Preamp Deal of the Century

Stevem,
The First Sound is hand wired with separate power supply. Plus it is completely copper enclosed inside the outer shell, helping with EMI/FR rejection. Even the fans of the wonderful Supratek, (I am one without hearing it) would say that with a one to one comparison it is quieter.
I guess the question is: and this haunts all grail hunters, which one is better?
Obviously sometimes it is a function of matching etc, and not emperically true for everyone.
Mick is a great guy, but I always question 4 to 7 month waits, with associated service issues.
Tubegroover is an obviously good listener, and I already respect his writings. So if he likes it that is enough for me. And I have seen almost all of these things first hand in my travels to 100 stores working inside the industry.
Thanks
Larry

Hi Larry,

From your description the First Sound pre looks like it's got great potential! I understand your apprehension about waiting a few months for the Supratek, but you know the old saying 'good things come to those who wait'.

BTW, the Supratek also has a solid copper chassis under that shiney chrome exterior.

Regards,

Steve M.

I have been withholding this but I think it just needs to be said so no one will have any misunderstanding or apprehension, don't think about it if you are, just do it. If you have a budget that permits it, you can't make a wrong decision with the Supratek. It is impossible unless you are prepared to spend considerably more money. Even so, the decision will still be valid because it can be resold without losing anything or very little and if you don't go ahead with it you will most likely never have the opportunity to hear if you made the right choice or not and the curiosity will never subside until you forget but after so many posts on this thread and still counting, the death of curiosity may prove quite slow.

My reason for the above comment is because I have communicated with a few that are on the fence and I have been too conciliatory to their concerns, the wait and the service. This is the real deal it can't be overstated. It is a 7K or better pre for 2.5K, it really is. I waited 5 months longer than I should have. If only I had believed what I read from the beginning. Read Mark Bucksath review on the Supratek website, and read it very carefully http://www.supratek.biz/review.htm

If you can connect to the contents of his most wonderful descriptives of this product, you will hear the Syrah. Keep in mind this recommendation is based on the extreme value of what you will hear, not in the context of the "best" that may be available. If you are prepared to pay considerably more, you will certainly have more choices. I have NO doubt this is the best pre-amp value at this price point on the planet and it is very easy to say it.

Agree with you 110% Tubegroover !!

My relationship with Mick Maloney is a bit closer than most of you (see my ealier post on "Am I the Luckiest Man in the World"), so I have to be careful in what I say. But Tubegroover is right - the Supratek Cortese/Syrah will be very hard to improve on within reasonable money (say $10,000USA).

You have no idea the development (both technical and listening sessions) that has gone into the Supratek products. Not only does he have 30 years of valve amp building under his belt and a great love of music, Mick is tapped into an underground network of audio constructors and enthusiasts from Europe to Japan to Australia to New York, and with the wonders of the Internet collaborating, inventing, and improving upon their creations! Out of this melting pot, you have before you things like the Cortese and Syrah, it's not a wonder they sound so good - it's because they are constructed with fresh ideas, years of proven concepts and driven by the sheer enthusiasm of their creator(Mick!).

Never forget also, that Supratek is NOT a big wheel. It has no marketing machine, has no brand recognition like Mark Levinson or Audio Research - yet it is succeeding (or should that be 'exceeding')in this very competitive hi-end scene, purely based on word of mouth of what an excellent product it really is!! If this doesn't say it all nothing does...

Regards,

Steve M.

Supratek Cortese - 10 Days Old

It's been 10 days since I received my Cortese and it is still breaking in - slight changes mostly - nothing too dramatic at all.

My current feelings about the Cortese are similar to what they were on the 20th when I unpacked & plugged in the unit.

One thing I will say now is that the Cortese offers me exactly what I wanted from the Chardonnay/Syrah but didn't know it. Does that make sense? :) As we all know, in audio it often takes something better to make clear what we've been missing. The Cortese is sonically similar to the Syrah - yet a bit more transparent. The highs are a bit more refined and the bottom end is a more powerful. Overall, I would say that the improvements make up for the few shortcomings of the Chardonnay/Syrah which - as I said before, I never knew existed.

Other refinements include NO HUM WHATSOEVER in both phono and line stage. Amazing. NO MICROPHONICS when touching / taping the chassis. My Chardonnay used to make "piano" sounding noises when the chassis was touched the wires inside rattled and stuff like that. Annoying. But... this is totally not an issue with the Cortese.

The PROBLEM I have with the Cortese is this...
When the first Cortese's were made the tube compliment was totally different than today's Cortese. 4 regulator tubes, 4 driver tubes. Today, the Cortese has the exact same tube compliment as the Syrah (with the exception of phono)..

A side note - tongue in cheek - if you're planning to buy a Grange, maybe you should do it before it is re-released with the same tubes as the Cortese and the Syrah.

So what differentiates the Cortese from the Syrah? What makes it better? Same tubes and different circuit it seems. Opening up the Cortese exposes about 40 - 60% more wire and different parts than are contained in a Syrah.

Looking at the inside of the Chardonnay, I often wondered why it took Mick so long to build these things. Looking inside the Cortese, I cannot even imagine HOW HE BUILDS THESE. Pretty complex stuff going on in there.. and a very tight spot to work in.

So... after looking inside this unit, I've got to say the problem I had with wondering what differentiated the Cortese from the Syrah is GONE.

While this is certainly not the definitive Cortese review, it is beginning of what is starting to seem more & more like a worthwhile investment & improvement over the Syrah each day. I am very excited to hear what happens over the next 10 days and will certainly report back.