Help: my phono preamp is blowing away my linestage

Hmmm, let me describe it this way... Unlike a purely passive setup, the Io runs the line level input through its final gain stage just before the volume control. This gives the buffering of an active line stage, so you don't experience the potential dynamic limitation that sometimes can occur with a purely passive volume control when impedences are not ideally matched. If you like the Io and find it's sound well detailed and transparent (as I do), that's what you get using it as a linestage by adding the volume control and high level input.

The volume controls are the best available. Yes, there are two of them, but you quickly get used to just grabbing one in each hand and turning them in tandem. It will be hard to find any $2500 line stage that has less coloration than the Io with volume controls. In fact, what you're paying for in the Io will be those volume controls - they alone cost as much as some other tube or ss line stages.

Hope that helps some.

Hi Rushton,

Yes that does help. I think my mind's made up -- I need to go with the Aesthetix volume control upgrade. Now to plan my next vacation so I can coordinate the upgrade with my absence from the listening room.

Patrick

Patrickamory, the IO Sig is an absolutely phenomenal phono stage and unfortunately, a Supratek linestage will not improve on what it does. I've tried many linestages with the IO Sig and found that going direct to the amp was absolutely incredible. I did this on the 60db setting on my IO and played something with a "slow start" just incase the sound was too loud. I could have switched the jumpers to a lower gain setting - while the 60db was loud, I was too lazy to re-open the IO and change the jumper - so I stuck with the 60db. It worked and didn't blow anything :)

The improvement over having a Supratek Chardonnay linestage in the signal path was absolutely astonishing - breathtaking. So I presume the gains YOU will have when you remove the Rogue to be even greater.

Realizing the Supratek colored/muddied the sound so much, I ran out and purchased a Placette passive preamp and tried that - but to my dismay, the Placette was for whatever reason, FAR worse than having the Supratek in the signal path. The Placette which I had read to be so transparent and so inaudible, actually robbed the dynamics and produced /introduced a very 2D sound.... horrible.

Guess my point is that if you're brave, you could try running the IO direct to your amp(s) and see what you'd be missing by adding any linestage at all.

Bwhite, thanks for the advice. So you're using the Io Sig with volume control, direct to your amp?

Hi Patrickamory - I have, but do not currently own the IO Sig. The IO Sig I owned did not have the volume control. My suggestion was to turn down the gain on your IO by using the internal jumpers, connect it direct to your amplifier, put on a record that starts off quiet - one you are VERY familiar with, and listen.

For me, the experience of hearing an IO Sig with NOS tubes direct to an amp was extraordinary but I couldn't live with no volume control - I tried.

Mick (the manufacturer of Supratek products) told me that his Cortese phono would, "Put the IO in its grave", so I purchased a Cortese - which is an "integrated" phono/linestage preamp.

The Cortese did not put the IO in its grave but is still very good - good enough for me to live with but keep in mind, after I listened to the IO direct, this hobby became more difficult - I became jaded and simply accepted that there was no silver-bullet or perfect solution. It is almost impossible to quantify how much better the IO sounded without a line stage or any volume control whatsoever.

Of course, I pondered having the volume controls & line level input added to the IO but then struggled with the lack of a remote and the inconvenience of two volume knobs.

Maybe a transformer based passive would be better? Silver Rock or Bent? I dunno...