Preamp Deal of the Century

Richmon: With your concerns about heat, just stick a 4"x4" square double layer of aluminium tinfoil (shiney side out) under the shelf above your power supply tube, it should act as a heatshield. Since you have an open sided shelf, heat build up shouldn't be a problem.

Slowhand: I agree, the Supratek phono sections are a real gem! My turntable with Koetsu Rosewood cartridge murders my digital front-end consisting of Sony XA-7ES + Bel Canto DAC-2. Digital sound is nice when listened to in isolation, but just doesn't stand up to an A-B comparison against analogue...

Regards,

Steve M.

Thanks for the feedback lads, hard to believe that the phono will be even better than the line output, Jimi Hendrix was in my living room last night, playing the 'experience Hendrix' CD remaster of Electric Ladyland. Found myself in the kitchen between CD's muttering to myself 'damn that sounded good, damn that sounded good' - if the LP playback gets even better, scarey to think what I'll be mumbling about next.
My concern about the heat build up around the power supply tube was more about tube life, not actual fire.

Richmon,
I'm in a similar situation, as you are. I recently bought a new Chenin from Mick M., and wanted to share my impressions.
When you say:"amount of ‘sweetness’ in the midrange, would like some more of that."- I'm not exactly sure what you meant, but what I'm hearing, is the slight emphasis in the presence region (voices especially).
It does make it sound very "alive", but on some recordings it becomes too forward, boardering on irritating.
Again, I like many things, that Chenin does excellently, but it defenitely will not let you " to sit back and relax", it requires your full attention.
And to me it's becoming a matter of personal preference in a sense what one expects from the listening session- relaxation or kind of an "analytical" and "wow" experience.
I should make a few reservations though:
My Chenin is new and likely is not broken-in fully
My source is digital (Modwright tubed Denon 3910)
And my impressions are of course relative to my previous pre-amp McIntosh C-45.
I would love to know if anybody else shares my impression of Supratek midrange?
Also, what tube(tubes) can make midrange to sound more "recessed" if you will.

Hi everybody,
would you please advise on the Supratek Chenin? I own Quad ESL-57's (w/PK treble panels) driven by a refurbed Radford STA-25 MkIII (great combination imo). I (have to) listen nearfield. My current pre is a Precision Fidelity C-7a sp (w/step-up trannies for MC) and my cart is a ZYX Fuji silver (0.2 mV). I do like this set-up, but I have read so many good things about the Chenin and now I could get it used. Would you recommend the Chenin for my system? Some people indicate it is a bit forward sounding. While I slightly prefer relaxed and a bit laid-back to forward sound, wouldn't the Chenin's sound complement the laid-back character of the 57's?
Another question: through my current set-up each LP sounds very different, i.e. it is a relatively "neutral" system and I like that very much. Could it be that the Chenin has a too strong personality which would make LP's sound less different and so the system less "neutral"? I would appreciate fast responses very much.
Regards,
frankiealverti

I have never found Supratek preamps to sound "forward" or "in your face". This is what I love about Mick's preamps, they are very good at conveying the music without adding to it. If the recording is bad, you will know it. If the recording is great, you will be in heaven.

If you guys are not listening to analog through your Supratek's, I highly recommend that you start. As good as the line stage is, the phono stage is the real gem. I am ALWAYS able to relax more when listening to LP's. They just have a more organic sound to them.

Maril555, I believe the "hard" sound that you are hearing must have to do with lack of break in. Remember, these preamps only get better with time. This is why so many people throughout the thread have recommended not tube rolling for the first 200 hours.

When I had my Syrah, I used to tube roll, but now that I have my Cortese, I just don't feel the need. It is fun to do for a while, but Mick tunes these preamps to the tubes he puts in them, and I trust his judgement. I own various 6sn7's, VT-231's, but what I use in the Cortese is EH 6sn7's. They sound great and you won't go broke buying tubes.