What's after Supratek

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David,
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The Wellborne (according to Mick) is not available until later this month, so he has not been able to try one yet.
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Up to this point, the Wellborne has his curiosity piqued based on what he has read and I am guessing he will try one if the reviews / comments that arise are positive.
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Rgds,
Larry
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well, i ended up getting a great price on a VAC Renaissance pre w/ MM/MC phono, so I went with it... and sold the Syrah. Worked out well financially, we'll see how it fares sonically!

Dennis, The VAC Renaissance is a very good preamp. Please let us know what you think.

Well, I've been living with the VAC for a bit. It's more transparent, and more neutral. Bad recordings don't sound as good, excellent ones sound amazing. I think the stock tubes are a little thin sounding, I'm looking for some Mullards 12ax7 for the phono stage, hoping this fills in a bit of body.

The soundstage is more focused than the Syrah, and more 3 dimensional. It is faster than the Syrah, but maybe not quite as dynamic. It is definitely more open and transparent, and I thought the Syrah was already very open. Definitely more immediate sounding.

I'm finding myself wanting to adjust my speaker position a bit, as the soundstage is now more clearly defined and this positioning is now becoming more critical.

All in all, I'm pleased, though I do find myself missing some of the coloration that I now realize I had with the Syrah/Urushi setup. (I am now using a Shelter 501mk2 as I just was too paranoid about having a $4k cart)

You guys should seek out the Exemplar Revelation II, $2500, line stage. Certainly it does not have the excellent Supratek phono stage, but it is very dynamic and transparent and quiet. It is the best sounding tube line stage that I have heard with the exception of the Kondo M100.