Preamp Deal of the Century

Right On Thaluza!

I got my sauvignon about a year ago. I waited for it almost 9 months. It was when Supratek had announced that it was about to close. My sauvignon came into a Chardonnay exterior (there is the chardonnay name engraved on it) but Mick assured me that it was indeed a sauvignon. They had run out of sauvignon exteriors and as supratek was closing, he used a chardonnay exterior. He gave me a paper that was assuring that it was indeed a sauvignon.

I am extremely satisfied from Mick. His emails were very responsive, and there was a response to every of my (more than 60) emails I sent him. I did not get any rude response, and I was very excited that he was promptly answer even my most silly questions.

I love my pre. The finish is spot on, no problems at the chrome plates. It also has a headphone out for my Sennheiser 650 (matching their 300 Ohms).

I can not be more satisfied than I am. I hope Mick is well...

There is a Chenin just listed today for sale finished in chrome and piano black.

"there is a" = "my"

I have made another mod to my Chenin that may interest some. As you know, I have converted it to run 7193 tubes in place of the 6SN7s; that's still humming along fine.

I recently decided to replace the no-name electrolytic filter caps in the power supply with 630V Solen PP film caps. I used the same value caps as the electrolytics - that would be 100uF and 33uF. The 100uF 630V cap comes in a metal can with radial leads, the 33uF is a standard film cap with axial leads. It is a very simple swap, just unglue the old caps from the chassis, remove the wires one at a time, and transfer them to the new caps. I fabricated clamps for the new caps, and also glued both of them down wth "Amazing Goop", a very strong adhesive/sealer. I recommend clamping all power supply caps (even though the stock caps aren't!) as it would be unfortunate to have one come loose and touch a part of the metal chassis.

How does it sound? I noticed a pretty obvious difference immediately. Cymbals and drum thwacks sound sharper, there is more detail in the highs, and the background seems a bit blacker. In general, the sound is more robust and dynamic - I heartily recommend this mod. Keep in mind the rest of my Chenin is not stock, so your mileage may vary. One more bonus: the film caps will last forever, unlike the electrolytics.

If you try this - enjoy!