Supratek Chenin Tube Preamplifier w/Power Supply and Phono Section

Free Shipping on *ALL* Electronics (Excluding Speakers, Contiguous 48 US States Only)

General:
Gorgeous and interesting all tube preamp made by Supratek.

Features a two chassis setup (separate power supply), built-in phono section, and a remote control which is rather rare for this type of unit but super welcome.

The Supratek Chenin (formerly known as “Syrah”) preamplifier is a versatile preamplifier suitable for, and able to extract the best performance from any power amplifier, either tube or solid state. It comes with a separated power supply.

The built in excellent phono section is design to handle low output MC (Moving-Coil) cartridges. The cartridge input range is 0.1mV to approx 2.5mV. Next to the phono input is a 4way switch for cartridge loading values from the top down are 47Kohms, 1Kohms, 100ohms, 10 ohms.

Brand Background:
For over 30 years Supratek has produced tube (or valve) preamplifiers and power amplifiers of the highest quality - Supratek is at the forefront of state of the art tube designs, utilising the finest designs, components and transformers available.

All the Supratek products are handbuilt by Mick Maloney in Margaret River, West Australia. He has been designing and building tube equipment for over 25 years and has built close to 700 Supratek preamps and power amps. In addition to this he has designed and built many, many prototype designs that have evolved into the Supratek range. 

The basic philophosy of Supratek is to build the finest sounding preamps, with exquisite aesthetics and high functionability.

The product must be of the highest build quality and reliability .

It should work faultlessly for many years with minimum or zero maintenance. 

Every product is built to become a "classic" piece, that will be as relevant in 20 years as it is now. And that is what has happened - virtually all of the Suprateks are still in service, some over 20 years old with original tubes in them.

Because they are so over-engineered and robust Supratek provides a lifelong warranty (excl freight) that is transferable.

Only Supratek can offer such a warranty, as the products are so trouble free and dependable, and with no, or minimal PCB boards, they are simple to service. 

Ownership:
One single owner since new. 

Amplifier Recommendations:
Both solid state and tube should pair well with this unit. 

Connections:
5 sets of RCA inputs and 3 sets of outputs. IEC power cord.

General Sound:
Warm tube sound with great harmonics and laid-back delivery. 
Super neutral and clean sounding with little to no sonic signature.

Cosmetic Condition:
We rated this a 7 with light signs of use and wear. See our detailed rating description here.

Working condition, Technical Notes:
Working properly, fully tested in our lab and listening room. 
Currently the integrated phono stage is setup for use with low output MC (Moving-Coil) cartridges

Included:
Unit, power cable, umbilical cable, remote, box, and manual.

Packing:
Will be packed using the original packing and upgraded using our internal system.

Original MSRP:
N/A

Specs:
N/A

Dimensions:
N/A

Age:
Unit was likely built in the early 2000's

Reviews:
N/A

Link to manual:
N/A - but a hard copy manual is included.

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Better

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Best

The SkyFi Testing Process for Preamplifiers:
We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

When we first power on a preamplifier we connect its RCA output to a Sencore PA81 Power Analyzer which simulates real world loading conditions and gives us an oscilloscope interface. The first order of business is checking that the volume control works smoothly throughout its entire range with acceptable channel balance. This is accomplished by feeding a 1KHz sine wave into one of the preamp’s line level inputs while monitoring the preamp’s output on an oscilloscope. We then switch to a 1KHz square wave to test the tone controls, loudness function, and filters where applicable. During this step we are watching for equal alteration of the test signal by both channels. This also helps us identify dirty controls that will need treatment. Once the basic line stage functions are verified, we test each input individually. This is especially important for devices that use relays to select their sources. If the preamp is equipped with a phono stage we test that as well. We use an inverse RIAA filter which allows us to feed a reference test signal into the phono input with the proper RIAA equalization and level. A square wave or sine sweep is used to verify that the device’s phono stage is faithfully reproducing the RIAA curve. If the preamp under test has balanced inputs and/or outputs these are tested as well.

We finish up our bench testing with a listening test with our bench amplifier and reference speakers. During this test we check for hum or hiss that may not have shown up in earlier testing. We also check that all of the tone controls and filters perform as expected. If the preamplifier has remote control functions these are also tested. Preamps with tube circuits or complicated power supply topologies are connected at our long term test rig for extended stress testing under real world conditions.