this is my first decent stereo ,i listen to all kinds of music,chamber,jazz(old&new),rock,electonica,bluegrass,acoustic.I love the sound of a tube preamp with a SS poweramp ,.my system is sounding much better with the upgrades ive made,,!!i would apprieciate any sugg.,comments ,thanks for all the help so far guys!!!
Slipknot ,thanks for the info ,,ill email Mick thur.,,,i believe i can handle the wait,,,everyone seems very happy with there preamps,,also the testamonials on the website are very helpful in getting a perspective on the sonic qualitys of Micks products,sure sounds like what im looking for!
Just send Mick an email telling him what you are interested in doing. He generally takes a down payment (payable via PayPal) with the balance due when he ships your order. Insist that he include your SS number on the customs paperwork or your unit will languish in Customs in Anchorage, AK while awaiting clearance. FedEx will send you a duty and customs invoice within about 3 weeks after your unit arrives. Shipping from Australia is about 130.00 - 150.00 with another 150.00 for customs.
The Supratek preamps don't really add or detract in and of themselves. They can be ruthlessly revealing of what is upstream of them however. You are in a good position with your vinyl front end to take advantage of the magic in those grooves via a Supratek preamp. try and stretch your budget if possible and go for a Chenin in order to get the world class phono stage that Mick builds. If you are planning to go this route, I would sit still on the IC swap until you have had a chance to live with the Supratek sound for a while. Too many changes all at once can confuse your ears about what is causing what.....
hello Slipknot,3 to4 months would not be to bad,,i would be ordering the basic unit,,from everything ive read i think id be happy with the Chardonney,just one concern,,how does the bass sound?dont get me wrong,im not expecting Krell like bass,but i like to hear it close to whats on the recording,not fuzzy like some tube units,im loving my new CJ amp,but i do need to upgrade my preamp!my sig.analog 2 sounds very neutral between my amp and preamp,much more so than with my Anthem PVA2,my LAT speaker cables seemed to spotlight the treble just a bit to much,Kimber 8tc s are better balanced with the CJ,im wondering how a better pair of copper cables would sound,,
Hi Ray, Average wait time for one of Mick's preamps is around three to four months, unless you are having some custom work done. I waited eight months, and even at that it has been more than worth it. Not only is it audio jewlery, it is audio bliss.
hello Wes,yeah the goss is a med.size newspaper web press,one of the guys i learned from back in early 80s was from Chicago,,my amp has taken a while to settle in,im in the process of moving cables around,so far it has much better detail,bigger fuller soundstage,blacker background,clear and clean sound,the bass is there ,nice texture and weight but could use a little more impact,slam,,,though my homemade pre amp tends to soften up the bass a bit,,im trying to decide which preamp to buy,,tempted to get a supratek chardonney,VTL5.5,,not sure i could handle the long wait for the Supratek!!any ideas???
Congratulations on the amp! I'm a broker in the Chicago area. Mainly deal w/40" sheetfed and 1/2 web. That Goss sounds like a big web? Anyway enjoy your system I bet it sounds great.
hello Wes,i went with the CJ MF2500A,thought id wait till amp has 200 hrs or so before forming any opinions,it was delivered tue. safe and on time by UPS,ive had it playing since 24/7,just havent been home long enough to do much listening,ill post my thoughts in a few days.So your in the litho buisness too,im a press operator on a Goss Urbanite,what do you do in litho? Ray
Hi again Ray. I have a hot tip for you. If you like Signal Cable's analogue 2 ICs, give the new Silver Resolutions a try on your Scout. I am currently using a pair between my Scoutmaster and the phono stage on the Supratek Chenin. Really a very sweet cable. Little more $$$ the Analogue 2, but quite a bit better. I love the 2 myself, but I can't believe how great the Silver is.
i almost have all my new amp money together and starting to get a little nervous as far as my choice,,feel like i did just before i got married! CJ MF 2500,Pass X 150,McCormack?? i will be buying used here on audiogon,,any words of wisdom!!
hello Slipknot,i actually had friends over with a dig. cam.to take pics ,and we started listening to music,,,,,fergot pics,,anyway thanks for your responses!since i changed tubes everything sounds much better!i didnt realize what a nice preamp i have untill now!!!im also going to have to revaluate every thing in my system esp.cables,i believe i may have blamed some things on new cables when it was actually the tubes,,,glad to here your getting your Supratek soon!!!
