Supratek Owners Thread


Greetings All - 
It appears that the 26-million-plus view, multi-decade "Preamp Deal of the Century" Supratek thread has been removed. I'm not sure why, but suppose there must be a reasonable explanation.
In any case, on that thread I recently asked whether there might be interest in a "Supratek owners thread" and received some interest. 
The purpose of this thread is for Supratek owners to share the details of their system, ask questions, share information about any tube-rolling they have done, and so forth.
I'll kick us off here with a few details about my system -
ancient Linn LP12 with Ittok arm, Dynavector 17D3 cartridge into Cortese LCR phono stage
Power amp is a fully serviced Innersound Electrostatic amplifier
Quad ESL63 speakers (not USA monitors) or JBL 4430 studio monitors
Digital sources are immature and evolving - ancient Fostex CR300 cd player/burner
DacMagic 100 DAC
Nordost Blue Heaven 75ohm interconnect
Due to the fairly long lengths of speaker wire required in the new listening room, speaker wire is Belden 12 gauge wire designed for low-voltage outdoor lighting systems. 
Next steps - dedicated circuit, new power cords, new interconnects, new wires.
markusthenaimnut

Thanks. Not sure I'll go for the mod when I go up to the Cabernet, but I'll have to discuss that with Mick. Because I use powered speakers, the Chardonnay is downstream from a Lampi dac for me, and with the Treasure Globes (Grant Fidelity), I had to change from a USAF 596 to the Sophia Aqua 274B to get the  bit of warmth I wanted. I don't see changing tubes for the Cabernet to start with. Hope it stays that way because after all those older tubes I really like this combo.

Close to adding a Supratek Chardonnay to my system. I'm confused about a few things.

1. The Supratek sponsored ad on Audiogon, shows a knob on the top panel. The Supratek website shows the more expensive wood & chrome finish with no knob? Is there some Sonic difference between the two units or is it all cosmetics?

2. I'm new to buying on Audiogon. I see a place to make offer, but no where to actually buy the Chardonnay. 

3. Is there truly a chance of getting a Chardonnay in a months time? 

4. Will this work well with a VTL ST150 tube amp?

Thanks,

aldnorab

@aldnorab

 

Your best bet for ordering a Chardonnay is to contact Mick directly through the e-mail address listed on the website. Due to the time difference he will get back to you within 24 hrs. and you can discuss your purchase directly. I just was in contact today about buying a Cabernet to upgrade from my Chardonnay.

The Chardonnay has two knobs and two switches on top of the control unit. Front right is a knob for balance and rear right is for gain adjustment. The two switches in the rear center are for mute and turning the gain adjustment on and off.

Per my discussion with him today the lead time is 3-4 months due to Covid supply chain issues. Again contact him directly for concrete answers to any questions you have.

I have used the Chardonnay with six different amps including two tube amps and it doesn't care what kind of amp is on the other end.  Just adjust the gain on the preamp to match the needs of the amps

Thanks @jackd for the information. I'm borrowing a preamp, need to see if 4 months is OK. 

Thanks again,

aldnorab