The final pre-amp showdown: Supratek Cabernet vs. Bent Audio NOH Passive TVC

l have been the very happy owner of a Supratek Cabernet pre amp now for about 4 months.

Prior to purchasing the Supratek l was close to buying a passive pre amp. Not the traditional stepped resistor type but a transformer based system. The one that seemed to garner the most consistent praise was the Bent Audio NOH. Its made in Canada and in the end l lost my nerve on tking a US$2k chance and went with the Supratek. l am enjoying my Supratek immensley but after it developed an intermittent cut out in the right channel neseciating a return for repair l got to wondering about the NOH. Not much to go wrong there

Bent Audio have recently ceased production of the NOH so l placed a WTB on an owners forum and within days had located a unit for sale in Hong Kong. l have decided to take the plunge and decide for myself once and for all if TVC is for me. My system has way too much gain so is ideally suited.

Expecting the NOH in the next week. Within a month there will either be a mint near new Supratek or Bent NOH looking for a new home

BTW the Supratek was only suffering from a loose wire, be interesting to see if thats its downfall!!

 

Interesting cos these two were my most considered pres. The Supratech is so drop dead gorgeous but getting another component with 2 boxes into my listening room (with due considereation to the G/F) would be an almost impossible task. So I went for the Music First Pre, same lines as the NOH. Very happy indeed but I always wonder about the Supratech I must say........

Jeff

 

Mondie,

That looks like a very interesting playoff you've set up. Happy to lend an extra set of ears if you're having trouble deciding between the two . Please keep us all updated as the comparison unfolds.

Regards,

Stuart.

 

As a (very happy) owner of a NOH I'd be interested to see how the comparison turns out.

Michael.

 

l'll let you know how the two pre's compare in a couple of weeks once l hvae had some time with the NOH.

Stuart, if your interested drop me a PM

Cheers Simon

 

Well, where to start.

l have had the NOH 3 days now in my system and find it stunning. l have never gained so much enjoyment from listening to music, so much so that l tingle with excitement everytime l get to the opportunity for a listen. Everytime l find switching back to my Supratek lowers the fun factor, the naturalness disappears to a significant degree. Its like the Supratek is adding a level of coloration and unnatural drive, l don't know how else to explain it. On some tracks l find the lower octaves softer and more natural through the NOH and on others l find them to be deeper and more extended. l have no way of explaining that other than to say that whatever the Supratek is adding to the sound manifests itself differently on different recordings and frequencies. In all other areas the NOH is simply way superior.

l have only owned the Supratek for 6 months and remember the huge step-up in performance over my ARC SP-9. l think l have gained almost the same level of improvement again. For anyone who has experienced the entrancing vocal reproduction capabilities of a pair of Lowther horns, well l have moved a step closer to that IMO holy grail except l also have the bass, dynamics and visceral impact that Lowther's cant manage. l am a convert!

DISCLAIMER; There are many who claim the Supratek Cabernet is up there with the best pre's available and that may very well be the case. Passive only works in the right system. You need a high gain source and good impedance matching between source and power amp if you are to have any chance of success. l am sure in 90% or more of listeners systems they would much prefer the Supratek for these reasons. The fact that l am feeding such a high gain signal to my Supratek and needing to use its built in attenuator to lower this signal is far from ideal and no doubt in my system the Supratek is not giving its best. Mick from Supratek recommends having this attenuator at either position 1 or 2 for best performance, l have to have it at 6 (maximum cut) or else my system distorts. That gives you an idea of just how many volts are coming out of my modified AudioNote DAC. The only way to fix this is get a different DAC, not an option as l love the AudioNote and now having experienced the NOH, l doubt l could even get close going that route. The bottom line is, do you research before spending the money to have a go at passive as its not for every system.

 

Mondie,

Interesting results. I take it you will be keeping the NOH? Certainly sounds as though it is doing exactly what you are looking for.

I'll drop you an e-mail in the next day or two.

Regards,

Stuart.

 

so you've not heard a good pair of lowther horns with a good amp driving them... they actually can manange all the these attributes to an extemely high level...... mine do very deep and very detailed bass, fantastic dynamics etc etc...

 

Drop me a line Stuart if you are interested in coming down for a listen.

Cheers

 

It's worth pointing out that this is much less important with transformer based passives (like the NOH) than resistor based passives (where even the impedance and length of cables used can make a significant difference...one of the few times IMO where cables can make a difference).

Glad you're enjoying the NOH! I wouldn't change mine for anything

Michael.

 

Well l have lived with both the NOH and Supratek now for 10 days, swapping between the two many times. The blatant superiority of the passive is still amazing to my ears. It just sounds wonderful, natural, wholesome and most of all just leaves you feeling relaxed.

The Supratek begins its journey to its new home tomorrow and l must say l will walk out of the PO in the morning with a smile from ear to ear. Apart from its looks there is nothing else about it l will miss. And as a bonus l am actually able to pull some $$ out of my HiFi obsession and put them into one of my other hobbies, watch collecting. The black hole has given back for once

If you are even remotely interested in passive do yourself a favour and take the punge. l doubt there is a pre amp at any price that can match my NOH.