Preamp Deal of the Century

Baranyi,

Not sure if I would go with that prototype unless you could get it cheap. If It were me I would place may order with Mick for the Supratek and probably order the Berning. Once in a great while a Berning shows up for sale, but if you want the latest version, I would order it new. Just my opinion.

Tubegroover: The Supratek Merlot is no ordinary S.E.T amp. It has all the valve virtues of harmonic sweetness and musicality, but it is also super clean and detailed with the most solid bass I have heard, and for a given volume level, beats a Krell KSA100 that I owned.

Besides Mick's unique circuit topology, the Merlot uses the Russian 6C33-CB output tube which has a crystal clear pristine (cut-glass) character. It is no accident that Lamm Industries and BAT also use this valve in their top-of-the-line power amps.

The Berning would appear to be a ground breaker by all accounts, and I would love to hear it one day. Although, that would be a rare circumctance in my neck of the woods (being Perth - Western Australia).

Regards,

Steve M.

Ahhh the 6c33 tube, Joule and Tenor also use that tube, very nice. I would love to hear the amp, you've got me very curious Steve, maybe Mick can send me a pair for evaluation? :)

If its cut from the same cloth as the pre-amps it must be quite special.

Slowhand, the Berning would have to be sold inexpensively for me to take a chance on it. I am about to do what you suggested about placing the order. I got an email from Mick about updating the Cortese to the newest design. He said it would cost about $500 at his cost (he said it was an extensive revision) plus shipping and take 2 to 3 months for the mods to be completed. I wonder if anyone on this thread has heard the latest revision and how far it bests the earlier design. For my budget, the Syrah still seems to be the best bet for me.

Hkvos, If you buy a Supratek, ask Mick if he can make it with TWO of the home-theater by-pass features. This would require a three-way switch vs. the standard two-way switch on units with the home-theater by-pass feature. This would let you connect the Wadia "direct" to your amp through one of the Supratek's by-bypass inputs and the home-theater through the other. You would be able to control volume from the Wadia or HT instead of relying on the Supratek. The Supratek doesn't even need to be on.

Additionally, you could run the analog outputs of the Wadia into the CD input on the Supratek for a different flavor. Sweet!