Supratek Owners Thread

@jslateiv many thanks for the excellent explanation.  All good…the Cab only makes noise using the remote.

@jslateiv , there is a difference now on the burning in process, now 48 hours in. An FM Tuner (Yamaha TD-500) is feeding the input and monitoring with SPL headphone amp, HD820. Power is raw house AC power, no special cabling on AC lines at all. Interconnects are Accuphase ASL-10B, AL-10 well used.

If the source is ordinary and it sounds 'better' as time goes on, that roughness out of the box is slowly disappearing.

What I mean by rough, is dropping sound stage height and missing the stage between centre and left and right, falls in a hole there as encountered in the main system. The effect on an equivalent digital only level, is closely the same as the change in USB cables. Guessing that common mode noise is an issue there. Bass is lost in the early hours, but is coming back. 

The manual that came with the Cabernet advised the GZ345 was good only for 2000 hours. Could you recommend another tube with longer life and an SQ boost.as a bonus?

I have found that a good 50hrs seems to open up the OPT's,..  I always hear a difference in the first hour as the unit gets hot and temps stabilize.   Tubes can be hit or miss with their own break in,..   some don't require much time and some do,..  doesn't really matter the brand, age, etc..  this is more specifically to the output tubes,  not rectifier or regulator tubes..   If you hear the center or imaging shifting back and forth some,  thats the tubes..   They generally always settle in at some point.  I have had some that were stable for the first few hundred hours and then shift only to restabilize and lock into place.  Kinda crazy but nature of the beast if you will..   GZ34 (5AR4) should last many thousands of hours,..  5k at least if not 10,..   the power supply on your unit is pretty easy on them,.  The dht cabs pull a bit more current but a straight SN7 cabernet is a pretty light load. 

@rms456 not sure what rectifier make came stock but I would suggest you try a few different rectifiers. They do sound different and can enhance the SQ and last many years. My list that I have used on my system in order of my preference.

Sylvania US Navy 5U4GB Straight tall bottle, square top getter= just sounds best in all ways

RCA 5R4GY ‘58 Brown base ST bottle = Detailed full warm sound that just fills the space more

RCA 5AS4A ST bottle = Detailed full warm sound

Mullard GZ34 ‘66 = Excellent clarity and detail but lacked the full warmer sound others have. Narrower sound stage. More like studio recording vs symphony hall recording

Sovtek ‘90’s 5AR4 = very nice all around just not as good as the rest. Could live with it.

GE 5AR4 ‘60’s copper plates = similar to Sovtek with less punch and detail.

Russian Stock Supratek Rectifier = same as GE just less of it.

Cheers and enjoy!

@tksteingraber , the shipped rectifier tube with the Cabernet 6SN7 is from JJ Electronic (Slovenia) JJ GZ34 5AR4 is their ID.

Many thanks for the list of choices...looks like the RCA are a good start.