Preamp Deal of the Century

pablo:

the buzz is still present, but it may have more to do with the booster amp in the dB99's than the actual malbec amplifiers.

slowhand:

i've exchanged a few emails with mick regarding the dac he is working on. price point he had in mind was about $500 max which is an excellent price if it's up to the level of his preamps. he didn't mention it being tubed though he did related that it's non-oversampling with a unique i/v stage and output. unfortunately, i recently acquired a 47 labs shigaraki transport and dac. still, i might give the supratek dac a try whenever it surfaces.

kevin t

dilly:

from what i understand, the sylvania 6F6G (non-metal base) is the best to use if you're going to go with a 6F6. i ordered my chardonnay a while back based upon the rave and praise it was receiving in this thread. the way i see it, if i don't like it, i will have no trouble selling it here on a'gon for what i paid for it anyways. hopefully, i'll be enjoying my chardonnay shortly.

yay!!! i just got the nod from mick. my black / chrome chardonnay is ready. *giddy with anticipation*

kevin t

i placed the order back in august, but i made some late changes so that probably slowed it down some.

last i heard it was supposed to be non-oversampling, non-digital filter and retail for about $500-$700. that's about all i've heard from mick.

mine shipped on wednesday 3-23 and i picked it up from fedx on friday 3-25. the shipping is super fast. the build time is something else. :)

i posted this separately, but i guess i'll drop it in here since this thread is seeing some action:

i recently received my chardonnay, but i'm having difficulty teaching the supra remote's volume codes to my universal remote (home theater master mx-500). the mx-500 flashes "GOOD" so it says it has learned the codes, but when i try to use the mx-500 for volume control nothing happens. has anybody been successful in transferring the supra remote volume codes to another remote? thanks.

fiddler:

my chardonnay shipped with eh 6sn7. from what i recall, the sound was really good. my cary monos are also using 2 eh 6sn7's. i am currently running some black glass ken rads in the chardonnay. your post reminded me that i haven't actually done any critical listening between the two.

i was browsing the supratek site and noticed a new supratek monoblock amps. they're just called the supratek kt88. i guess mick hasn't sobered up from all the wine yet :) i shot him an email with a few questions. anybody happen to know anything about the new amps? looks like it uses 2 kt88's, 2 6sn7's, and 1 5ar4.

thanks, wc. i had emailed mick a while back and asked about the burgundy amps. he informed me that he had discontinued them and was working on a 100 watt kt88 amp. i'm pretty sure the current kt88 on his site isn't capable of 100 watts from just two kt88 though. i will definitely be intrested in the developments of this new amp as i'd love to have a 100+ watt supratek amp to mate with my chardonnay.

slowhand:

if your cortese is anything like my chardonnay, the switch in the right front is mute (toward the front is off, toward the back is on), the switch between the towers is ht/bypass (front - off, back - on), and the switch on each side of the 6SN7 is high/low gain. toward the back is low gain. toward the front is high gain i believe. and there's another gain knob on the back as well. congrats.

So last night I was listening to some music and noticed my left speaker was making a hissing / spitting sound during quiet passages. After checking all the tubes in my monoblocks, I realized that the culprit was the EH 6SN7 in my Chardonnay. I was wondering how the tube could have gone bad so quickly as I just received the Chardonnay in March of this year. I run the 6SN7 in high gain mode. Could the Bendix 6106 I'm using as a rectifier have cause the EH 6SN7 to fail prematurely? I ask because I read somewhere in this thread that the 6106 runs a bit higher than the 5AR4 / GZ34 recommended for the Supratek. Or could it just be a faulty tube? Thanks.

Lrsky:

Build quality seems excellent to me. The unit has a solid feel to it. That said, I'm sure if I dropped it, it wouldn't fair to well. My unit shipped packaged very rigidly in a large Fedex shipping box. You should have no concerns regarding the build quality of Suprateks.

all right! quick. who wants to cyber-squat? i'll sell mick back his domain for a cabernet and a pair of merlots. j/k.

slowhand:

i too am anxiously awaiting more info on this amp. your comment from last week about a $3000 price point had me all giddy inside. last time i emailed mick, he said nothing was definite yet as he was still testing longevity. i'll have to wait with baited breath and enjoy my cary's for now.

lrsky:

i own a supratek chardonnay and love it. from what i understand above service is that mick sends all the necessary information to a technician in the united states who does the work. there is no requirement of sending it all the way back to australia for repairs. mick states this about repairs on his website:

Q: What happens if something goes wrong?

