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In search of : Phono Stage to replace Rhea

I most recently pulled the plug and sold my Aesthetix Rhea. The unit was stellar with it's performance minus it's noise issues. I'm looking for input as to where I go next. The unit must have a balanced design and be dead silent! I really liked the ability to adjust the gain/load on the fly. My system consists of Pass X250.5 / XP-10 / SSMR / Lyra Scala. I'm really interested in what success others have had that previously owned the Rhea. Thank you in advance for your input. Max budget would be 6k.
zenieth
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
I haven't owned a Rhea, but have heard one in my system. It"s a nice phone stage sound wise. At the time I had a BAT VKP10SE with Super Pak. Another nice phono stage. I ended up keeping the BAT. For the money used, this is a great phono stage, hits everything right, is very very quiet, fully balanced (best is to use XLR terminated phono interconnects from your table).

I have not heard the Pass phono stages, they get great reviews, you might should check these out. Ditto the Allnic. I have a friend who went from a Io Eclipse to the Allinic and never looked back.

I'm running a Lyra Skala with a Nagra VPS/VFS. It's a lovely combo, more transparent and just right sounding. Wonderful sound staging and dimensionally beautiful. If you want to stay with a tube phono, that's quiet, you should check this out with your Lyra...It's not balanced. Does have xlr outs for convenience. I will say I was a all balanced guy until I heard the Nagra VPS in my all BAT/all balanced setup. The Nagra new is just over your budget..used will be a bit below...

Lot's of choices here. I bet it's a tough call !
zenieth OP
381 posts
 
Thanks to each of you for your input. There is a lot of information to digest in this quest. I just talked to my dealer and I'm going to demo the X-15. Jfrech, that make the most sense, since I'm running a Pass amp/pre. The ASR is very interesting and the reviews are excellent. Too bad I can't get hooked up on a demo for one of those. We'll see how the XP-15 goes ........ Thanks again!
allchemie
118 posts
 
The best phono stage I have ever heard was the Coincident Technology Phono Stage. It lists at $5,500, but can also be used as a line stage for another input. The power supply alone weighs in at 41 lbs and is obviously in its own chassis. Whether one has has an MM, MC, or MI cartridge, this unit perfrorms flawlessly (or as close to flawless as humanly possible).

Some people love the new Audio Research phono stage, but I think the Coincident is better, particularly since the Coincident model is a little less than half the price.

Greg
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