Supratek or Don Sachs - which way to go?


I'm preparing to replace my SS preamp with a tube unit and have read with great interest many threads on this board. This is where I learned about Don Sachs model 2 preamps. They sound like what I'm looking for and those who own them consistently express their satisfaction with them.

Now I've just been reading and learning about the Supratek lineup. Wow. These also sound like fantastic works of art. Leaving me with a new question about which way to go. 

Thoughts? Advice? Experience? Anyone care to share?
128x128markusthenaimnut
The question above about how or why I narrowed my search down to these two is worth thinking about. To explain, I need to share a little history.

A friend had bought a Prima Luna integrated to go with his quad 2805s. So initially I was looking at one of the Prima Luna preamps. Through researching and corresponding with others on various boards I came to think the 6SN7 was the tube I wanted as the centerpiece of whatever I bought. 

I'm grateful for the recommendations posted by others on this thread, and I'll continue to read about those preamps. But in summary, everything I've read about the two preamps I mentioned above suggests that they are headed in the direction I want to go. But I'm still very much a novice, and am eager and ready to learn more.
I own both, Don's Kootenay 120 KT88 Amp and his DS2 6SN7 Tube Pre and they are very impressive in their build quality and sounds Amazing!

You will be a happy camper going with Sach's equipment...

Wig

This is Mick, the manufacturer of Supratek. Firstly, I'm getting a bit sick of atmasphere jumping in with 20 year old pix of Supratek wiring , everytime Supratek gets mentioned. Am I that much of a threat?

The wiring I do these days is maybe a lot neater , but what makes people think PCB boards are superior to hard wiring.
PCB's are used to simplify construction and because they are great for economics. 

It takes me a week to build a LCR preamp. If I used PCB's, which isn't hard to do , it would take a day.
Why dont I use PCB's then? Because they sound like plastic, they sound like they look, one dimensional and boring. 

There are many hundreds of hardwired joints in my pres, everyone making solid contact, before its soldered.  With a PCB the lead solder is making all the contacts.
The other isssue is reliabilty, the 20 year old preamp with the "messy" wiring is still going strong, with only one change of tubes , no reliability issues at all, unlike some other manufacturers I could name. 

The Suprateks aren't a 1950's tube design tarted up with "options" .
They are state of the art tube designs which will drive any or multiple power amps. They have power supplies which would drive a big tube power amp, with tube rectification, and tube shunt regulation, which makes for a big sound that is as quiet as a tube pre can be.

They have a signature sound which is unlike any other tube preamp, and if you like 3D imaging and realism, which a lot of people seem to do, then thinking outside the box and looking past conventional  constraints (PCB, 1950 design, soft power supplies)  might be very rewarding.