maril ...just as a matter of interest, have you discussed your concerns with Mick Maloney? It seems strange that any Supratek piece should exhibit glare, it is not in the mien of valve gear to sound glarey. Quite the opposite really, valves are traditionally chosen for their smooth and musical presentation and it is usually the case for solid state equipment that glare needs to be controlled.

I know Mick Maloney personally and have owned five of his preamps over the last ten years - none have ever exhibited any glare (and my system is razor sharp! with Raven ribbons etc.). Mick is an analogue guy (loves vinyl and truthful music), his design philosophy majors on musicality above all else. I think he would be shocked to learn that someone thinks that one of his products sounds glarey.

In one of the earlier posts Opus88 describes the sound of horns as being perhaps bombastic or with emphasised upper mids on his Cortese. I would have thought this is how horns are *supposed* to sound, certainly when you are in front of live performance the trumpets and horns blare and blat at you with uncanny acoustic power! they do not sit in the backround ...

Is it feasible that you are actually hearing for the first time how these instruments *should* sound with all the attack and transients of the instruments intact, and perhaps you are being unnerved by the experience? Listening to Supratek gear may require a paradigm shift in both thinking and hearing??

Anyway, I'm just trying to be constructive and would suggest you send an email to Mick about all of this. The guy is very good to deal with and is a master of sonic tailoring, he can get your preamps to sound anyway you might like it ...

Regards,

Steve M.

Stevem1960,
Your points are very valid, and I did try to convince myself, that what I was hearing is the way actual instruments should sound like. But at times it simply was "too much".
You are very right about a possible need for a "paradigm shift in hearing and thinking". Just might not be that easy for some.
Actually I did contact Mick a few times, and he was very helpful trying to resolve "the problem".
At any rate, I've decided to give it another chance, and ordered Cortese and Mondeuse amps- delivery pending.
Will see.
I'm not so sure if Mick could change a sonic signature of the preamp, or at least he wasn't very enthusiastic when I asked.