It’s pleasing to receive a good review, But what’s even more pleasing is to hear from customers who are very happy with their Supratek pre-amplifier.
Most have had their Suprateks for a very long time, and have no inclination to change. Some are even on the original tubes!
Apart from the reliability, the Suprateks are “different”, in that they sound unlike most “electronic” sounding preamps- vividness and realism are the forte’s of the Suprateks.
Below are just some of the many customer comments , and below that reviews.
CABERNET – “this combination sounds really georgous. That is the sound exactly what I am looking for. Thanks for the great creation.
CORTESE– “I sent you a text last night about how impressed I am with the LCR Cortese. I know you probably hear this all of the time about your products but I need to let you know that the sound I am experiencing with the LCR Cortese Pre-amp is the absolute best sound I have ever heard in my life. My Wife and I have been listening to music for hours and hours over the weekend, we keep pulling out CDs we haven’t heard in years. I have very high end speakers, but I now realise that this is the first time I have ever heard what my speakers are truly capable of.
CORTESE– “Sound is tremendous. Both line and phono, although the phono is really the
star. First words that comes to mind is totally coherent. It’s almost like
going from a standard pp to a great SET amp.
CORTESE– “Just wanted to reiterate my excitement with the Cortese. It is just wonderful and I couldn’t be happier. It is just remarkable that a product at this price point can be produced that also looks as good as it sounds. My wife is also quite pleased, with the sound. Listened an hour the second night and commented on how natural the music was. She’s usually up and about at that point but stuck around listening intently to some Gershwin piano solos as though we were at the concert. It isn’t her cup of tea to sit so long listening to music. She has never in our 15 years of marriage made such a comment about any audio component I’ve owned. The music reaches the emotion with this pre. Enough gushing but couldn’t resist telling you again how please I am.”
CORTESE– “I know Mick is especially proud of the phono stage, but the line stage is really something. While most of my cd’s (classical) don’t give me the same experience as my records (do note the difference in digital and analog systems below though) some of them sound truly outstanding on the Cortese. I don’t feel cheated listening to cd’s anymore. That being said, the sound
from my analog system with good material (London, Decca, Mercury, RCA LS) is huge, even in my small room with my teeny speakers. With mediocre material (almost all DG records and cd’s)it is more listenable than ever before. Not additive, just giving me more of what’s in the grooves and pits.
Reviews
Sixmoons have reviews on Supratek Preamps – go to https://www.6moons.com/archivelibrary/alphabet.html for full articles.
Reproduced here are the concluding sections.
CHARDONNAY – The sweet nectar of the vine In my system, the Chardonnay had no peer. It is a superlative audio performer, beautifully styled, masterfully built and generously featured. And the price? I think it’s an absolute and incontestable High-End bargain. I am still so rapt(Aussie slang for extremely impressed and delighted), I hereby nominate the Supratek Chardonnay as my choice for a Blue Moon Award in the <$5,000 preamplification category.More about Chardonnay: https://6moons.com/audioreviews/supratek/chardonnay.html
SUPRATEK REFERENCE (Now CORTESE LCR) Conclusion. The Supratek Reference DHT is a unique preamplifier built by a passionate music lover and artisan far removed from audiophile dogma, with engineering experience stretching many decades. It provides clear, dynamic, powerful and tonally beautiful music to the music lover who is open enough to accept a distinctive component from a craftsman who hand-builds and voices each unit as if it were his personal one-off. It will compete sonically with anything you may care to mention, at any price. And in fact, at the asking price which is admittedly manufacturer direct, this preamplifier is the proverbial high-end bargain pin-up. Regrettably and due to a number of technical and logistical issues of my own, I was unable to test the phono stage. From all reports it at least mirrors (and maybe even surpasses) the excellence of the line stage. However, in the context of this reviewer’s system—one which has hosted many high-end preamplifiers both solid-state and valve—the Supratek Reference DHT reigns supreme. It provides a complete set of sonic attributes across all required parameters while most distinctly punctuating extraordinary lifelike timbre and dynamic expression. The Reference DHT just does music. It has evolved along the way and a decade on, Mick Maloney’s preamplifier is still my personal reference and the absolute heart of my system. Now, the new Supratek Reference DHT is also its musical soul.More on the Reference DHT: https://6moons.com/audioreviews2/supratek/1.html
DUAL CABERNET – Rather unexpectedly, the Supratek Cabernet Dual opens up new dimensions of tone color, impact and suavé factorwithout booking any setbacks against the passive. It thus makes a very compelling — and dare I say addictive — argument for the active preamp concept, even in a context where source unity gain never exceeds desired playback levels. Where it is unique in my experience thus far — never mind its bi-amp nature — is in the level of elegance introduced which I’ve attempted to hint at above. This is a very immaterial thing. On a physical scale, it’d weigh less than the proverbial Egyptian feather of the Pharaoh’s Ka. It’s only in the listening that the gap between the two appears to release what audiophiles, in general, refer to as a higher potency of magic.
More about Dual Cabernet: https://6moons.com/audioreviews/supratek3/dualcabernet.html
