Hi all,
I posted the text below in another thread that I started earlier this year - titled something like "Don Sachs vs. Supratek - how to choose" but, since I've been reading this thread for something well over a month (hey! I finally made it up to page 21! still going strong) I thought I'd also post it here. My new preamp is a Cortese gen. 3 with LCR phon stage. It's awesome. Anyway, here's what I wrote:
Sorry if this runs a little long, but I recently took
delivery of my new Supratek Cortese preamp with LCR phono stage. The purpose of
this post is to share my decision making process and experience in the hope
that it will help others “find their way” through what was, for me, a somewhat daunting
process. Overall, I have learned a lot and my perspective on audio and hi-fi
has changed.
I used a Naim NAC 82 with a hicap power supply for about 15
years. The 82 replaced a Naim 72 that I’d had in my system for well over 10
years. I always enjoyed my system when using the Naim preamps but knew there
was better equipment out there. As I prepared for retirement I started researching
tube preamps. I read a lot on various forums, asked many dumb questions (still
lots of those left to go) and decided to seek out a preamp based around the
6SN7 tube; while there are discussions about which 6SN7 is the best, for the
most part it seems this tube is almost universally well regarded for audio
applications. Correspondingly, my search eventually boiled down either to a Don
Sachs Model 2 or a Supratek.
I had actually decided to purchase a Don Sachs unit before learning
about Supratek but got hung up in the wife/budget approval process, so
continued to research. The two companies/builders have much in common. Both are
run by highly respected builders and are (as far as I understand) one man
operations. Many of those who own pieces from either one of these builders
describe the experience of listening to the equipment in glowing terms; many owners
of each brand share that they came to it after ownership of products from many
other highly regarded brands, such as Conrad Johnson and Audio Research. The
reviews and comments on the internet seem to come from dedicated, long-term audiophile
owners who swear by the product and state that their preamp is never leaving
their system.
One of the main reasons I decided to go with the Supratek
was that it included an on-board phono stage. I figured this would allow me to
get rid of my Linn Linto phono stage. I also needed (or wanted) five inputs. I’ve
owned the Linto for over 10 years and it has sounded excellent. I haven’t had
the time or motivation to do a hard-core side-by-side comparison of the Linto with
the Supratek LCR phono stage yet, but I think the Supratek sounds a lot better.
I just hear a lot more information coming off the records. I suppose that’s a
preliminary opinion. BTW, my Linto is a 25th anniversary model, so
it’s getting a bit old, and I had to have it serviced last year. Linn no longer
supports the product but the Seattle authorized Linn technician took it on and performed
a service, replacing all faulty parts with more highly spec’d components.
I know I’m rambling here but please bear with me. I’ve
started to write this review several times before and those earlier versions
have somehow vanished into thin air on the internet.
Mick was an absolute gem to work with. The preamp is
beautiful to look at. It comes across as a truly unique, bespoke product. It is
not a standard “closed box” preamp, though if you are considering either a Don
Sachs or Supratek product you’re probably most interested in the sound,
reliability and value.
The sound: The first piece I played through the system was
Shawn Colvin’s excellent 1994 release “Cover Girl”. I’ve listened to this cd
countless times. Previously I thought I understood the lyrics. I now know I was
wrong, because now I can clearly and easily hear them and know that previously
my mind had been “filling in the blanks” to make sense of what it was hearing.
I could go on and on about this cd but I’ll turn my attention to the second cd
I played over they system – Pieces of Africa, by the Kronos Quartet. This is a
wonderful 1992 release and the biggest difference through the Supratek was the
incredible sense of cohesion of the quartet. Yes, the soundstage was huge, and
each player clearly occupied a location within that soundstage. But this was
merely a bonus, because the biggest delight was in understanding how the
ensemble members were interacting and influencing each other. Amazing and
wonderful to hear.
Next up was the 2017 Rhino Records “Summer of Love” reissue
of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks album. Holy smokes. Now I can understand why
hardcore fans and collectors love this album and pay big money for original
pressings. I have no basis for comparing the Rhino pressing to any others, but
I will say that the recording is very good to my ears and the pressing seemed
to leave nothing out.
If you haven’t heard it yet, I encourage you to seek out the
soundtrack to the movie “The Old Man and the Gun”. The press seemed to make a
big deal out of the fact that this is apparently Robert Redford’s last movie.
But the soundtrack is a hidden gem, a small group jazz release that is
beautifully written, performed and recorded. The sound via the Supratek was
nothing less than superlative.
Update, about four weeks in –
The preamp has continued to get better, more opened up, so
to speak. The audio writer, Harvey Rosenberg, coined a word – “whole-osity” to
try to capture the way superlative audio equipment conveys music. When
discussing the work of Nobu Shishido he said that his artistic intent was “to
take us to a musical territory that is so refined that there is no conventional
language that can describe it....this is the job of the audio artisan...to
inspire us to explore the ineffable”. When I incorporated the Supratek Cortese
into my system I felt that I was having the same kind of experience.
The phono stage is amazing. Yes, I know my LP12 with Ittok
is not really considered “high end” nowadays. There are numerous tables out
there which are more highly regarded. In spite of the limitations of the Linn, the
LCR phono stage extracts every ounce of music from the signal and conveys it so
that the performer’s artistic intent is clearly conveyed. Detail, musical
nuance, artistic choices, cohesion, the unity of an ensemble and so forth are
beautifully conveyed. The line stage is similarly accomplished. Many musical
pieces I previously thought simply boring or annoying have been transformed
into something that holds my interest. While the accuracy and “hear-through”
nature of the preamp enables the listener to “hear the hand” of the producer
and recording engineer it doesn’t detract from the artistry of the performer.
I’m not someone who switches equipment into and out of my
system very often. I’ve owned my humble LP12 for nearly 30 years, my ESL63
speakers for five, my Naim CD 3.5 for more fifteen, and so on. I’ve seldom
purchased new. Every piece of equipment I’ve owned has provided great long-term
satisfaction. The Supratek is exceeding every prior experience and every
expectation I had. I can’t envision any situation in which I’d replace it. It’s
very good.
