Preamp for VPI Prime 21 turntable $300-800

Moving magnet or moving coil?

My cartridge is Shyla which is a moving coil.

Thank you very much noromance

If you want to go used, the PS Audio GCPH is a bargain at $500 to $600. It sounds great and no dips**t switches to deal with. 

In this price range…I’d watch out for a Vincent pho700/701…used…they are giant killers in my experience, for my tastes.

Thank you for your recommendation, ericsch, ml8764ag. 

Not sure why you’d sink 7k+ in a turntable only to cheap out on the phono stage. It’s at least as important as everything else.

A $5500 TT w/a 2K cart. what phono are you currently using?? I agree w/ozzy62 you need something in a higher price range or maybe look at some used phonos where you can get a good deal. 

A moving coil preamp is asked to greatly and faithfully amplify with little noise. This not only requires a quality set of well designed internal components, but it must also have clean power. A good power cable can be found in your suggested price range, but I can’t imagine that a good used phono stage that will do your cartridge/table justice can be found.

What is the reasonable price range for the phono? I spent 5.5k for TT and cartridge. I need a good power cable for the phono or the amplifier?

Around $1400-$1700. The Sutherland Insight, Parasound JC JR, Eat E-Glo tube phono. Are some phonos to look at. On the used side I saw on Audio Mart a 2K 3 year old LFD phono for $995. The Seller is an LFD dealer. In addition he’ll set it up the phono to your carts specs and give you a free two year warranty. Gene Rubin is the dealer.

@classicalguy

The problem is that everything is dependent upon everything else in your system and your own preference regarding presentation. I had a knowledgeable sales rep from a large internet vendor help me with advice. We decided to start with a $2400 Southerland preamp that was well reviewed, but it just didn’t make me happy in that I’m pretty demanding with regards to the reproduction of the human voice. I was looking for the detail of a good solid state phono preamp with some of the tonality of a good tube pre. Most importantly, I was looking for this in my system and my room. So, a good place to start is with a dealer you trust with a no questions asked return policy and hopefully a dealer that will give you a bit of a discount. I finally got what I wanted after upgrading my power, phono preamplifier, interconnects, turntable and cartridge, My dealer helped me throughout, except for the phono preamp. The one we wanted was on COVID back order. I ended up with exactly what I wanted by buying used via a dealer on this forum… but that’s another story.

VPI Shyla is essentially an Audio Technica ART series OEM cart. That being said, arguably  it's  a "sleeper" that is good as $3K+ models. With a good phonostage will sound like one too.

Your table/cart deserves a proper phonostage starting at $2500+ or so. Don't cheap out-you'll only be disappointed as to why you spent so muich on your setup and wondering what the fuss is about.

Something used originally up to $5K can found for half.

Of course it's all subjective, so you might hear something under $1K that sounds fine to you.

Precision Fidelity C2 tube preamp. I had a C7 back in The Days of Yore - $500! The phono stage to beat then was the new PS III from Paul & Stan. The C7 sounded so much better I traded in the PS III. The C7 was a tube phono stage (cascode circuit), no high-level stage and a selector switch/pair of 5Kohm pots on the front panel. The C8 added a transistor high-level stage.

The designer of the Precision Fidelity preamps was Bruce Moore. He also designed the Paragon 10, 12 and E preamps. Bruce went on to found MFA (Moore, Frankland , and Associates) specializing in tube gear. I think that the Moore tube gear can compete sonically with today's expensive - and overpriced - tube gear.

I have a copy of the Paragon 12 that Trevor Lees built in small quantities in Australia. Real nice tube preamp with two outboard power supplies - one per channel!

@jasonbourne52 

After reading many of your posts it seems that you have a storehouse of equipment.  Yet, you don’t post a system.  I get it.  Must be same reason that you never start a thread.  Anyway, appreciate your wide ranging experience with gear.

@vonhelmholtz Audiogon prohibits @jasonbourne52 from posting his system out of fear of blowing out cloud storage. Plus @jasonbourne52 will spend the remainder of his life just typing all that 💩 in.
If he sold off his collection I bet he could gather enough dough to build a really nice system!

@classicalguy starting price point for a phono stage to match that set up should be at least $2000. McIntosh MP100, Sutherland. Up from there is Pass, Audio Research etc

The quality of your phono stage is extremely critical. Worry about components first. Then whenever you get around to it, cables. 

 Thank you everyone here for your input. As you all said, I probably need spend more money in my audio system. 

Audphile1 makes a lot of sense about jasonborne. I would add that if he did sell some of his collection, he may be able to buy some decent cables.

Try to find a used Sutherland Little Loco phono preamp,or a used Parasound JC3+ or even a Whest audio.

There is a Whest Audio PS.30R here on AGON for $1,400.00 right now

declare makes a very nice tube phono preamp. You can choose MM or MC step transformers. AND - made in USA. I have had one for my MM cartridge for several years. Very happy with it.

There is also a used little loco here on AGON for $2,900.00

You might want to read Herb Reichert's write-up on the Lounge Audio Copla transimpedance MC preamp in the March 2023 Stereophile. "The Copla made recordings sound charged and vivid in the extreme but also vivid and relaxed." concluding "It behaved like someone forgot a zero on its price tag." It costs $350.00 or there is a silver-wired version that costs $485.00.

Few things piss me off more than cavalier comments about having to spend gigabucks for quality. You don't. You have to simply learn what makes quality, learn what quality sounds like, and buy it. If you want to buy industrial shelf art, be my guest, but quality design and execution are not inextricably linked to the price tag.

@panzrwagn

Are transimpedance amplifiers appropriate for all moving coil cartridges, or are there impedance/gain concerns. I apologize, but I’m not that familiar with the design.

@vonHelmholtz, 

Thanks to a large knob on the front that allows impedance matching between an MC and the Copla preamp, it appears to be uniquely capable of matching the requirements of the cartridge.

I really do recommend reading the entire article.

Parks Audio - Puffin. Wholly unique design. Nothing like it really. I bought mine a couple months back and am dazzled at the sound (& endless options).