Preamp Deal of the Century

On the topic of a.c. cords and power conditioners,I recently purchased a Nordost Thor power conditioner and and afew Nordost vishnu a.c. cords.The Nordost stuff was the most expensive of other manufactures that I thought worthy checking out.Nordost was the last of the few I borrowed for in home trials this last fall and during Christmas.I had two brands picked out that I liked in my set up and was planning borrowing them again after the Nordost trial.Most power conditioners and aftermarket a.c. cords all do something good for the equiptment there used in I would think. For me they all worked at lowering the noise floor enabling alittle more realistic flow and snap to music ,very nice indeed.The Nordost stuff was more then I really wanted to spend.A dealer I know was very insistent on me waiting to try the Thor before making a decision.The Thor has Valhalla wire through out and with that stuff I think Nordost understands something about electricity that other manufactures of condtioners and a.c. cords do not....I can tell you this ,you have not heard all of what your system can do, I dont care how long you have had it.Roy Gregory of HI-FI Plus reveiwed the Nordost Thor in issue 35, I am sure you will hear more about this stuff...It is a profound enhancement in my system recipe.

Ecclectique, yes I contacted Edward Wolcow of Foundation Research and now I have the Cd player, Syrah, and the Cary 805C monoblocks connected to the wall with these power cords. I can tell you that the sound is not colored or tamed like with the more then twice expensive Shunyata Anaconda VX. They are exellent power cords that keep out RF from the system in both directions. The sound, as I told in a prior post is just cleaner and the cables keep intact the personality of every part of the rig. If anyone is interested can find information at http://www.stereotimes.com/acc032703.shtm
or just in Google looking for Foundation Research power cord.
Thanks for let me know about these cables and yes, they are in my experience the best ones I´ve tried ever in my system.

Hello everyone. I recieved my Chenin in early December and as the unit breaks in Ive been experiencing a strange effect. Over the past 2 months I have noticed a gradual increase in upper midrange glare and grain. Mostly noticeable on voices and seems more prominent on better recordings. Every other aspect of the sound is getting better as time goes on so this is a little confusing to me. I should say that right now Im just using the line stage as I have not settled on a table yet. Im wondering if the Chennin is actually becoming more revealing as it breaks in and is showcasing limitations elsewhere in my system. Any input will be much appreciated. My system consists of:
Wadia 861
Chennin
VTL MB 125 Tube amps
Vandersteen 2CE Sig
(2) Vandersteen 2WQ Subs with model 5 crossover
Cardas Goldencross
Kimber Bifocal XL speaker cable
BDR cones
Room is approx 14 x 30 with system on long wall

Hello Braro,

I too have the Chenin. If it was me, I will try the rectifier tube or the 6SN7's.

If the rectifier is noisy, the regulator will regulate the voltage just fine but will not eliminate any noise (ripple) that can pass thru. The 6SN7's on the other hand can be microphonic and will present the same problem.

just a thought

Hi all,

I have been using a Chardonnay for nearly a year now. This has been the single best upgrade i have done to my system. The Chardonnay has single handedly transformed my system to a level not possible without having to spend serious money.

I am very greatful to this thread & to all the people who have contributed tremendously. THANKS EVERYONE !! Made my life a lot easier ( no more swapping pre's for a long while ) & bringing real joy along with the pride of owning something special.

Some Supratek owners have previously commented that they have compared the Supratek with pre's costing in the $15K range. My first thought was ......yes i thought it was a lot of talk. Few months back i had a friends $16K solid state dual box-design pre in my system by a reputed US manufacturer. To cut a long story short let's say that my friend was not very happy . So for the people still on the fence, take a chance. This would be a decision very hard to regret. I too was skeptical but VERY glad that i took the plunge. Thanks again Slowhand for bringing this wonderful pre to our homes & hearts & thankyou Mike for putting it within our reach without a $15K tag.

O.K. Need a bit of advise. I need to roll my regulator tubes & would like to try the 6F6 highly recommended here.
I know this has been discussed above but now i need to order some tubes for my poweramp & thought of ordering a pair of 6F6's at the same time. The order has to be made fast so does not give me a lot of time to read all the posts. So pls. bear with me.

I would appreciate if you can educate me briefly on the brands & types of 6F6's i should look at and what shade of sound i can expect from them.

Cheers & happy listening,