Preamp Deal of the Century

BWhite,

Have you had a chance of testing the home-theatre pass through yet ?

I ordered a Sauvignon (Cortese line stage version) from Mick about 3 months ago, but did not request any modifications for fear of something going wrong.

Mick said that he will probably start Sauvignon in around a month or two. Therefore, I'm wondering whether It's a good idea to request the home-theatre pass through before he actually commences work on the pre-amp.

Also, does anyone who owns a Supratek, tried the unit with the Audio Aero Capitole MK II 24/192 CD Player ?

My System is currently made up of the following:
1. Audio Aero Capitole MK II CD Player
2. Krell KSA 250 Power Amp
3. Osborn Epitome Grand Reference MK V speakers with Bass Units.

At the moment the Audio Aero is running direct into the power amp and actually sounds superior to when a Krell KRC-3 pre-amp was used in the equation.

Furthermore, does anyone know of any good tube suppliers in Australia, preferably Sydney.

Finally, because the Supratek does not fit onto a standard hi-fi rack, I'd be interested in knowing what improvisations people are using to accomodate the unit.

Regards,
TJackson

Noble, if the Syrah was close to the First Sound with only Ken Rads and Tung Sols, then you didn't hear 50% of what the Syrah is capable of producing. Rolling 6SN7's made the least difference in my Supratek.

A change in the rectifier to a NOS Mullard 5AR4 (or a Bendix 6106 ?) and WE 350B's as regulators and I suspect the Syrah would have been considerably ahead of the First Sound.

However, I am sure if you rolled NOS tubes in the First Sound it would also be an improvement, as well. Both are excellent preamps and I don't think you could go wrong with either one. I suppose it is simply a matter of which flavor one prefers.

The new Supratek Zazen, phono only Supratek? I just got a brief mention of this from Mick. Does anyone else have details on this? I'm sure TWL is salivating right now. :)

Supratek experts, what is minimum recommended input impedance of SS power amp which would be good match with SARAH ?

A lot of responses have talked about microphonics associated with tubes.(A very real and nagging problem) Years ago I designed a product which solves this knotty problem, and it is really magical, and anyone who is handy can build it. It is nasty to do and takes a wierd combination of products, but works better than anything I have ever seen, including several hundred dollar items. I have used it with preamps, cd players, amps, all with great success. It is not snake oil just good common sense. I am happy to share the method of build, and ingredients necessary to build it, with anyone who wants to at no charge or gain to me. I AM NOT SELLING ANYTTHING HERE, Just trying to help eliminate a problem. email me at
lrsky@bellsouth.net. and I will share the build technique.
Happy listening.