Preamp Deal of the Century

Tubegroover - think about it, the Cortese (and Grange I suppose) is hugely better than the Syrah in that it is WAY more refined, solid, and of a much higher quality standard than the Syrah - in my experience. While sonically they are quite similar, the Cortese is in every way a more precise instrument - having owned/heard both, there is no question in my mind.

Without going into detail speculating how this could effect used Syrah prices, lets just say that if the price of a used Cortese were to fall substantially, who in their right mind would pay $2500 plus customs and shipping for a new Syrah from Australia vs. buying a used Cortese in good condition?

Anyhow.. I may have totally over reacted to this and therefore put too much emphasis on "resale value" which while important & something Supratek is "famous" for, is not what really matters.

What seems most important (to me) is whether or not Mick provides an upgrade plan to Cortese/Grange customers - without that, this announcement of progress will most certainly hurt all who have supported Supratek - in one way or another.

Bwhite, agree with you 100% on offering an upgrade. Just wonder how that would effect the production of current models?

You guys need to calm down a bit here, and you may be missing the point about Mick's announcment.

The issue at hand is all about 'controlling potential noise problems/mismatches with amplifiers from other manufacturers' with some further improvement in sound. It's not about current Cortese/Grange owners being somehow stuck with an inferior product, it appears that Mick's new circuit maintains the magical sound of the original circuit but at lower gain therefore better matches amplifiers that have high gain.

If noise is not an issue with your current Cortese/Grange in your system then the upgrade is also not an issue?

You are also jumping off the deep end without consulting the master first! Mick is a very approachable and helpful guy who takes great pride in his work. I am sure any of you who require the upgrade need only ask him and he'll probably do it.

Stevem - even though you are mentioned on the Supratek website (at the bottom of the preamp page) as a helpful and encouraging person, I do not believe you have your facts straight and therefore are not helping any.

*We* should consult the master? Well.. The master hasn't bothered to come back to explain anything and hasn't updated his website. He just waltzed in here and told us that he had bad news.

Mick's "intro" post:

The bad news for present owners is that I've completely redesigned the Cortese/Sauvignon and the Grange/Cabernet preamps.

Thanks for the encouragement Steve but I don't believe that announcing improvements to a design as "bad news" for present owners is very professional -- perhaps that's why *I* jumped off the deep end.

Steve, you confuse me when you say,

If noise is not an issue with your current Cortese/Grange in your system then the upgrade is also not an issue?

If that were the case, they why on Earth would this be BAD NEWS for existing owners?

This is where I think you need to consult the master yourself before trying to smooth things over with silliness like that.

It's pretty clear, Mick's announcement either indicate changes more significant than solving noise issues or a newly crafted line of B.S. that none of us have heard before.

I am waiting for the master.

Excellent post, Stevem.