Preamp Deal of the Century

Hmm, quite a thread...

You leave for a couple of years, come back, and 2500 posts!

Has anybody told you guys lately that you need very, very deeeeep therapy?!

I see slowhand. Any bwhite, or did he burn out before hitting a Kondo M1000 with NOS tubes that don't exist anymore except in a small stash recently discovered in an abandoned army depot just across the Maginot line? :0) (hi bwhite, wherever you are, are, are...)

I don't have the time to read everything here. Can some knowing-soul offer an evolutionary synopsis, in 10 words or less?

Great to see everyone still at it; the music, that is.

Mark

Hello Mark,

Good to hear from you. Have not heard from BWhite in a long time. Some of us have decided that Mick was right about the fact that tube swapping is not really necessary for great sound. When I replaced my Syrah with the Cortese, I found that it sounded best to my ears with the stock tubes. These are the tubes the preamp was tuned to and Mick has a great ear for sound. The talk now is about the Malbec amps that Mick has started building. Amps that are a perfect match the the wonderful Supratek preamps are what we have waited for. And they are affordable to boot. I am getting ready to order a pair, but I must say that they will need to be extremely good to best my Berning ZH270 amp. I love this amp and can't see ever getting rid of it, but I would love to directly compare it to the Malbecs. Mick has taken on a couple of partners, and it seems that orders are not taking near as long as the 11 months I waited for my Cortese (worth every minute)

Sorry, that was more than 10 words.

Slowhand,I found a good home for my beloved CJ MF2500A,,I actually love the sound of this amp ! Crazy hobby!I just cant resist wondering how the Malbec monos are going to sound with my Chardonnay,,,I ll be shipping my CJ out Monday,,so ill get a taste of what Kgturner is going thru,,staring at my ampless speakers!!!

Hello Ray,

Hopefully your wait without an amp will be short.

Can anyone give me an idea of the life span of regulator tubes like the 350B or 6F6G in the Chardonnay? thanks