I'd say you're hearing the JJs as they are. Rectifiers are critical in the sound chain.
Bendix 6106 appears to be recommended.
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.
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.
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- 544 posts total
@sim_audio_nerd take a look at my post above dated 12-01 on my experience with various nos and old stock rectifiers. They do make a definite difference. Many of the ones listed are low priced. I tried some pricey ones such as Mullard and the highly touted Philips 5R4GYS. Like the Mullard it just didn’t sound any better than the US military brands on my system. US ones to me had a fuller, meatier and warmer sound with nice highs just slightly less clear and bright. Ended up selling the Mullard and Philips. They just didn’t sound as good on my system to me but all sounded good. Splitting hairs here… |
@tksteingraber @noromance thanks very much! |
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@tholt ,.. The gain reduction is mainly for matching the pre to very sensitive amps,..(ie, solidstate) where there would not be much play in the VC. It is best left un-engaged if it is not needed but is pretty transparent when in use. With most modern source outputs being in the 1.5 - 4v range, the main VC really shouldn't ever need to be raised above the 12'oclock position. Much beyond that you could start to overload the input with such a high source V. The pre is a VERY high gain device and easily accept very low v. sources (ie,. iPhone, etc..).. I find the best volume knob range to be around 9-10'oclock for standard ~2v source components.. if this is range is too loud in the room,.. use the gain reduction to set a goo volume, then leave it at that position and go back to main VC as standard adjustment. From a tube standpoint, you won't really find any useful gain reduction with the tubes the pre will accept. The 6L6's are circuit voltage regulators only and do not affect gain,.. they just provide a rock steady voltage for everything else to run on.
Hope this helps, Best, |
- 544 posts total