Preamp Deal of the Century

My take on Supratek,

I would like to vent and pass along what I experienced, it's not good. I am aware of others also who had issues but don't want to post do to being ridiculed.

I ordered a Sauv. pre and was given a date of delivery which turned out only to be a lie, the pre arrived months late. I was in contact with Mick on numerous occasions once the delivery date passed, what really pissed me off was he contacted me saying it was ready for delivery and for me to pay the balance in which I did. Weeks after paying I still never received anything and when I was back in contact with Mick he only gave me excuses which were lies, one lie after another, not a good way of doing business.

When the product finally arrived, in a DHL box. Not even a manufacturer's box or double boxed. The worse packaging I have ever seen, the packaging was a joke.

I opened the package up to only find my new pre looking poor in the quality of the finish. The corners were all cracked, the high gloss black finish had some runs and other areas with an orange peel effect, the chrome top plate of the pre it's self appeared to have smear marks or water marks. I tried to clean but found that this was just a poor chroming job. The power supply chrome plate was only partially plated. I was disgusted.

Prior to buying I had read and discussed with Mick that he personally inspects and listens to every piece during burn-in prior to going out the door, humm! I don't believe that either.

When you read the owners manual it also refers to this along with the reference to being hand made saying there will be marks etc. but for you the owner to appreciate this like owning a rug, bla! bla! What a joke this was! if I had read that prior I would have never bought it.

When I connected the pre., well there were issues there also.

Contacted Mick and was given excuses suggesting it was to do with the shipping company, humm! Didn't believe that either, how could you.

A friend also got a Gra pre around the same time, his had quality issues also, some the same but others which included the volume knob would not even turn.

The remote what a joke! I have never seen such a piece of crap! I paid allot of money for this pre.

Got another one, replacement months later again waiting and again, poor quality of finish, same crappy remote and crappy packaging. The chroming again wasn't all that but better, cracks in the corners again but this time my volume knob would not turn. The hole cut was off set just like what my friends was which was causing it to bind.

This was my most horrid experience in audio and I'm not alone as others have shared their experience with me.

The sound, nothing all that special.

Not shocked to see him gone and would never recommend his product.

I can only weigh in as a happy Supratek Syrah owner. I bought my direct from Mick about six years ago. One of the remotes died about two years ago (four years after I had had the pre). I got a prompt response from Mick, who sent me a new remote for about $15 including shipping - which was perfect. Also, the remote dying was likely my fault (wear and tear). I also had an issue with the volume knob siezing up. I got it fixed locally by an audio tech, and Mick offered to pay half (and he sent on a new volume pot).

I'm guessing that perhaps service/quality dropped in more recent years? As, it's hard for me to reconcile my very good experience with that of others' bad experience. One thing I will say is tht the pre was late, by maybe a month, but he only asked for final 50% payment days before shipping.

Finally, the pre is a gem - like some others have said, I've tried 'upgrading' the phono stage, but to no avail - I guess I need to spend way more $$.

Dev, sorry to hear about your experience. I think the input you provided is all valid - the only point I have trouble with is the references to the remove(s). Yes, they are crappy, but there were never advertised or marketed as otherwise. The remote met my expectation based on discussions in the online forums here.

happy listening..

Just kidding you Maril555, TVAD, I agree about coloration. Actually, all of audio, regardless of ad hype, is a series of 'pick your color'. Every manmade piece has it's own unique sound. We end up simply deciding which one's seem to be more real to us than others. "Pleasant colorations are the order of the day." One man's overly rounded Vandersteen is another man's 'musical', and one man's sterile THIEL is another man's neutral.
Personally, when I set out to design a speaker, I made it sound the way that I thought it should sound, picking my favorite 'flaws' from a series of flaws.
The only design which escaped that was a 'no holds barred' (sort of) LSA10, in which I picked VERY expensive drivers, then had the crossover made to minimize the known limitations of each one therein. THAT was fun. But even with them, they had colors, but at least, my favorite colors.
As to Micks preamps and amps, he selected a color which pleased a great many people obviously.
It seems that this is the 'thread that wouldn't die', because his products had such a following.
I do find it surprising that there aren't a ton of his products for sale on the Audiogon pages. I suspect that the lack of warranty could be an issue for many.

after a long silence quite a spray - Maril55 - sssso sssibilance turns into coloration - I am sure ssssupratek owners are surprised by your vassilation on this matter.

Lrsky - it appears you can can establish coloration from reading posts and can divine that no resales mean warranty worries rather than satisfied owners

amazing

Have no time to read all of the mammoth tread but I vote for Promitheus TVC. I have not heard them all but just can`t imagine another preamp for $500 that comes even close to it.