I had my Cortese for sale and just cancelled the ad. I can't bring myself to give it up. I really enjoy the dynamics and transparency of the Cortese. My Audio Aero Capitole AI, which I had connected directly to my amp, sounded smeared without the benefit of the Cortese. The Cortese made everything sound right to my ears. For the record, mine has operated flawlessly for 2 years, other than tube issues, and Mick has been very responsive to my emails, even recently. Horses for courses, I guess, but I really like what I have. For what it's worth, and I know some of you don't give a rat's ass: In my limited experience, I have also owned 2 other "Class A" preamps with built in phono stages and 1 "Class A" stand alone phono stage. As a caveat, these were all in the lower price range of "Class A" components. That said, the Cortese is much superior to any of those other pieces that I had in my system. But then again, I can't say that what I like is necessarily what someone else would like. Horses for courses.
Preamp Deal of the Century
If anyone is looking for a true "World Class" preamp at a very fair price..heed my advice. I just recieved a Supratek Syrah preamp that was hand built by Mick Maloney in Western Australia, and it is absolutely beautiful! This preamp is the best deal you will ever find. I would put it up against any preamp out there for both looks and sound. Price? $2500 for the Syrah (includes Killer Phono stage). Not into phono? Try the Chardonney line stage for $2100. Don't get me wrong, I am not associated with this company. I am just a very happy owner! This preamp is VERY dynamic, yet liquid. It conveys the sound of music better than any other preamp that I have ever heard! You can check out the Supratek website at www. cantech.net.au
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- 3888 posts total
- 3888 posts total