Preamp Deal of the Century

Got the platform working! The screws were embedded but we were able to get them loose enough to make it functional. I placed it under my Berning amp and it made a huuuuge improvement. I have used Still Points under my Berning for some time. I thought this helped but while following this thread, I thought I would try my 30 pound platform under the Berning instead. The little platform is clearly better than the Still Points under the Berning. Thanks to theaudiotweak, I now have the 80 pound platform. After playing with the screws, I put it under the Berning. Wow!! Everything got better still!! There is an absence of microphonic hash which results in more low level detail. The soundstage is bigger, images are better, much better dynamic contrast, the top end is much smoother, and the bass is signifacantly better. I can't overstate what an improvement this 80 pound platform made. I hope to get some replacement teflon screws soon and I expect that will also help.

As i said in an earlier post, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Again, I owe theaudiotweak big and can't thank him enough.

Everybody's ears are different and tastes are all over the board. I think this made such a difference on the Berning because it is so light, and Dave pays no attention to isolation. I would think the platform would be especially good on tubes.

This thing outperforms the Still Points which retail at about $275. If you can build or find one I think you will notice great improvement in your system. All this technical talk makes my head hurt so I'm going to fire up the Berning and have some fun!! Thanks again to Tom for the platform that he didn't want, and to Larry for the design.

Go Joe! Lets get together and hear each others system and when we do, that we partake in a usefull comparison of mass isolation versus direct coupling..Tom

BWhite,

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

If so, what are your thoughts.

Furthermore, any other modifications you wish you had ordered.

TJackson

Hi Guys
MickM here- as you know I dont think manufacturers should actively participate in these forums as it is too hard to stay unbiased, and I believe the quality of the product should do all the talking from the manufacturers side.
However, the ongoing issue of noise and microphonics needs to be addressed as there seems to be a basic misunderstanding of it.
It's all related to the TOTAL gain of the preamp/power amp system.
All amplifiers, pre or power, have an inherant noise floor that in a compatible system is inaudible.
The Syrah or Chardonnay , with their gain switches set to max are very high gain preamps. Used with a low gain, or low sensitivity power amp the noise floor remains inaudible, but if you connect a high gain power amp, then the gain of the preamp and the gain of the power amp gets multiplied together and the inherant noise floor, which is hum, hiss and microphonics, also becomes amplified and becomes audible.
Bryan W has noted that his Cortese is very quiet without a sign of microphonics- this is simply because the Cortese has lower gain than a Syrah or Chardonnay with gain set to max.
But if you use the gain switches on the Syrah or Chardonnay, it is possible to adjust gain to approx the same level of the Cortese and eliminate noise and microphonics.
Unfortunately there are some power amps around these days which have ridiculous anounts of gain- they are designed to be used direct with a CD player (horrible sound!)and are more correctly called an integrated amp and aren't ideal for use with a preamp with any gain.
However, realizing that it's not a perfect world, I included the gain switches on the Syrah, Chardonnay to counter this.
With the combination of the two gain switches (top and back mounted) it is possible to remove any noise components from your system, and adjust the sonics to suit.
It does require a bit of patience, but it is possible to achieve your own "sweet spot" using the gain controls.
If you tap the side of the Syrah's 6SN7's with gain set to max, you will hear microphonics. Set the gain switches to "low" and a tap will result in no microphonics.
These refinements make the Syrah and the Chardonnay extremely versatile preamps able to drive any power amp, tube or SS.
Please note that the noise issue has nothing to do with impedance- that's more to do with the drive capabilities of the preamp, but all the Supratek pres have low output impedance and can drive anything.

I hope that makes it clearer - now I can disappear back to my work bench!
I have to say that I never thought this thread would last so long- unfortunately I dont have the time to check it often, but I'm alway's available at supra@supratek.biz to help when needed.
Thanks for all your support-I've made some great friends through Supratek and I hope your enjoyment and appreciation of the joy of music has been heightened by the use of my pres. Which is the sole reason for their existence- dont fret too much about hi-fi, just enjoy the music.

Best Regards to all.

MickM

PS
The tube compliment of the Syrah is 5842,6GK5,6N8P(6SN7),6L6GC and 5AR4.
The tube compliment of the Cortese is E180F (in this configuration just about the most linear tube available),E88CC(6922),6N8P(6SN7)6L6GC and 5AR4.
Regulator tubes can be either 6L6GC,5881,EL34 and KT66 on all models.(And the exotic WE350,7027- although too expensive to justify)
You can use any of these in the regulator position as it is self biasing, but not 6550 or KT88.

PPS- my favorite tweak is a new CD,vinyl.

TJackson, Sorry... I don't have a home theater processor right now so I haven't been able to test the theater throughput. For HT, I've been using a Sony integrated unit which contains the DVD player, amp and receiver in one box. Unfortunately, that unit does not have preamp level outputs and thus will not work for test purposes. The only way for me to test right now would be to plug my CD directly into the HT Bypass... and I am not going to do that for fear of damaging the speakers.

By the looks of the latest HT Bypass, I can say (without testing) that it seems to function as planned.

I will try to find another preamp or another means to test this soon.