Preamp Deal of the Century

Slowhand,

If you have already posted your speaker impressions, I missed them. I am in the market. Could you please tell me what you heard that impressed you and what disappointed you.

Thanks,

Warren

The following speakers impressed me. The Audiokinesis Dream Maker at $9000 a pair was very nice, but the Jazz Module at $4500 a pair seemed like a great buy.The Jazz Module has 92db efficiency, 32Hz to 17.5 kHz and is tube friendly. The Studio Electric T3 speakers sounded great. They listed at $8000 a pair. I also heard some monitor speakers in the Soundsmith room that blew me away. Fantastic sound in a small box. I don't remember the model, but they are on the Soundsmith website. For cost-no-object the Proclaim DMT-100 was very impressive. You can see them at proclaimaudioworks.com 3 round balls that set on a aluminum alloy stand. Price $26,000! I am sure there were more, but I don't remember them right now.

Hi to all Supratekies ...

About 4 years and a couple thousands posts back I bumped into this thread and was grabed by the enthusiast, knowdledge and camaradery of most of it's posts to the extent that I read throughout the whole thing, when still it was somewhat feasible to do ...
At some point mid through it I decided that it was worth the risk so I became a Supratek owner. Now on my third unit, a full 6SN7 Grange, I am happier than ever that I came aboard Mick's train, not only for the sonic and visual attributes of it's products but for the quality of Mick's support.

Several months ago I read Fiddler's post about the V-caps and Dact attenuator. I had in my agenda some minor mods. I needed to do in my unit like adding a 2nd. phono input and changing some loading values on the phono stage to better fit my cartridges. I was able to find a local technician with a long tube expertise and plenty of high-end sensibility. After discussing the project with Mick and following his advise and considering all his words of caution I went ahead with it.

I ended up changing the output caps, in my case a pr. of 9uf 200v Auricaps for 6.8uf OIMP V-Caps and the 2 phono stage .56uf Auricaps for teflon .68uf V-Caps. Mick approved the value changes. In the case of the output caps I was forced to go with the oils (OIMP) from the V-Caps because the teflon's value (and price) were not available. After studying the V-Caps site and a couple of emails with Chris Ven Haus and considering the much lower price of the OIMP I went with them. I also changed the Alps for the DACT attenuator.

To this point I have put short of 200 hrs. on the unit. I can tell you without any doubt that this has been the greatest improvement from a modification to my system I have experienced. The improvement in clarity and detail is very notable but also in weight, punch and air without any detriment to the tonality of the presentation. In my case both changes(capacitors and volume control) were done at the same time so cannot separate their individual contributions.

The Teflon V-Caps cost was $314 and the OIMP were $112; the DACT was $190, pluss the corresponding shipping and about $100 for the whole labor. To me it was very much worth it.

I would also ask the tube experts on this thread about a rectifier substitution. I am considering a Western Electric 422A NOS which I am told can be a sustitution for the GZ32/5AR4 rectifier used by this unit. Is this a valid substitute? Any comment as to it's sonic attributes? Not a cheap alternative, so any comment will be greatly appreciated.

Keep in touch.

I am reporting on hearing the Monduese amplifiers.

I have always wanted a pair of Gale 401 chrome speakers for my second system.I am also a furniture designer and in my opinion they are the most lovely looking speakers ever built and very designer collectable.I remember hearing these in my youth powered by monster Accuphase power amps and Linn Sondek turntables.After many years of searching I managed to get a pair but they required a complete refurbishment including new woofer surrounds and spiders.I managed to get NOS midranges from Madisound and installed these too.

Now these have to be one of the most demanding of speakers to drive to their potential.They are low impedence and have highly damped sealed boxes.Many 200 watt RMS transistor amps really struggle to drive them.Furthermore they really don't sound that great with SS amps-which is what most people are forced to use.The bass quality in these when driven by such amps is exceptionally detailed and tight however.They are indeed famous for the quality and accuracy of their bass.

With a decent tube amp they can sound really magic though.They open up in a way that would make you doubt you are listening to the same speaker.Unfortunately the bass quality tends to suffer[the old story but magnified with these particular speakers].

With the Monduese they sound superb right across the sectrum.I have heard many Gales before but they have never sounded like what I heard with the Monduese.I would rank this as one of the very best sounds I have heard.They go from good to really great.

It beggars this question.If they can do this for a 30 year old speaker[albeit one of the best and most modern sounding of the vintage speakers],then what can they do for modern hi end speakers that are a difficult load ?

In am surely tempted to buy a pair of these and put the Gales in my "good" system with my Cabernet preamp.

here's a dumb question:

how do i call mick? i have never made an international call. from what i gather, i dial 011 61 8 97572639 or 011 61 8 97579786. which of these numbers is the best number? i can't really tell if one is a fax number from his website info.

before you say it, i already know that mick is 13 hours ahead of my time zone so i will call at an appropriate hour.

thanks.