Supratek Owners Thread

@jslateiv
Can you speak to the question of how a circa ~2004 Chenin model would compare to a current-spec Cortese? I have a friend who listened to my Cortese LCR, wanted to order one for himself, then found out about the 4-month wait time. The he found a used Chenin and he’s going to go with that for at least a while...

Markus

Hey @markusthenaimnut    I dont believe that I have listened to Chenin specifically.   I have had a few of the older units,  Grange, Syrah and Chardonnay come through.   They all sound wonderful once within spec.   Without seeing the insides,  it's hard to know what was used in the build and or the circuit Mick used at the time.   Some of the older units had Electrolytics in the PS and there is a possibility that it could be close to time for a refresh there.  Any of these like this get replaced with good PP's that will last till the end of days.   Beyond that,  Mick's circuits are solid and I wouldn't expect any issue unless a CCS fet failed (if used) and even those are almost bomb proof.   Back to your question though,..    what I have found is that the older designs (generally speaking) compared to his latest stuff have a little heavier or thicker sound to them.  Not in a bad way but maybe just not quiet as resolving or having that 'nth degree of jump factor.  At this point its really getting down to system dependency and what works better with the associated gear.  I think anyone could live happy with any of the circuits including his older ones,..    The difference is more akin to spice selection when cooking..

Hey Supratek owners -

Please advise what your experience has been with tube failure in the phono stage of your preamp, in the 6H23/6922/E88C position. I’m especially interested in hearing from fellow Cortese owners. I’ve had two "much-earlier-than-expected" failures in one channel and wonder what other folks experience has been.

The first failure was the original, stock Russian 6H23. Just one out of the original pair.

Then I rolled in a lovely pair of tightly matched vintage Amperex JAN 7308s (super high-spec 6922/6DJ8s) into that position and they sounded lovely, until one of them failed. Now I’m reluctant to roll "sort of expensive" tubes in there and have reverted back to the ultra-inexpensive Russian 6H1Ps, which seem to be virtually indestructible. They don’t sound as fully fleshed out as the vintage Amperex tubes, but they sound pretty good.

So, anybody else experienced early tube mortality in that position?

And, out of interest, what tubes have you ended up with in there?

Markus

Hey rosco88, my Jay's audio CDT2-MK3 remote works on my Cabernet DHT/6SN7. I hope that helps.

@markusthenaimnut  in regards to your ques. above.  I've been running mine (LCR) for the last 2 years without issue.   The pre will stay on for 8-10 hrs at a time on a regular basis.   No small tube failure yet.    I have found that I prefer the 6n6p in the phono though.  Have used 7308 and the supplied 6h23.    In an earlier conversation with Mick he did mention to me that he had started to see a higher failure rate than expected with the 6h23's he was supplying for a while and recommended switching them out although I'm having no issue with mine yet at the moment,..  It's possible that the one 7308 you put in was already on the fence.   Just about imposible to tell with tubes.   I will say that the heater voltages are always spot on as they are regulated and the circuit does not put alot of stress (V/ma) on that tube (any of them for that matter).   May be nothing more than a bit of bad tube luck.  I do highly recommend trying some 6n6p if you haven't.  A touch less gain but that's rarely a problem in a Supra..  If you feel like somethings out of whack or are overly concerned I'd be happy to take a look for you and make sure everything is in spec.