A: It shouldn't but if it does getting it sorted takes priority - the best way is to get it fixed in your home state- while Supratek products are unique they aren't complex and any good technician should be able to solve any problems. With email I can send circuit diagrams and discuss any problems with the technician. The robustness of all Supratek products means that any problems will be minor. I am setting up a circle of good technicians around the globe as I'm able. Naturally I pay for any repairs.

baranyi:

unless you custom ordered it with xlr, the chenin does not have xlr connections.

anybody else having trouble with the supratek website? i tried emailing mick, but my email just bounced back. hopefully he's updating his site as it's definitely due for an update.

vicks7:

according to a system search, nickatkins uses merlin speakers and a supratek chenin preamp. i'm sure you could email him and ask any questions you have regarding this combo.

has anybody spoken with mick recently? i can't even email him because all my emails are bounced back as undeliverable. if anybody has his phone number, please email it to as i'd like to ask him a few questions about purchasing a cabernet. thanks.

anybody noticed the supratek cabernet that's currently up for sale?

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1142878331

larry is basically implying that mick has sold the business to the european investor and that mick will no longer be building any of his gear. sounds like some dangerous accusations to make considering there's no mention of mick bowing out anywhere on the supratek site (which is over due for an update) and mick's previous post only said that he was taking on partners to improve service and productivity. am i the only one dumbfounded by this?

larry:

the fact that you titled your ad: "supratek cabernet one of the last" sounds awfully like the company is out of business just from the title. keep in mind that mick's business is LARGELY due to word of mouth. bringing in investors and kevin covi (who is also responsible for assistance with the circuit design) does not mean that mick will no longer be an integral part of supratek.

slowhand:

any news on pricing of the kt88?

dammit! i thought there was something new there. just the same old info as previous. mick must be too busy churning out orders to update his site.

i'm still holding on for more news regarding the new kt88 amps.

slowhand:

did mick say anything about how the amps are wired? i'd presume that 60 watts from a single pair of KT88 tubes means the amps are wired for ultralinear operation. i'm hoping he can wire them for triode operation as well as i intend to biamp with the supratek amp on top and a pair of digital amps on bottom.

has anybody had a chance to hear the new cabernet using dual 6SN7's (2 pair that is) rather than 6SN7/DHT? mick said the new cab design is about $1k cheaper and sounds better. i know it's dumb of me, but i think the DHT version would look better so i'm still leaning in that direction. hopefully somebody has had a chance to hear the new cab. i would appreciate any insight from those in "the know."

slowhand:

last email i sent an email to mick regarding the kt88. he said he was a couple of weeks out waiting on a transformer supplier. shoot him a line as this was about a month ago when i emailed him i believe.

kenji:

the cabernet is able to use px4, 300b, and another dht which i can't remember. i'm not even sure if mick is still using the 101d though i'm sure he would if asked to do so. he said he prefers the new dual 6SN7 design over the dht design and he encountered issues with owners frying their dht because they'd forget to switch to the proper voltage and complaints of microphonics.

i just sent in my deposit for a pair of malbec monoblocks. mick said there's been a lot of interest so i have no idea how long it will be before they're delivered. i made it 8 months waiting for my chardonnay so i've learned how the be patient. i can't wait to hear these amps and how well they'll likely synergize with the chardonnay. naturally i'll post any and all impressions once i receive them. has anybody else pulled the trigger on the malbecs yet?

ray & slowhand:

to be honest, mick hasn't set firm pricing yet. before i sent in my deposit, he stated around $3000 so i'm presuming it's on the higher side of the 3. might be foolish of me, but i've learned to trust mick in my dealings with him. once i get a firm price from him, i'll let you all know.

ethifi:

i don't suppose you've got one channel set to high gain and one channel set to low gain? just a thought.

"unintentionally switched during cleaning"

ahhh! all too well do i know the pleasure and pain of the chrome chassis.

check out the 6moons mini-review of the new dual cabernet:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/supratek3/dualcabernet.html

looks like mick went back to the 6SN7 & tj 101d combo for the dual model. it's a pretty interesting read. i can't wait til the full review is out.

ethifi:

to be honest, mick hasn't given me a price yet. last time i questioned him about pricing, he stated that he was still trying to bring them in around $3000. i try to not email him too much as i imagine that could get annoying quickly. once i've heard back on final pricing, i'll post here for others to know.

ethifi:

the malbecs are a push-pull amplifier while the merlots are single-ended. the merlot is priced at $7000 per pair last i recalled.

according to mick, the malbec will have two iterations. one low powered (30-50 watts) and one high powered (100 watts). the low powered malbec can use EL34, 6550, and KT88 tubes from what i recall. the high powered can only used KT88 or 6550. mick stated the higher powered malbec is designed more for use with ribbons / electrostatic speakers.

