Preamp Deal of the Century


If anyone is looking for a true "World Class" preamp at a very fair price..heed my advice. I just recieved a Supratek Syrah preamp that was hand built by Mick Maloney in Western Australia, and it is absolutely beautiful! This preamp is the best deal you will ever find. I would put it up against any preamp out there for both looks and sound. Price? $2500 for the Syrah (includes Killer Phono stage). Not into phono? Try the Chardonney line stage for $2100. Don't get me wrong, I am not associated with this company. I am just a very happy owner! This preamp is VERY dynamic, yet liquid. It conveys the sound of music better than any other preamp that I have ever heard! You can check out the Supratek website at www. cantech.net.au
slowhand
Pablo,

Glad to hear from another very satisfied Supratek owner! Indeed, the preamp is special. I have no regrets from the money and time spent waiting to own this superb piece of equipment.

As for the 6F6G's, there are several sources. I bought NOS Sylvanias from DIYcable.com. During my shopping, I found the ff. stores that carry them:

http://www.audiotubes.com/bjtubes.htm

http://www.vacuumtubesinc.com/new2.html

The "brands" they carry are not listed on the site. You have to e-mail them to ask for availability of the brand you like.
I highly recommend the NOS Sylvania 6F6G Round plates dark glass (Blk. and Green carton). I sold my Gold Lion KT-66 and GEC Clear Glass KT-66 who used to be my favorite regulators after hearing the Sylvania 6F6G's.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to All!!!
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Pablo,
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Congratulations on your Chenin, a nicely designed system and your obvious joy.
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Do wait for 300+ hours suggested by Ecclectique to pass by before starting your tube rolling. Roll only one set of tuebs at a time and live with them for a while before starting on the next set or position. Do invest in some of David's suggestions as well as some great NOS tubes.
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You might want to give some BMI power cords a test drive (specifically the Sharks, Whale Supremes of Orca Generation 2's). I would be happy to loan you a Shark to audition (for loan only, don't want to sell it). Email me offline if you have an interest.
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Happy New Year - enjoy your bliss....
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Rgds, Larry
Hi Larry. Hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year! I didn't mean to suggest to Pablo to wait 300 hours before tube rolling... The new supratek or any other new tubed amplifier/preamplifier[for that matter] will become more focused and coherent with around 300 hours of run in time due to the transformers and the passive parts in the circuitry. Capacitors in particular are notoriously slow to form themselves to modulated frequencies. They take many hours to open up,particularly the top end. I would recommend we swap out the rectifier and regulators immediately [like right out of the box] as I have always consider that a no brainer.
Kevin,

l recently upgraded from an SP-9mk2 to a Supratek Cabernet. While the SP-9 is probably not in the class as your pre, the improvement was immense. To use a local analogy, l traded in my Ford Falcon for a BMW M5. Everything the others have said is true, the Cab is a revelation. l doubt you could go wrong.

Have a great new year everyone.

Cheers Simon
David,

Happy New Year to you and your gang.
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I was suggesting the break-in of 300 hours so that when Pablo rolls tubes, he makes moves based on a broken in pre-amp and all of the tubes are somewhat stable in their sonics.
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I just think it is a valuable learning experience to have a clear understanding what each new tube does when added to the system and not confuse its value with the changes occurring from the circuitry of the pre or the other new tubes as they break in.
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I do agree that the changes you recommend are a no brainer, but there might be some valuable lessons to learn along the way by going a bit slower. Either way, he can't go wrong.
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Rgds, Larry
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