1. Home
  2. amps-preamps
  3. 150142-72263

Supratek Owners Thread

Greetings All - 
It appears that the 26-million-plus view, multi-decade "Preamp Deal of the Century" Supratek thread has been removed. I'm not sure why, but suppose there must be a reasonable explanation.
In any case, on that thread I recently asked whether there might be interest in a "Supratek owners thread" and received some interest. 
The purpose of this thread is for Supratek owners to share the details of their system, ask questions, share information about any tube-rolling they have done, and so forth.
I'll kick us off here with a few details about my system -
ancient Linn LP12 with Ittok arm, Dynavector 17D3 cartridge into Cortese LCR phono stage
Power amp is a fully serviced Innersound Electrostatic amplifier
Quad ESL63 speakers (not USA monitors) or JBL 4430 studio monitors
Digital sources are immature and evolving - ancient Fostex CR300 cd player/burner
DacMagic 100 DAC
Nordost Blue Heaven 75ohm interconnect
Due to the fairly long lengths of speaker wire required in the new listening room, speaker wire is Belden 12 gauge wire designed for low-voltage outdoor lighting systems. 
Next steps - dedicated circuit, new power cords, new interconnects, new wires.
markusthenaimnut
jackd
1,126 posts
 

@aldnorab

 

Your best bet for ordering a Chardonnay is to contact Mick directly through the e-mail address listed on the website. Due to the time difference he will get back to you within 24 hrs. and you can discuss your purchase directly. I just was in contact today about buying a Cabernet to upgrade from my Chardonnay.

The Chardonnay has two knobs and two switches on top of the control unit. Front right is a knob for balance and rear right is for gain adjustment. The two switches in the rear center are for mute and turning the gain adjustment on and off.

Per my discussion with him today the lead time is 3-4 months due to Covid supply chain issues. Again contact him directly for concrete answers to any questions you have.

I have used the Chardonnay with six different amps including two tube amps and it doesn't care what kind of amp is on the other end.  Just adjust the gain on the preamp to match the needs of the amps

aldnorab
189 posts
 

Thanks @jackd for the information. I'm borrowing a preamp, need to see if 4 months is OK. 

Thanks again,

aldnorab

 

johnk's avatar
johnk
1,976 posts
 

Have a used Syrah with phono if you are in need.

aldnorab
189 posts
 

Thanks @johnk . I'll keep it in mind. Which Supratek did you replace it with?

My friend is OK with the 4 month loan. Have to decide if I want to wait so long for something that hasn't been auditioned. Leaning towards Chardonnay, but maybe a Cabernet makes more sense for such a wait. Want to be careful to avoid thin & analytical sound. The borrowed Sound Valves 101i is about a perfect match tonally for my system. There could be more color and I can't live without a remote.

Thanks,

Aldnorab

jackd
1,126 posts
 

@aldnorab

Supratek preamps are certainly not thin or analytical and you can make minor adjustments to then tone by changing the two 6SN7 tubes and upgrading the supplied rectifier tube depending on what he is using these days. The Cabernet will get you a better power supply unit and a general parts upgrade but not a real difference in overall tone. I am completely happy with my Chardonnay but since I was going to buy a second Supratek to compare against the Don Sachs at a second house I decided to go up the chain.

More to discover