Ecclectique:
You know, I'm not sure what to tell you - I don't think I'll be of much help here. I just got the Wyetech Sapphires in a couple weeks before the Cabernet Dual and have not had the opportunity to pair the Sapphires with any other decent pre. I ran them briefly with the pre-outs of a $2500 Boston Acoustics rcvr, awaiting the arrival of the Supratek, so any observations at this time have little merit...
What I can say is that adding the Supratek is a huge step up, particularly in the treble and bass, size of soundstage, tonality overall, and in dynamics.
My source: Modwright SONY 999 with Signature Truth mods, the better clock, tubed output stage (Tungsol 5687s) with separate power supply. Power cord here is Tekline's best all-copper model. All components run off a Tripp-lite power bar, soon to be upgraded to a Running Springs Haley PLC.
Speakers: B&W Signature 805 monitors, 8-ohm nominal dropping no lower than 4.6 ohms, 88dB sensitivity, and a first order cross to the tweeter. These are bi-wired with Tekline's best copper.
The Sapphires are currently running with stock cords. An NBS dragonfly powers the Supratek. All cords will soon be upgraded to either Dream State or Stealth.
Front end interconnects are either Tekline's best silver model with Eichmann bullets (for SACD) or a Totem Sinew (for CD), with an Oritek X1 btwn pre and amps. This latter IC will be upgraded to a Jade Hybrid eventually.
So even with these limitations, I can only say the sound OF THE SYSTEM is quite natural, open, harmonically rich, and dynamic, but a tad too warm. I should also add that the Sapphire's 18wpc parallel SET sounds subjectively more powerful than my former 30wpc Audiomat Opera in push-pull! This may be due to the Sapphires' higher amount of 2nd harmonics that allegedly add body to the sound.
It's just very difficult for me to distinguish btwn what the pre is contributing vs that of the amps, since I've not compared each component to others. I can say that the Supratek is definitely NOT typically "tubey"-sounding, yet the mids are quite holographic and perfectly lush - not syrupy, as I would imagine a cheaper Cary or Quicksilver might sound. But this is probably due more to the Sapphires' 300Bs than from Supratek's 101Ds. I've yet to try the other preamp circuit using 6H30s, since this will eventually drive a REL.
The treble is very smooth, delicate, and harmonically rich - definitely NOT representative of your typical solidstate or digital offering.
Bass on this 101D circuit is weak in volume but high on texture and nuance. The REL addition later should alleviate the lack of dB.
I don't believe the Supratek is taking anything AWAY from the Sapphires, and is quite likely adding much to the soundstage and dynamics.
Also note that I've yet to roll tubes: the 6SN7s are stock Electroharmonix, the 101Ds are TJs, every thing else is Sovtek. Any recommendations for upgrades anyone??
I will have to comment later after the power cord, PLC, and interconnect upgrades, but so far so good, aside from a tad too much warmth, which I'll take over sterility any day.
Anyone willing to send me their ARC Ref 3, Aesthetix Callisto, or reasonable equivalent for comparison is most welcome to do so!