i borrowed a pair of kimber kable 8tc speaker cables from a buddy,they are clearer esp. in lower mids,than my lat ss 1000d biwires,i am really enjoying them,the only thing i dont like about them is they are a bit too laid back in my system,im wondering if kimbers more expensive sp. cables would remedy that.everything sounds better,just not very exiting to listen too.looking for an interconnect to go between amp and preamp,apature is ok,, discovery nos ,a little glassy in upper mids,bass too undefined and guitars just dont sound right,but they do work well for my tuner,and better than my others for analog,and they have a soundstage to die for,signal cable analog two,good detail,bass,overall pretty good but sound a bit lightweight in the mids with a bit of silabance on vocals,audioquest corals,pretty good all around performer,but seem to missing a bit of detail,works good for my cd player,,,this cable thing is driving me nuts,,i wish i could find a cable that combined all the good things above mentioned cables,,maybe i should rent a bunch from the cable co. my local dealer carrys aud. ,harm.tech,but hasnt had any loaners the last two times ive been there ,,,any sugg.!!!!
hello Audiofankj,hope you can replace your TT and tuner soon!i enjoy having multi sources ,right now im leaning toward the cj mf2500,have you heard the mf2500? im wondering how it compares with the mccormack ,,the vtl preamp sounds interesting,im going to do a search on it,my current preamp is great in the mids but lacks in bass,
Hello Ray, nice system. It is good to see you have a quality turntable and tuner! I am missing both at this time... I cannibalized them to fund other improvements and haven't replaced them as of yet.
As for your system description if you are still considering the Rogue or McCormack gear with a tubed preamp both would work well. I have heard Rogue extensively and owned both the DNA-1 Deluxe and DNA-2 Deluxe. Either McCormack amp coupled with the VTL Ultimate preamp (older model can be found used around $1,100 here on a'gon - true dual mono, one of the best VTL preamps ever) make for a stunning combo!
If you are looking in another area at this time or want any info on any of those feel free to email.
Ray, I was at a local dealer on the weekend and heard the Paradigm J8's (i think that was the model, it might have been S8...$6000 for the pair). They had all anthem electronics and a $3500 Paradigm sub. The room was heavily treated with ASC gear, over $9,000 in treatments according to the sales guy. The system sounded incredible, I didn't know Paradigm gear sounded this good. The sound was warm and full, yet punchy and dynamic at the same time. Bass was incredible and the stage seemed to be 20' deep on some recordings. Keep it up with the room treatments, it's definately the way to get the most out of your investment in equipment.
hello Slipknot,the acoustic panels are made from 1x4" for the frame ,with 1/2" plywood as a backing , 8 1/2" R 25 insulation which is compressed down to 4".since i havent picked out proper fabric yet,i used an old sheet tacked on for a temp ,im going to get a sheet of compressed fiberglass board to lay on top of the 8 1/2" ins. to keep it nice and flat then i can finish them with fabric.they measure 2ft x 6 ft and im using them for side reflections ,flutter echo.they work better than i thought they would,,now i need to get started on my bass traps,as my room badly needs them,also looking into diffussers.im still amazed how something so simple to build can be so effective! plus i never realized how much fun DIY is!Maybe theres a preamp or speaker kit in my near future!!
Hi Ray. Man you are really going to town. What did you construct your room treatments out of? What positions in the room are they located? Glad to hear that they are working out. Acoustic treatment properly applied is probably the most cost effective system upgrade a person can do IMHO. The room is just as much a system component as any other piece of gear. Nice work! Can you get some pics up?
hello Slipknot and Jeb83r,greetings from the dark side,,crazy hobby but it sho is fun!my system is sounding better than ever,looking forward to getting a Conrad Johnson MF 2500 in a few months!
System edited: just added chang 3200 and DIY acoustic panels,the chang lowered noisefloor a bit,got rid of a slight grainyness in the treble,everything sounds more musical!Then i added the acoustic panels ,,,,,, WOW!!@#@% what a difference! soundstage expanded,everything came into focus ,Im going to build a pair of bass traps next to tame a little boominess,,its amazing what a little room treatment will do!!!
