Preamp Deal of the Century

Thanks Amandarae & Kgturner. I thought that the HT bypass issue had probably been resolved by now, but the length of this thread (about 6.2 million & counting) is prohibitive in finding out. I had also heard good things about the phono section but wasn't sure how it compared. I'm very fond of the Wright but not so much of the Tranny and extra IC's. Maybe the Chenin is worth pursuing though i've never been a fan of built ins because they are usually inferior.

OK so here I am looking for a new preamp and really considering the Conrad Johnson LS17. I would rather have the 16, but i can't afford that right now. I'm really close to pulling the trigger on the 17 when i decide to come here and see what others are saying about it when I stumble across this thread.
I am a die hard CJ fan. But I keep reading about this preamp (Chardonnay) bettering the CJ 17 (and maybe the 16 but I haven't read that far yet). So now I am intrigued and have emailed Mick to see what the lead time is on the Chardonnay. Maybe there was a reason that I hadn't pulled the trigger on the 17 yet. Anyway, thanks. I hope I can get one soon. I had heard of Supratek but didn't realize it had such a cult following. Then too, i haven't been looking for a preamp......till now.
The only reason for a change of preamp is that I want to see what a good tube preamp will do for my system. Anyone running a CJ MF 2500A with the chardonnay? Is it a good match?

I'm thinking very seriously about ordering the Chardonnay but I have a few questions. From my reading of the first couple of pages of this thread, it seemed that the theater bypass was problematic and caused some troubles? Has this problem been solved with the newer preamp? What is the cost of the theater bypass option? Also, what is the procedure if there is a problem and the unit needs service? Is there a place in the US that does repairs?
On another note, how does the phono preamp in the Chenin compare to a Wright phono preamp? i have the wright and am very fond of it. has anyone compared the two?
Thanks

I have wondered lately about the idea of separates when it comes to the phono stage. I know that separates have been the generally accepted way to obtain higher resolution, however I am not entirely sure of all the ramifications. Separate power supplies seem to be one big reason for separates. But is it a bad thing for the preamp/phono stage to share a power supply? Then too, what other compromises must be made for an all in one preamp? Or do compromises need to be made? I don't know the answer, but I'd like to hear from someone knowledgeable about circuitry.

Thanks Ray. I think I will wait till the first of the year and get the Chenin. I am told that its phono stage is better than my Wright so it seems to be worthwhile to get it. Also it seems that I have read that the Chenin has adjustments to help optimize its performance with the amp. Is that correct?