I've been very busy building preamps , so apologies for little blog activity.
This adaption of the Cortese preamplifier is very exciting and achieves some long held aspirations and goals for Supratek.
Firstly, it has an LCR RIAA circuit in it, and put simply, A LCR phono is the ultimate vinyl expression. I've been building LCR and LR phonos for many years and this design is the result of many circuits tested and evaluated over the years.
LCR has an ease and liquidity which brings real life and vividness into vinyl playback.
In terms of actual objective performance its not much different than the standard Cortese phono stage, but the enjoyment factor is subjectively very obvious , it simply sounds even closer to real music .
LCR has amazing levels of texture and body, it really brings out the character and expression of artists and music- Leonard Cohen sounds more like Leonard Cohen, Dylan like Dylan, classical music surrounds you in sound, LCR really is a big deal, a real significant jump in sound quality.
All tube phono LCR circuits are rare and expensive, and they are not easy to build, they require very high quality iron chokes and interstage transformers.
This Supratek LCR Cortese is the only tube phono stage in the world that is built solely for moving coil cartridges with output level as low as 0.1mV , and is designed for the majority of MC cartridges.
Why is the Supratek the only MC capable LCR phono, when the other tube LCR phonos are suitable only for MM cartridges. ( and cost up to 6 times more!)
With nearly 80dB of gain needed for low output MC cartridges, its very hard to get tubes quiet enough for MC use, as hiss and hum become audible with such a high gain.
The standard approach is to build a tube LCR phono with 40-60db of gain and use a step up transformer (SUT).
SUT's have limitations in adapting to every cartridge, frequency response and a lack of dynamics.
The active, high gain approach used by the Supratek achieves optimum dynamics and definition from every MC cartridge, reliably and consistently.
Only the Supratek Cortese LCR can achieve these gain levels and remain noise free , essential for the retrieval of micro and macro dynamics from your vinyl records.
A very complex earthing arrangement, over-engineered power supply, (big enough for a tube power amp) and regulated HT voltage , in a seperate matching power supply unit with state of the art componentry and copper chassis's, ensures quiet, efficient operation.
To match the phono stage the LCR Cortese has a line stage that is also especially quiet and capable of the dynamics of the phono, a well as making all digital and other inputs sound amazingly real.
The line stage is a state of the art tube design, with very low output impedance that can drive any power amplifier, and even a combination of bi or tri-amped amplifiers.
It has the famous Supratek sound, and will carry on the Supratek reputation for reliability and ease of use.
I often hear from customers who have the original preamplifier I built for them 15-20 years ago, with no issues and the same tubes in them!
I've spent a lot of time and effort in ensuring that this preamplifier will perform at the highest level, and reliably over a very long term.
Just as the early Supratek Syrah and Chardonnay preamplifiers became respected "classic" pieces the Cortese LCR will become an item to appreciate and enjoy over a very long time.
With comparable tube LCR phono stages (without linestage) costing well over $20,000 the Cortese LCR is a handsome buy at $US5500.
The Standard Cortese with CR phono stage is $US4500 with 85-90% of the LCR sound quality.
Available in different finishes.