FYI:

mick has updated the site to relfect new pricing and information on the malbec and mondeuse (high power malbec) monoblocks. i'm suprised at the pricing of the chrome plated option though. i wonder if that new price increase carries over into his preamps as well.

colink04:

i just scanned my manual. my chardonnay is close to your configuration (minus the balanaced outputs). here are the links to the pages. enjoy your preamp. i'm sure you will.

http://kgturner.home.mchsi.com/supratek_page1.jpg
http://kgturner.home.mchsi.com/supratek_page2.jpg
http://kgturner.home.mchsi.com/supratek_page3.jpg
http://kgturner.home.mchsi.com/supratek_page4.jpg

no word from mick yet. i put my deposit in on june 28. from what i recall, i'm toward the top of the list. i'll definitely post once they arrive. it's so hard sitting in my living room looking at my speakers unamplified.

hopefully my name is on a pair as well. of course, mick has said that the chroming process is very time consuming due to a high rejection rate. i'm keeping my fingers crossed. it's so hard to walk through the living room and see my von schweikert's standing there begging to be played.

no amp at this time. i was previously running cary audio slm-200 monoblocks into my gershmans. then i had an art audio carissa which wasn't powerful enough for the gershmans. i've now sold the gershmans and bought von schweikert dB99SE speakers which i've only used a denon receiver (avr-3806) with thus far. as you can imagine, i'm EAGER to get the call on my malbecs.

fyi:

mick has updated the site with new pics of the sauvignon and cabernet dual. i'm amazed that he was able to incorporate his new dual circuit for bi-amping while keeping the cost at it's original $5k mark. still foaming at the mouth for my malbecs, but what can i do?

my chardonnay is sitting in a salamander rack. i'll have to double check to be certain, but the bottom plates of my chardonnay are made from a thin layer of steel or some other type of metal that appears be powder-coated black.

i'm just using the regular old boring feet that came with the chardonnay. i've thought about possible tweaking with some cones / spikes, but i really don't have any audible issue with microphonics or vibration that i can notice. maybe one day i'll try some isolation devices for chuckles.

WOW! one week turnaround time. i waited 8 months for my chardonnay way back when. still waiting on the word for the malbecs. last i heard, mick told ray it would be any day now. i'm going to disneyworld for a week starting tomorrow, so hopefully when i get back, i will have received "the email" from mick.

i'm using a bendix 6106 in the rectifier position and have never noticed any type of image shift in my chardonnay. i also use eh 6SN7 and sovtek KT66 tubes. i think there are still several bendix 6106 at tubedepot.com for $30 per tube. it's definitely worth a try in my opinion.

Ikkyu2:

the labelling on your 6106 is correct. i believe the main difference between the 5AR4 and 5Y3GT (6106) is that the 6106 has a longer rise time than the 5AR4. the 6106 rises considerably slower than the 5AR4 as i'm sure you've noticed. for all intents and purposes though, the 6106 is interchangeable with the 5AR4 in the supratek circuit. check this thread for more discussion about the 6106 in suprateks:

Supratek Tubes and Tube Swappin' for Everybody

artemus:

the ht bypass issue has long since been corrected. my chardonnay has the ht bypass and it works flawlessly. i can't remember the exact amount i paid extra, but you can email mick directly and he'll tell you. i don't think it was more than $200 extra if that much.

on the supratek site, mick addresses the issue of what happens if the supratek needs servicing. he states:

It shouldn't but if it does getting it sorted takes priority - the best way is to get it fixed in your home state- while Supratek products are unique they aren't complex and any good technician should be able to solve any problems. With email I can send circuit diagrams and discuss any problems with the technician. The robustness of all Supratek products means that any problems will be minor. I am setting up a circle of good technicians around the globe as I'm able. Naturally I pay for any repairs.

as far as the phono section is concerned, i can't speak to that as i don't use vinyl. from what everybody has said, the phono section of the supratek is first-class.

fyi:

i got the email from mick today stating my malbec's were ready. looks like christmas is coming a little early for me this year!

i've never taken the feet of my power supply, but the feet on my chardonnay are easily removed. the screws that hold the feet on also hold the bottom plate on as well.