Building my 'first' system - Advice on Phono preamp please
Follow up question: Unless I plan on spending over 1k on a cartridge, is there any point in a moving coil cartridge or should I buy the best MM phono stage and cartridge? You need a cartridge with user replaceable stylus. It can be MM or MI |
This might be a little steep, but considering what you have might be a pretty good fit- Decware ZP3 https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm Not a lot of gain but should be fine with your MM Blue at 5.5mV output. Couple nice things about the ZP3- it is triode, so rich and captivating presentation. Should be a nice combination with your integrated amp. Decware only sell direct. Retail margins are typically around 60% so companies like Tekton and Decware selling direct typically get you at least twice the quality for your money compared to retail distribution. Decware comes with a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. The main downside is they are around 3 months out. oldhvymec just got one, or should be getting it very soon, his order time was around 2-3 months. Unlike most other companies Decware has a sort of modular philosophy or approach. Instead of building a phono stage with a lot of gain and MC/MM inputs they build what is basically a MM phono stage and then have their own optional step up transformers to allow you to select the right one should you upgrade to MC at some point. Check them out, they are very interesting design and come with the same lifetime warranty plus an exchange program making it easy and affordable to change should you go to MC with different output levels. This is another way you get more for your money, not paying for RCA connectors, wiring and circuits you won't use. Haven't heard one yet, don't expect it will be in the league of Herron but all things considered bet it is a lot of bang for the buck. Like I said oldhvymec should be getting one soon so won't have long to wait if you want feedback from him. He is the guy who turned me onto Decware in the first place, so will be good to hear what he thinks. |
dynamic_driven, yes, you want to stick with a moving magnet cartridge. The Audio Technica VM95ML is an amazing cartridge for the money. To not let appearances fool you. Manufacturers know many people shop with their eyes and not their ears. Warning bell should ring when you see a manufacturer clearly going out of the way to make their equipment look sharper than it really has to be. You want to spend your money on performance not fancy chassis and CNCed details especially at the lower end of the market. The great value manufacturers like NAD and Parasound go out of their way to spend as little as possible on appearance and as much as possible on the circuitry. Parasound in particular has a habit of building very reasonably priced equipment that challenges and even betters equipment costing 5 to ten times as much. |
Space tech Labs is very interesting, I owned a space tech lab and Don Allen long ago with great results. If your looking to stay under $500 used the PS Audio GCPH with volume control is a great value and if you can find one with Parts Conextion mods even better performance. The volume control is very handy and phase switch, it can also be used as a preamp. A Pass Lab Pearl 2 or a 1 if using a MM cartridge. |
