Preamp Deal of the Century

Zachzdb,
I don't even want to make it a personal issue with you and your unbalanced post, I don't really care.
But I really think this discussion is helpful to all of us Supratek owners.
I think I could have not responded better, than Opus88 did.
The listening experience he's describing, reflects mine exactly- it made me first choose albums I wanted to listen to very carefully, and I found myself avoiding certain ones- as an example: Norah Johnes (the second one), Jethro Tull "Christhmas Album", many Beatles albums, all Rolling Stones SACDs, etc.
As Opus88 said, the problem is in slight elevation in the upper midrange (I think 1500-2000 Hz), it sounds almost like a resonant frequency of sort.
Am I imagining it?- hell no. It did make me wince, and turn the music off.
I'm sure room acoustics, vibration control and system synergy do play a role.
But here is my problem- I have no doubt, that Supratek emphasized all these potential problems, lying somewhere else in the system dormant, until it's introduction.
That pretty much reflects Opus88 experience as well- HE DID NOT HAVE GLARE IN HIS SYSTEM UNTIL HE BROUGHT SUPRATEK IN !!! I think that much is clear from his initial post.
Is that a Supratek "fault", I don't know, is this a culprit- most likely, which brings me back to a point I'm trying to make.
If one of the system components requires changing the whole system, cabling, supporting components, room acoustics and one's listening habits- You guessed it, something is inherently wrong.
Do I think all Supratek owners know nothing about organic sound?- NO, I DON'T.
At the same time I'm sure not going to discard my own listening experience as invalid- it is my experience, whether someone likes it or not.
My system at the time:
Modwright Signature Platinum Denon 3910- tube output stage
Supratek Chenin
BAT-75 SE
VonSchweikert VR-4JR.
As you can see not a single SS component.
I did use Herbie's on tubes and Herbie's tenderfeet under Supratek.
DIY 2" thick Maple shelves and brass rods rack, sitting on
Audiopoints.
DIY room treatments.
One comment about NuForce pre- it was introduced after I redesigned my listening room, and yes, there is no glare.
I did try Chenin with EAR-power amp (EL-34)
Butler (Hybrid design).
The glare problem was most pronounced with BAT (it does have higher resolution, than the above two amps).
For all happy Supratek owners- do not let that spoil your enjoyment, Supratek is highly musical, dynamic and exciting component.
One more comment- if you want to hear about somebody elses opinion on Supratek, please see A-gon section "Members systems", called "Almost live" in "All out assault" subsection. I think David can qualify as "non-mid-fi-hack"

Brad-
Thanks for posting here and giving everyone an update on the situation.

Maril555-
Well said! No one should discount another's impressions of what they are hearing in their systems. If you are hearing the glare - at the end of the day all that matters is that you hear it and it is not pleasing to you. That said, I must say that I have not heard glare in my system. I for one think that the Supratek preamps are very revealing of even the slightest issues in source components or system synergy, and will send downstream everything it hears. For example: my turntable and cartridge combination allow for and reveal minute changes in VTA with respect to the presentation of the music. Even the most tiny adjustments are passed by the Supratek to the amps and speakers and are very easy to hear.

Each of us should learn from the others's experiences, rather than find fault with them. Just because your experience with a product does not match mine does not make it any less valid...

Thank you Joe,
A voice of wisdom at last.

Oh dear,where do I start?
It used to be expected that anyone complaining of a Supratek problem was directed/expected to at least read all of this thread through first. Apparently it's too long now,oh well.

When you attribute system problems to a single piece of gear,you're slamming the manufacture. This obviously isn't a problem for Conrad Johnson or Audio Research or any large company. The difference is that you do far more damage to a small,formerly single man operation that lives on web word of mouth. Many people reading these complaints might get the wrong impression many or all owners suffer this "glare",thus hurting the reputation of Micks' operation. The reason I brought up all 56 pages is to show that to my knowledge(I could well be wrong here),you two are the first to complain of said problem.

There might've been mention of something similar a few pages back,but I believe it was attributed to a cartridge mismatch? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Opus88-
1)"nothing constructive to say"
I asked for specific frequencies and recordings,so that other owners could see if they could reproduce the same sounds. This is the basis of any scientific research,perhaps you've heard?

2)Your "conscious or unconscious" remark was a pompous,overbearing slam at us owners. You hear the problem,so the problem exists for all owners,we just don't want to admit it!! You missed the point of my followup,consiously or unconsiously ;^) and then follow it up with another arrogant doozie.

3)"All of us have not been fully consious(here we go again) of certain goings on in our everyday experiances"
If I could stop laughing at your runaway ego and arrogance,I might remind you that we're big boys too,and can discern any problems with our systems. So far,not one other "glare complaint" in 56!!!!! pages.

