Preamp Deal of the Century


If anyone is looking for a true "World Class" preamp at a very fair price..heed my advice. I just recieved a Supratek Syrah preamp that was hand built by Mick Maloney in Western Australia, and it is absolutely beautiful! This preamp is the best deal you will ever find. I would put it up against any preamp out there for both looks and sound. Price? $2500 for the Syrah (includes Killer Phono stage). Not into phono? Try the Chardonney line stage for $2100. Don't get me wrong, I am not associated with this company. I am just a very happy owner! This preamp is VERY dynamic, yet liquid. It conveys the sound of music better than any other preamp that I have ever heard! You can check out the Supratek website at www. cantech.net.au
slowhand
Shesh.. where have I been?? I guess I missed this thread.

The Supratek is absolutely astonishing! in both sound and visually. I have tried many preamps and the Supratek is both the least expensive and the most outstanding performer I have ever come across.

The sonic character of the Supratek is very difficult to pin-point. Its a very clean sound and very dynamic in that it has more bass than any tube preamp I've ever heard. One day we compared it to a Krell preamp and while the Krell had more bass - we simply couldn't listen to the Krell for very long at all. Vs the Krell, The Supratek really put accuracy into perspective. Someone who only listened to Krell their whole life would immediately realize that the Supratek was not only more natural but less colored, pure as the driven snow, liquid as liquid be, and in all ways utterly magnificent.

I am on my second preamp from Supratek because I asked Mick to customize my first one (made last year). While my first one was okay - it resulted in a few problems as a result of the customization. My new unit which was recently built before the parafeed design is much different - and more inline with what someone would expect from a 15,000 preamp.

I used to tell people that the Supratek Syrah was the best preamp under 15,000 but... then Mick released the Cortese for 5,000.

Mick is very ambitious in the design of the Supratek. He uses all point to point wiring - unsheilded silver wire - & the finest parts available. This combined with the superb circuit design and AWESOME power supply design create a very revealing, powerful and perhaps limitless preamp that will give most anyone more enjoyment than any high end preamp available today.

I had compared the Supratek directly to a Conrad Johnson 16LS preamp and the difference spawned my friend to say - "OH MY GOD". He is a CJ lover and really... really wanted to have a CJ preamp to match his CJ Premier 8A monoblocks. So.. we went out and got an ART preamp to demo... and again, the Supratek was more crystal clear, liquid, better resolving, pristine, musical and simply sumptuous to listen to vs the ART.

The Supratek takes 6SN7 tubes and they can make a huge difference in performance of the preamp. I have tried many. To date, the best have been either Sylvania Metal Base 6SN7W, or Ken Rad Black Glass VT-231. The regulator tubes in back are 5881 - comes stock with Sovtek's but a pair of Tung Sol 5881's will get you in business.

My fingers hurt from typing...
Oh.. to comment on Hindemith's remarks. yes. The Supratek Phono stage is quite likely the best you'll ever hear.
Thanks for the input Gunbei, I've heard that Gilbert is quite a creative guy. Just for reference, which pre-power combo were you using or compare to your BC combo before purchasing them?

Thanks again, and apologies to everyone for going off topic.
Bwhite, has Mick established any form of service support in the US, or if there's a problem does the piece have to be shipped back to him?
Hi Brian, this is Tom. I bought a pr. of Sylvania VT-231's that are JAN from 1940's in the original boxes and they sound fantastic in my Syrah. I am also buying a pr. of Sylvania GTB's that I like the sound of. I think I have found Tungsol 5881's and a Mullard 5AR4 rectifier tube. Now if I can just find a pr. of WE417's for the phono stage. I love this preamp!