Preamp Deal of the Century

Mrmb. Wow! A very fine system indeed sir,and being a former owner of soundlab A-1's..very close to my heart.While my system is voiced primarily for vinyl,I am certain you would be amazed at the benefit of a top level pre in your rig,whether it is a supratek, one of the Cats or any other pre at that level. I have never auditioned the wadia in my own rig,however....the supratek syrah's line stage was considerably better than my cat sig sl-1 mk2,my MFA luminescence or my ARC sp-10 mk2 when paired with my sony es9000. And I can say for certain that all of the pre's were much more preferable than a direct hook-up to the amps.My experience with a digital source without a preamp in the line was that the music was somewhat thinner dimensionally than real life, missing the body and the bloom of the real thing. The syrah is incredibly transparent and dynamic,and adds nothing of a character or signature per sey. I have never heard the cat amps paired with the cat preamp either so I cannot attest to their synergy and can only surmise they would be a very good match. I did have the pleasure of hearing the magnificent JL-1's mated to the Klimo Merlin pre,[another great pre BTW] powering a pair of proacs former flagship model response 4's and can honestly say I was completely mesmerized with the fidelity, and one of the finest sounding rigs this guy has ever heard. The remote option is also one that I had reservations about as well, but now.... something I couldn't live without. It functions strictly as a motorized pot for gain only and isn't in the signal path. My acquisition of any of the pre's mentioned above, were solely on the merrit's of their phono stages and I can honestly say I enjoyed countless hours with all of them while spinning vinyl. I still use the Luminescence and doubt I will ever part with it. That said:The supratek bests every one of them when used as a line stage and by a wide margin. At the current price of admission...it has no real competition that I am aware of! Perhaps, someone here with much more experience than I have in the digital medium will hopefully chime in here.

Hi MRMB

The CAT I owned, still own but it is on extended loan, is an older unit. How the newer units compare with the Supratek Syrah is open to question especially since you have the JL-1 amps. As Ecclectique notes, the Syrah is more transparent and seems more extended along with a sense of undefinable rightness, this is closer to how music sounds. I have also listened extensively to a friends ARC SP-10 Mk 2 in my system and while I feel the Syrah has a much better line stage I have come to the conclusion that the phono stage in both the CAT and ARC is mighty good compared to the Syrah. It should be noted that both the CAT and ARC are well noted for their phono stages and with very good reason. I still have work to do on my analog front end, different ic maybe a Koetsu but it is not where I want it to be. So the final chapter hasn't been written yet. You don't mention a tt so this may not have any importance to you.

I have a Berning zh270 and Bel Canto DAC 1.1 with a JVC 1050 zn as a transport which I have run direct without pre. It is very clean and transparent, not at all harsh but seems to take on a more clinical presentation than with no pre.

With your wonderful system I feel you would benefit by a Supratek but a CAT should also work quite well and I doubt that anyone here can give you a definitive answer. A Supratek would definitely be a great choice if you just need a line stage, you can't go wrong, especially at the price point. If you need a phono stage as well, there are more options and in my opinion the Supratek has serious competition based on my experiences to date. Hope this helps a bit.

Mrmb. I have a system very similar to yours and I can confirm you that you´ll get a huge improvement with the Syrah in your rig. I have a Wadia 850 upgraded by Steve Huntley (Great Northern Sound Co.) to the Statement level, the best one, that means that´s a GOOD Wadia. Well, I had it driving directly a pair of Wolcott monoblocks connected to a pair of Sound Lab A1. For a couple of years I thought that it was the best possible sound on earth but... then I decided to try a preamp, and the Supratek Syrah was the choice. I can tell you that there is a big difference in the quality of sound, now the soundscape is bigger, it´s more detailed (it seems odd taking account that there are more cables etc.),the sound is more subtle and much more coherent. Now the music seeems to be a whole giving you a feeling of truth. Never, I mean never will be back to the other configuration. The Syrah is now the heart and soul of my system. Besides, you can modifie the sound to your taste rolling tubes because, as many people here said, the Syrah is very revealing of those changes.
I hope it helps you.

Ecclectique, thank you for your permanent advise.
I´ll contact you about your kitchen system.

I posted an earlier comment regarding the Synergy of using the Ken Rad Black Glass VT-231 and a pair of Sylvania 6F6G tubes. I commented that the sound although very good was a little too overpowering. With big bassy sound tracks the bass would seem a little bloated with a moderate loss in the tightness of the bass.

Anyway, I've decided to empty my wallets and acquire a pair of NOS WE 350B tubes. They should arrive shortly, upon which I'll provide some feedback as to their performance.

According to Ecclectique, he stated the 6F6G come quite close to the performance of the WE 350B tube. I'm actually hoping that the WE 350B will provide a little more tightness in the bass then the 6F6G. If so, then I believe the 350Bs will provide the type of sound that I'm looking for.

This thread is by far one of the the most interesting postings of any forum, that I've come across in recent years. Let's keep it going.

Thanks for the cogent and very helpful replies. Indeed, the same should be said for Mick. I e-mailed him just prior to my above submittal to this thread, and he replied in well under FOUR (4) hours -- impressive!

Ecclectique: Thanks for mentioning the Luminescence and the ARC sp-10 mk2. While I have heard neither, based on many recommendations from folks whose judgment I highly respect, both these pre’s along with the CAT pre(s) were on my very short list.

Tubegroover: Interesting you noticed that I didn’t mention a “tt”. My interest in obtaining a pre, is a pending return to vinyl.

While I’ve had a keen interest in audio since my youth, until the last decade or so, I haven’t had the highly resolved system that I now do, and because I wanted CD to be good enough, it simply was. However, with help from friends, and information gleaned from sites such as this, I have a desire to return to spinning vinyl (I still have my entire album collection dating back to the ‘60’s) and wanted a pre with phono that would facilitate that process.

I haven’t a clue as to which medium I will prefer; so my primary interest is to obtain a pre that will do no harm and preferably enhance, my present Wadia 861 experience. Based on all of your comments, and Mick’s, that appears to be more than a given with the Supratek’s.

While it’s possible that I may prefer vinyl, my intent is to initially spend $2-3K on a “tt”. My present thoughts are to obtain a VPI Scout, a Nottingham Interspace, or some other “tt” in this price ballpark. I know “tt”’s are totally off this thread’s subject, but any comments relative to a starter “tt” would be appreciated. I’m wondering whether I should use my budget to buy new or used, any thoughts on, or off-line, would be very appreciated. My last “tt” was a Thorens/Shure V15TypeIII (never had a MC), and was mothballed years ago, so my re-entrance into the LP world is essentially blazing new ground for me, and any suggestions provided would be welcomed.

Getting back to pre’s, the Syrah/Chenin with HT pass-through would appear to be a wonderful choice for my purposes, and especially for the price of admission. While it may not present the ultimate in phono capabilities, I’m certainly not looking for that right now, and perhaps never will, but if the line stage enhances my CD experience as much as I’m told it will, and I can spin some of my old LP’s as well, it would be worth it.

Again thanks for your replies, and the continuation of the never-ending thread Cheers, Mike.