Preamp better than Cortese?



It seems Supratek offers enormous value for $$.

So far from above posts it seems Audio Note (ok 50% costlier) and H-CATs (cheaper) are the preamps compared to and MIGHT be better than Cortese (ok it is subjective). Any other pres like Ayre K1x or transformer passives like Silver Rock/Bent TX102s/Dog which might be comparable to Cortese in performance?

Skorpio
skorpiokis38c1

Showing 3 responses by glreno

The Silver Rock has no peer in active pre-amps. Twl is correct. If it works in your system, there is nothing better. I will never go back to an active. I couldn't stand the coloration after living with a Silver Rock. By the way, I had a Supratek Chardoney as well as many others.
Wow! That's a real bombshell, Brian. You're saying that Mick sold an obviously defective product on A'gon, knowing that it was improperly manufactured (by himself)? That doesn't represent his product very well. "Horribly malfunctioning and miswired"? YIKES!! Was it dangerous? How many high-end manufacturers would sell an obviously defective product that they assembled, knowing that it's performance would be evaluated as the benchmark for that product's capabilities by whomever happens to be the next unlucky owner? The more owners that have it (and there will be many if it sucks), the more bad opinions are created about the product. And all will be saying the same thing..."what's the big deal with these Supratek pre-amps?" I know I am. And so is Jeffga. High-end audio is a comparatively small market, and word spreads fast. I'm amazed that he would allow this to happen. Was this disclosed to Jeffga when Mick sold it to him? Why wasn't it shipped back for correction, as opposed to "dumping" it on A'gon? This could be the topic of a thread all by itself.
Good for Mick! Small manufacturers need to be mindful of their reputations, and the damage one or two bad products can cause to them if allowed to make their way through the audio community. I just wish I would have had the chance to hear a good one. Thanks for the info on the other pres, Tbg. Is there a website for these things?