Preamp Deal of the Century

Well, it's been 3 weeks with my Cortese and I am torn between the most wonderful music in my listening room that I can remember (over 30+ yrs) and noisy tube problems. I've got one of Mick's latest Cortese preamps. It was delivered with the adjustable output gain on the back for matching various amp inputs, XLR/RCA's (I use RCA's only), remote control volume (which works perfectly and is a blessing for this old body!), and what Mick states is his latest choice in a tube configuration for the line stage amplification section (1-6SN7 and 1-12B4A per channel). I've now gone through 3 sets of the 12B4A's and finally got a set that won't sit there and "spit" at me. Now one the 6SN7's is doing a "whistling" act. I came from all solid state (Spectral) system and I'm accustomed to quiet. But then again, I've never had music reproduction like this pre gives to me, not to mention that it has reintroduced me to VINYL which in itself is most rewarding. I've ordered a complete new tube set-up in hopes for a reprive from the noise. HELP

I hear you, Ads. I have experienced quite a few quirky noises from the Syrah with some of the tubes I've tried, including Tung Sol 5881s, Ken Rad black glass VT-231s, and now Sylvania Metal Base 6SN7Ws. At first, I simply considered going back to the stock tubes, which were pretty damn good, even if not quite as "magical" as the others. But then the noise lessened some--maybe the tubes "settled in" or something. I really have no explanation, as I am still relatively new in this hobby. There is still some tube chatter occasionally, but I consider the glorious sound the Supratek puts out worth these quirks. I don't know if it is possible to get the Syrah dead quiet with some of the better NOS tubes. Asa, Bwhite, and other veterans can speak better to this. Good luck, and hang in there.

Walter, you are dead on. The stock tubes are matched and balanced to each other very nice, but its hard to look back once you put some KenRad black 6SN7's in there. I've got 4 matched pairs, all primo NOS's in original boxes and they vary on noise. With that said, all spit in my face for the first 100 hrs and still can get cranky now and then. Basically the Supra is so discerning that you are hearing the tube's operation and with such high caliber stuff verything must be dead on. Its not that the pre is unstable, its just very very good and will tell you about a tube's given quality. Its a pain if you want to mucho magic, but as walter says, i think its worth it because once you get them right, they are stable. I've tried the Brimars (no noise, but too precise for me), Sylvania VT231 (alot like the black Kens, not as enveloping or expansive, but relatively quiet) and the ones I'm using now, Tungsol round plate black glass, which on this smaller system I prefer (sweeter, better micro-details on chestiness, guitar body, etc., not as expensive in depth field as Kens) and with very low noise.

I bought some tubes from a good dealer (Sylvania green letters) and they were so noisy I traded them back in for some RCA 12BH7 inputs on my amps. It was in the beginning and I thought, oh my God, I'll never get the noise down in this pre - but it wasn't the pre, it was the tubes.

You are getting a custom handmade $10-15K pre for $2500-5K and at that level things become exacting - its part of owning a Lamhorghini. Be patient, but know that it will never be a Spectral. Its not perfect, and should be kept standard, but if you get it right its very stable and will last you twenty years or more.

One other suggestion I'd add to reducing noise levels/hum with the Syrah is to keep the preamp as far away from amps as possible. That's been my experience - I rearranged my room so that my amps were on either side of my Syrah and things suddenly got very noisy. When I rearranged again and moved amps far away, the hum went. It was particularly noticeable on the phono stage. Also, for whatever reason, I find having the tonearm on my TT close to my amp causes similar hum issues. All this could be just with my system synergy (or lack thereof ;-) but just thought I'd mention.

Where do you get these special tubes you guys are refering to? As I'm writing this, I'm listening to vinyl and it is astonishing! Even though between cuts I can hear these damn tubes crackling away. But when Louis Armstrong blows into that horn, oh my God!