Preamp Deal of the Century

Hey guys, Jazzdude, I am wrapping up a preamp shoot out between a Tom Evans Groove +, Pass X-ONO and a Manley Steelhead.
For reference, I have owned several other preamps/phonos, including the Syrah and Rhea.
Like Brian, background noise really bothers me and for that reason, I prefer all three of these phono stages over my older Syrah. Sound wise, the Supratek is gem. I like its sonic performance. Its line stage competes very well with my EMM Labs DCC2 as well as the line section of the Steelhead. The linestage on the Syrah was very quite.
To get to the results, the winner for me is the Steelhead...at this point. The Steelhead is a bit more dynamic and much quieter in the phono section than the Syrah as well as the others listed here. I preferred using the Steelhead's MM side of the phono over the MC. The MM side gave a little more air and depth at a cost of a slight loss of fullness in the lower register. Yes, it had plenty of gain, even with a .24mv cart. Other than dynamics and noise levels(remember I am talking in my system) the Syrah and Steelhead have a lot more in common than not. Rich full mid ranges and great layering of the sound stage are just a few of the good things I will say about both of these preamps.
I did not have the same results as Brian did with his Steelhead in some areas. I have no "woofer pumping" at all, at any spl. I also do not get the harshness at higher volumes. Smooth all the way top to bottom. I might add that I ran in the Steelhead and the The Groove+ for 7 days 24/7 using the Granite audio burn in disc before putting on another 150 hours of actual music thru both of these new units. This, as well as a different tube compliment may account for the lack of harshness compared to Brian's Steelhead, I don't know.
I am using 60s Siemans 6922s and GE 5 star 5687s in place of the 7044s. I will be trying the TS 5687s next.
The cartridge termination capacitance adjustment that did not respond for Brian (two knobs per side) did make for a slight but audible difference in my system. It is set at 100pF for now.
So, as of now, the Steelhead is the best line stage and the best phono I have had in my system. Now, with any luck, my Grange will be shipped in the next few days and the Steelhead will be in a fight for its life, again. I can't wait for the next playoff game.

Cheers, Steve

P.S. has anyone heard the David Roth LP? His cover of Vincent is AMAZING!

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Steve,
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I am really looking forward to hearing your comparison of your new Grange vs. the Steelhead.
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David Roth's "Vincent" is amazing and the LP (CD) should be in everyone's collection. It is that good.
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I hope your Grange arrives soon.
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Rgds,
Larry
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I searched through the threads and found that Snook2 was the other agon member that preferred the Steelhead to the Syrah. I cannot comment on the comparison myself but to note that the Syrah and Chardonnay are no Cabernet. From my experience the Supratek linestages have been very quiet. The Sauvignon produced no hum at all. The Cabernet produces only the barest amount of hum when the volume is opened up all the way. Even then it is still quieter than the kitchen refrigerator and my music server.

If I read the recent posts correctly it looks like the hum has been from the phono stage portion of the Supratek preamps.

No hum for me! Or should I say only slightly! On phono, even if I crank up the volume all the way, or if the needle is in-between tracks and volume crank up, there is only a slight sound. I experienced a considerably louder hum at maximum volume if the tubes use (especially the 6922, try Mullard, these tubes are so noisy in my preamp and unfortunately I have 4 pairs)are not good. Otherwise, the preamp is quiet.

As for the linestage, I agree that there was never a problem there. My preamp is the Chenin with 6922 and 6C4 tubes in the phono stage. Currently using Tele CCa's and Mullard M8080's.

Hello,
Just to chime in on the hum issue, my Cabernet hardly makes any noise at all at my listening level. Unless cranked up to a very high level, there's hardly any hum at all. I run all stock tubes except for two Ken-rad black 6sn7.
A question about "tweaking" that I would like to ask/share with others, did you replace the umbilical cords and did you notice any sound improvements? I replaced mine with a 15" pair from Mick. The pair has silver sleeves and looked better constructed than the stock ones. While I haven't done any extensive comparisons, I got the impression that the sound is fuller, more dynamic, and tighter than the stock cords. This is in part due to the better construction, less cable contamination, and less emi/rfi intervention. Mick charges $45.00 per lead for the replacement cables. I thought it was a worthwhile improvement.