Preamp Deal of the Century

Larry, to change the topic somewhat - did you get a chance to use the Cabernet in your system? Since I've just ordered a Grange, which shares the same line stage, I'm really interested to hear your impressions. There have been a lot of people on this thread who have other Supratek products, but not too many who have commented on either the Cabernet or the Grange.

Larry,

I said "potentially". Sorry you had such a longer than expected wait. I too am interested in your opinion of it. Obviously something else floats your boat better as you are selling it.

I emailed Mick and he told me he was personally building my preamp, and possible next week. Yahoo !!

Indigrose and FPV, let me tell you although it was quite a long wait, the preamp is spectacular, in fit, finish and sonics. I have owned, Conrad Johnson, Mcintosh, Lamm and others, and it is the best sounding preamp I have owned, and I recomend it highly. It one of the pieces of gear that has that "missing piece" quality to your set-up and you gaze at it, while listening to favorite recording and just think "wow". That is technical jargon, for this preamp is special. I am putting it up for sale, for other reasons, not audio related.

I am wondering why there are all of a sudden so many Granges and Cabernets up for sale? There must have been at least 4 Grange's for sale when I have never seen them for sale before on Audiogon. I believe I saw that Kevin Covi even sold his Grange on Audiogon. Is there a new model coming out? I am a Chenin owner who might consider going to Supratek's higher priced offerings. Is there somthing going on with the new Ownership? I have no evidence to support any of these questions but it seems strange that so many Grange's would come out of the woodwork. I am just a curious owner. Bob

I'd like to commemt on a couple of topics raised in this forum recently.

As many of you know, I've invited two other persons to join me in ownership of Supratek. I decided to pursue the involvement of these gentlemen for the purpose of building better products and increasing supply of Supratek products.
However, I will still have the controlling interest in Supratek and assure everyone that there is no way that the quality of Supratek products will be compromised, or that a soulless "mass-production" system will be implemented.
I will still personally be involved in building, and will inspect and listen to every preamp or power amp that leaves the factory.
The two gentlemen joining me in Supratek are as enthusiastic about music reproduction as I am- we all love our music and place the satisfaction of building and listening to fine musical equipment above any profit line. It's rare these days, but money isn't everything.
We simply want to build better products that more people can enjoy, and have some fun doing it. Of course we need to make a profit, but good quality products and good service are the means to ensure that. That includes decreasing the delivery times, which I admit are too long.

Secondly,people have wondered why there have been secondhand Granges for sale recently.
I've been blessed with great customers since I started Supratek nearly 10 years ago (after a previous 20 years of tube audio design) Most of the Supratek guys are simply music lovers rather than audiophile or hi-fi freaks- they appreciate the musical qualities that the Supratek gear is designed for.
The Grange attracts a diferent clientle- there's still a bunch of owners with the same love of music , but they are also bought by well heeled audiophiles who can afford the not inconsiderable cost (they take a LOT of work to build) Some of these guys are in search of the "best'" equipment and can afford to buy and sell a new piece of equipment every other month. It's a perilous course as there is no "best" - it's not an easy task to find the right synergy of equipment that suits each individual set of ears/taste, but good luck to those who can afford to find their Holy Grail this way.
I think that is the reason there has been a few Granges for sale recently.
And I suspect a few have been bought by audio companies to see what I'm up too.
It should also be appreciated that the Grange is an ultimate performance piece of equipment, and like all high performance machines it has to compromise a little on useability.
The DHT tubes used in the Grange result in high gain and some microphonics- something that has always bugged me, but the sheer transperancy and glorious midrange vividness are worth the price. The DHT tubes have a real "tube" character, but in the Grange circuit are still fast and exciting. It excells in liveliness.
BTW I'm prototyping a version that uses 6SN7-6AS7 tubes that address's the gain,microphonic issues.
The Cortese circuit uses 6SN7's in the line stage , without doubt the most balanced preamp tube. It does everything well and in the Supratek circuit is the answer for those who want a preamp that will bring the very best out of any component used with it. The Grange is a Lamborgini, the Cortese a Porsche.
And lets not forget the old Syrah/new Chenin preamp that really made the Supratek reputation- it's still easily the best value for money preamp available and now comes with 6688,6922 tubes in the phono, very similiar in concept to the Cortese phono stage that makes it even better value. Let's call this one a 427 Mustang.

I hope this resolves any issues - dont forget I'm always available at [email protected]

Cheers
MickM