Preamp Deal of the Century

Has anyone other than Fiddler tried replacing the stock volume pot with the Dact or some other attenuator? I am not excited about losing remote control capability but it appears that the differnece in sound could be dramatic.

Americanflag - yeah... Mick has done it. He actually commented that the results could be very positive to some people and therefore understand why people may prefer it to the standard Alps. The downside to him was that the stepped attenuator allowed for very little margin between too quiet and too loud in his high efficiency system.

Bent Audio offers a remote control for DACT attenuators: http://www.bentaudio.com/parts/dact.html

I am not sure if it would fit in a Supratek outfitted with a phono stage but imagine it could be done.

Mick told me he would install the DACT's as an option.

*I* haven't done the swap yet mostly because I am debating what to do about my system. See - I just purchased a new turntable (which is a keeper) and it doesn't visually match the Grange cosmetics of my Cortese (Gold & Wood). I am considering selling my Cortese to get another one in Chrome finish.

If I were to keep my Cortese, I would certainly try the DACT and when I get a new one, I will order it with the DACT (+ remote if possible).

My suspicion has always been that the stock Alps is not very transparent.

Bwhite, your comments echo my sentiments about the Alps.

I'm not sure what attenuators Mick has tried, but the DACT is 3db steps. Certainly not a problem in my system.

I also by-passed the selector switch and tape monitor switch about a week ago and it was another step in transparency. I only use the CD input, so I went straight from the input to the DACT.

If you do a search at AA about the Alps Blue pot I think you will discover what many others found out about the Alps. It seems to add a layer of grain and/or veils to the music. Everyone who changed it to something else noticed a major improvement.

It seems it took the DACT about two weeks to fully burn in, but after that, no going back!

Since I have the Chardonnay, I think there will be enough room for the Bent remote control. I am going to try it when I have time.

Warren

I have a Chenin on order with the dact. Bwhite, I emailed Mick to see if the remote would fit in a Chardonay and he responded that unfotunately, the step motor is simply too wide for a Supratek, even without the phono stage. I guess I will experience, for the first time, what it is like not having a remote.

Here's another testamonial to replacing the gain pot. Yesterday, I replaced the stock Alps Blue pot with a DACT CT-2 (both 100k) in my Syrah.

I've had the Syrah since early this year. It replaced what I always condsidered a great "bang for the buck" - my Dynaco (Panor) PAS-4.

Needless to say, the Syrah is miles above the Dynaco but at 5x the price, it should be. The thing that I always noticed about the Syrah though, was a slight grain that veiled some of the music detail. I've got a pretty efficient, transparent system using a Heart CD5000 tubed CD player, Scheu Premier MKII tt, JK45 amp, and Altec Model 19 speakers.

I'm very happy to say that after installing the DACT, that grain has all but disappeared! There is much more clarity to the music. This is very noticeable. Not one of those, "If I listen hard enough, I can hear a difference" type mods.

Anyone who is/has ordered one of the Supretek products would be very wise to consider this upgrade. For those that already have one of these fine units, the replacement is very straight forward. Took me all of 30 minutes to complete.

Happy listening,

Steve