4) "Man to man,imagine the kind of frustration you already alluded to with your Apogees".
Huh? No frustration here,so stop trying to twist my meanings to suit your lack of evidence to back your case. I never said I use my Apogees everyday. The constant moving of those speakers is a labor of love,as any owner of more than 2 weeks will tell you. They sound wonderfull,yet will reward owner involvement with even greater(or sometimes lessor) sound if a person is willing to get off their duff and get involved. Think of it as similar to tube rolling,but with much greater results.

5) "I won't respond to bitter,misplaced statements"
Respond to this,jerk,those two last staements by me were an attempt to show you two that,yes,there are previously recognized faults with the Suprateks. The one that you misquoted(once again,perhaps best to check those reading glasses)is one that Mick is aware of and has tried experimenting with both Dact and Wellborne Labs volume controls to fix the problem with the remote operated pres,but to reiterate,they won't fit.
"Picks your poison" means nothing more than an owner willingly giving up some transparency for the remote option.

Maril555-
Your rebuttal is clearly much more thought out,with several specifics which is what I was aiming for,whether you or your partner in crime(just a joke,relax!) believe it or not.
I was hoping perhaps this was only happening on a few recordings. No such luck. You've tried many combinations and the problem still exists. Well,that's not helping ;^).
Clearly,unless something wrong is found inside your pre,that system synergy just isn't happening for you and no,can't expect anyone to totally redo an other wise fine system for just one component. Bad luck,that. We all can commiserate on that point. However,I do have a difference with some of your points.

1) "Unbalanced post."
I will not sit here and let anyone slam Supratek if I detect the slightest smell to their claims. That's why I keep referring to the entire thread,I would assume you would agree that if you two are the only ones to complain,you're in the VERY distinct minority.
I have also had it up to here with a certain attitude displayed on A'Gon in increasing frequency the last few years. That being:"I spend,therefore I am" philosophy. It will only get you wisdom if approached with an open mind,something I see lacking here by you two.

2)" But I think this discussion is helpful to all of us Supratek owners"
Really? Besides you two,who else? Potential buyers to scare off? No one else has backed your claims. I'm not saying they don't exist,I NEVER said that,but I'm frustrated when absolutely no one else has heard this. There are just so many variables here that you're taking for granted.

3) " 1500-2000 Hz resonant frequency".
Okay,either something internally is wrong with your pre,or you've just discovered a room fault. Resonant is vibration,period! I assume you've at least exhausted all settings on your preamps. Do the gain switches change anything? Could it be some kind of feedback with your TT/cartridge? I know you've probably long past these simple ideas,but I have to ask.

4)" He didn't have the glare in his system until he brought the Supratek in"
I hope to God you're not in charge of any important scientific research anywhere. The leaps of faith you're making are huge. Do you personally know opus88? You seem awfully sure his hearing is good,have either of you actually had your hearing tested lately? I'm serious,all of our ears change as we age,can you be absolutely positive that nothing physical is contributing to your problems? I've had my ears tested,BTW. You might be surprised at what can happen as the years go by.

5) " Almost live by Dlanslem"
You know,you had me leaning towards your side,and then just lost me with that crap. Are you kidding me? Look,anyone here can find in a matter of minutes a review that isn't totally positive about ANY piece of gear that you or I have ever heard. That's why there's so many choices. You overplayed your hand with that one,it shows you really have nothing substantial to back up your claims.

6) "A voice of wisdom at last."
Really? What specific wisdom? What actual questions were asked by Joe? None,just feel good thoughts meant to soothe. You two want your hands patted,go find your Mommies.

Oh,and opus88,I live with someone that has a degree in Psychology. Please refrain from your simpleton pop Psychology tactics. On second thought,continue,it provides us with no lack of laughter,very important these days.

Please,both of you sell your Suprateks and move on to other things,I'm sure you'll both be much happier. If not,I wish you the best of luck with your problems.

Opus and Marril,

I think you should feel perfectly at ease making the statements you have.
Your experiences are clearly not typical though.So either there is something unusual going on with your systems' synergy or you hear differently to most people.

I wonder what interconnect cables you are using?.

It seems to me that very high resolution preamps like the Suprateks do not sound right with silver cables.Such cables do seem to have a glare to them and the Suprateks simply don't suit them in my experience.
Copper seems much better and if you really want to smooth things out and take away the "brightly lit" the Van den Hul carbon fibre cables[The First] -even just used between source and preamp-are probably your best solution.

These cables are not cheap but they bring an organic sound to systems without any loss of detail or imaging.