Are You Happy With Your Phono Preamp?

I have been Wed to a selection of Pre Amp's' over the years and have had Honeymoon and Estranged Periods with the same devices, fortunately in the order of Bliss followed by Tribulation.

A few years back, I was caught on a DIY Build Thread for a Pass Design Pre Amp', which I was quite encouraging about and as a result was over time introduced to five build guises of it.

I have been impressed beyond the usual and one owner chose the Pre over a selection of Branded Pre's that were demonstrated with an intention to purchase. 

One the built models has been used in my system for over 18 Months and has made a extremely good impression to the point I have had two PCB 's produced to enable myself to have a 'commission built' Balanced Version of the design.

The difficult to comprehend part, is that without a Case, these can be produced for very fair money, even if a Commission Build is carried out.

How far a individual is wanting to go with the aesthetic, will add to the end cost.

I have seen one produced with repurposed Black Gate's with a Three Box Design inclusive of Circuitry and Source Selector Module, Standalone VC and Standalone Power Supply for less than £500. It was this model that shone above Branded Pre's during a comparison demonstration. A Basic Build that was also present, at the demonstration, proved that it was very close in comparison to a few quite expensive Pre's.

The Basic Pre Amp' was the one that the individual behind organising the demonstrations opted for, which has over a period of time had an extra couple of hundred extra spent on it, and with the improved parts on board, does punch well above its cost for the sum of parts. 

Disclaimer:

1, As for a Transparent Presentation, this Pre' falls into the category of being  epitome to this sonic trait.

2, If not a ee savvy individual, the Build is best to be produced/ sourced from a skilled in ee technician.       

I'm using an Allnic H8000. All I can say is holy cow!

 I have always wanted to hear music first produced from a cartridge (balanced output) to a phono amp that is fully balanced, to a balanced headphone amp, and finally into headphones wired for a balanced signal.

  I am happy and frustrated with my phono set up as is. It is mostly about the phono preamps that I have tried. I did build a John Broskie Aikido phono preamp and also an Aikido headphone amp that go extremely well together. Using ZMF headphones tops it all off, and I would change that. 

 Ok, so if I go the more common direction with this phono amp and connect it through my system, the sound is way off. So I leave it for the headphone system only.

 Different problem next, I also built a Pete Millett phono preamp (LCR design) and while I am impressed with its sound through my system, there is a bit of hum that I have yet to find. It is only in one channel. 

 Both of these phono preamps have their merits, but I do prefer the Aikido. 

Ralph from Atma-sphere should chime in about the details of ARC balanced. He has a superb understanding of balanced/differential circuits. 

After 8 years with an Allnic H-3000 mk2, I still have no real urge to upgrade. Prior to the Allnic, in reverse chronological order, were a Steelhead RC, K&K Maxxed Out, and a Trichord Delphini. Each was successively better but the Allnic is a solid cut above. It can be found on the used market at around $5-6K these days, which is a good deal for 2xMC, 2xMM of this quality

My Vac Phi Beta pre-amp, 11 years old and going strong, has a MC/MC phono section that is excellent, perhaps second only to the Allnic in my systems. I also have a Modwright Ph9.0, which waits in reserve and gets too little play. It’s quite good, as others have said, and a relative bargain at its price.

Despite my satisfaction with the Allnic and VAC, I am awfully tempted to borrow an Accuphase C-47 from my dealer, just to see how a highly-evolved SS phono stage stacks up. If I end up unable to live without it, I’d get an XLR version of a phono cable I have now, to see what the balanced fuss is about.