Supratek Owners Thread

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The balance knob on Supratek pre’s only changes the balance in very small increments, according to Mick that is intentional.

I was just questioning the exact same issue this week with my Chardonnay.  My balance knob has minimal effect of any kind on the sound between  speakers.  I considered texting Mick but now I understand it's a normal function from the designer.

The balance shift is slight.  The control is not implemented in the traditional style where it is another shunt to grd. in addition to the Vol. pot.   Mick does this purposely because there is less degradation to the signal but the caveat is that there is less total shift to either side.  There is also the thought that if you need to shift the balance more than 6db or so left or right (for whatever reason) then something in the setup or associated gear is wrong and needs to be reevaluated.   Alot of pre’s completely omit a balance control these days. I think that is a mistake as there can easily be situations where a slight shift is needed, especially with tube gear.   As tubes age and get hours on them there gain can shift slightly (or more) over time and some balance shift may be required to recenter the image.  Hope this explanation helps clear any confusion.  

This is the reply I got from Mick today about my balance inquiry:

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Reimar

Theres nothing wrong with the balance, as I said previously, its not a conventional balance control, it only has a very small amount of “shift” compared to a full cut balance control, which has a negative effect on sound quality.

I have a MC cartridge with uneven L R output and the balance control is all the way to one side to compensate , but it could still do with a little more. 

I’m cursed (?) with very precise imaging ears, I can hear the slightest amount off centre sound staging , which is why i built the balance that way, it gives me very fine control for getting an exact central image.

Mick

Michael Maloney

www.supratek.com.au

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I am not talking about a >6dB shift: that would indeed indicate something is wrong with my setup. But my left ear is slowly deteriorating: I described this to Mick when I ordered the additional volume control for my Grange a year ago. What I got, does not work, as I cannot detect ANY balance shift at all, even with my ears directly at the speaker cones. I would probably show Mick some oscilloscope traces to get his sympathy. I have to conclude that either the balance knob is disconnected or that there is a faulty pot involved. On digital feeds I can use the DSP on my Mac w/o any sound degradation (the sound being not great to begin with), but with other sources, especially LPs I am stuck; and I don't want to put another box into the signal path.

Lastly: I had a functioning balance control on my previous preamp, and I could not detect any "negative effect on sound quality".

Any suggestions how to address my predicament? I was so looking forward to the Grange, but this really puts a dampener on my joy, as EVERY tune I play comes out with its center at 2 pm, no matter where the balance knob is pointing.