Preamp Deal of the Century

Cello...on the contrary I am a vinyl fan and use a Roksan Xerxes turntable with Koetsu Rosewood cartridge. If you have seen my initial post of 20/07/03 I live in Western Australia and I am a friend of Mick Maloney and have a lot of his wonderful creations - one of which is a prototype Phono Preamp (the type of thing that goes into a Cortese or Grange). This little phono device looks like 'Frankenstein' (being a prototype) but it's sonic virtues are beyond reproach! Like all of Mick's creations it has liquidity and detail in spades, the description of the phono section by the reviewer Mark Bucksath of Ultimate Audio on Mick's website is pretty spot on.

Asa: some good advice given there to Cello and others. I am also a big fan of Nelson Pass's little Aleph 3 power amp(I own one). This amp is my solid state reference (over Krells and Naim amps that I have owned), it just has that certain magic that weaves it's way into the music, revealing all the nuances, inflections and little things in the performance and on the recording.

Tom: I know it goes against the grain and practical thinking, and it's quite apparent that you have good knowledge and experience with all things Hi-Fi, but surely after reading the 700 or so posts on this thread ( from mostly satisfied Supratek users) the Syrah/Cortese/Grange preamps are really 'no brainers' and can be purchased with little risk. There is NO WAY highly experienced listeners like myself (doing the audio thing for 25 years) or the likes of Bryan White/ASA/Jazzdude/Linkster/Waltersalas/Ecclectique/Slowhand/Tubegroover etc...would ever endorse a product like Supratek if we did not like it and think that it was something very special.

Regards,

Steve M.

Theaudiotweak - That's unfortunate, I'd love for you to have a Supratek. Perhaps you would be able to figure out the best way to set up the mechanical grounding for these.
Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near Indiana or I'd bring mine to you.

Inside a Supratek, the internal components are bolted to the top of the somewhat thin metal (copper) chassis. The wooden side panels are screwed to the chassis. The bottom plate is secured to the chassis with four screws.

When attempting to mechanically ground the Supratek via the bottom plate, I find it a little "top heavy" because the center of gravity seems to be 5 inches above the bottom plate. This seems to magnify vibrations.

Removing any feet and resting the wooden side panels on a surface sounds better but the impedance mismatch between the metal chassis and the wood side panels means that the energy is not drained as efficiently as it could be.
The trouble with this is that the bottom of a Suprateks' wooden side panels is NOT FLAT - so the unit will not be securely coupled to a surface.

Thoughts?

Bwhite,

I have had great success with Symposium Roller Blocks (w/Grade 3 Tungsten Carbide Balls)under both pieces of my Cortese.

Do you have any experience with Roller Blocks ? If not, you might want to give them a try. The have been amazing under my Electrocompaniet EMC-1UP as well. The best by far of everything else I have tried.

Actually I live in Louisville Kentucky..I know most of the audio crowd in this state..So I was just reaching out...I may have questions concerning the structure of the chassis ..Thanks for the invites..Tom

Cello. While I do not use any of the symposium products,I second your recommendation on their effectiveness.They are terrific with tubed based gear. I have heard the effect first hand in a friends room isolating his magnificent sounding Klimo tube preamp and companion Kent mono amps. Their effect is his rig was not subtle. We have both been promoting the resonance control theory with tubed based equipment for many years. He has spent as much or more on his room than his equipment[read very expensive]and his rig is one of the finest if not "the" finest I have ever heard.The system is vinyl based only and his table is set up out of the room.Every piece of electronics is isolated with symposium pruducts.The noise floor is almost non existant.Music in his room is always magnificent experience.I am still dying to hear my Syrah in his system for comparison.