Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi Steve, Okay... please don't take what I wrote as being down on Supratek per se'. A few posts above, I wrote to Baranyi that one must spend A LOT of money to do better than the Supratek.

I did not state that the Supratek wasn't "high-end". I asked for you to by-pass the Supratek and run your source direct to the amp. That is the only way you will ever know what the Supratek REALLY does to the music.... and until you have tried it, everything you say about it is absolutely meaningless. Sorry. There is no other way to really understand what is going on until you elimiate what it does.

Running direct to the amp means NO ATTENUATION. Use Bolero by Ravel to do the test because it starts off very quiet and gradually becomes louder. You can stop the track before it gets too loud.

I used an Aesthetix IO Signature phono preamp set to 50db running direct to my amp. I imagine this test will work with any source... But... CD's always seem to sound more musical through a Supratek regardless. I guess the colorations really help that format. The real test is pure analog running direct. That will show you the truth.

Having heard what the Supratek did to the music, I immediately went to a passive design and it was terrible! Killed dynamics, clipped harmonics, and just destroyed the sound. Replacing the passive with the Cortese made things much better but... I could still hear the colorations of the Supratek.

I have since tried this with many preamps and they all diminish the source signal consierably.

Yes.. I agree 100% the Supratek brings a lively & emotional feeling to the music via coloration - but to me it does lack transparency. To justify that statement, let me just say I know a few Supratek owners who have changed the stock attenuators to DACT attenuators and report greater transparency.

I guess what set me off is the suggestion that better speakers would allow us to hear more of the Supratek's inner detail because I wanted to hear less of the Supratek' effects (both positive and negative) and more of the music.

Even though I love the Supratek, I have gripes with the design and implementation. Maybe I HAVE grown frustrated.

I know the Supratek is good but I think it can be better with a few somewhat minor changes.

Baranyi,

My Chenin's lay-out(back) goes like this:

From Left To Right
Phono(input1), Input2, Input3, Input4, REC(Tape), Play(Tape), Out1, Out2, Gain (Independent Channel Balance on Mine), and Power.

Enjoy

Thanks Amandarie! I noticed that you sold your H2O. Where are you going now with your system? Bob

Nicely said Brian and I can appreciate where you are coming from. I'm curious though, as to how you are able listen 'direct' from your turntable without any attenuation - this is not a realistic option in the real world (in order to keep domestic harmony)? In this 'direct' situation you are also assuming that your amp is completely uncolored (which it cannot possibly be).

While I can certainly appreciate that removing the preamp removes a whole lot of electronics from the music reproduction chain, for most of us a control centre a la Supratek preamp is still a necessity. I still maintain that as you move towards hi-rez speakers you will hear more of what your Suprateks are doing.

Regards,

Steve.

>>I still maintain that as you move towards hi-rez speakers you will hear more of what your Suprateks are doing.<<

Steve, I don't think anybody would argue this point but the same could be said of any reference level component be it interconnect, phono cartridge, etc. As the overall system resolution increases it naturally enables each component to perform optimally. There's no question that a Supratek linestage/preamplifier sounds better with high rez speakers but it is not an absolute necessity to enjoy it. All of course IMO.