Western Australian valve specialist Supratek, who has been building high-end valve amplification for more than 30 years, has launched a “world-first” LCR phono stage which will be incorporated into the company’s highly revered Cortese preamplifier.
The new LCR phono stage is currently available as an additional built-in stage to the Cortese preamplifier – which is now named LCR Cortese – and will also be available as a standalone unit in the near future. The LCR Cortese employs 6688 and 6H23 valves in the phono stage with 6SN7/6H8C valves adopted in the line stage section while the soon-to-come standalone unit will feature 6688 and 6E6P tubes. The LCR phono stage is only compatible with MC cartridges and has an astonishing 80dB of gain making it, according to Supratek, an LCR circuit world-first.
“Supratek has produced the world’s only moving coil cartridge capable LCR phono stage” Supratek Founder Mick Maloney told SoundStage! Australia, as he continued “All tube phono LCR circuits are rare and expensive, and they are not easy to build, they require very high quality iron chokes and inter-stage transformers. With the Supratek LCR phono stage there’s no need for expensive and restrictive step up transformers. With 80dB of quiet gain the LCR circuit provides new insights into the superior micro-dynamics of vinyl. LCR circuit has amazing levels of texture and body, it really brings out the character and expression of artists and music.”
The LCR Cortese’s other specifications are equally as impressive as its extraordinary gain, with a frequency response of 10Hz to 30Khz at -3dB while the overall preamplifier’s gain is adjustable between 0dB and 26dB. Input impedance is a high 100 Kohms while its output impedance is a low 40 ohms, both figures representing excellent compatibility with source and amplification components respectively. The phono stage is suitable for moving coil cartridges of 0.1mv to 2.0mV. Other features of the LCR Cortese are the availability of balanced and unbalanced inputs/outputs, adjustable gain and remote control.
The Supratek LCR Cortese is available direct ex-factory from Supratek.
Australian Distributor: Supratek
+61 437 208 727
www.supratek.com.au
Price: LCR Cortese $US5500
