2. amps-preamps
  3. 1098809541

Preamp with near-reference quality built in phono?

First some background. About 6 months ago I decided that I want to get off of the continuous upgrade path, and plotted a 2-3 year course for purchasing high quality, reference or near-reference components. The first itch I satisfied was my digital source; I threw away all of my "budget" transports, DACs, upsamplers, digital cables, etc., and purchased a high-quality single-box machine that does a number of things well and has the most musical red book playback I have heard. I then turned my attention to analog. I have not finalized my choice of arm and cartridge, but my table is flexible enough to support many.

Here is my current dilemma: I currently want to upgrade my phono preamp to something that compliments the rest of my system a little better, and that is flexible enough to work with as I settle in on a cartridge/arm combo (for example MM and MC would be nice). Concomitantly, I have begun to wonder if my decision to go with a passive linestage was a good one for the long term. I have read the arguments both for and against the passive, and having tried mine in someone else's system, I have found that its performance can be grossly impacted by changes in surrounding components. So my question is this: does a full function preamp, with phono, exist where the built in phono stage is comparable to best of breed, stand alone phono preamps? Since this is a long-term project, budget is not a huge concern, although I would like to stay under $10k if possible.
sdatch
larryi
4,038 posts
 
Probably no. But, there are some extremely good preamps that can be had with really good phono stages. The Audionote line of preamps come to mind first.

I have a Levinson No. 32 linestage with a built-in phono stage. The phono stage has a very wide range of adjustment to gain, resistive loading and capacitive loading, channel balance, low frequency filtering, etc. Also, because it is integrated with the incredibly versatile Levinson control system, all adjustments can be done by remote control. However, I have not shot this phono stage out with any stand-alone units. I've heard fantastic systems with phono stages that cost near $30k, such as the Boulder and Connoisseur phono stages, but I haven't had the privilege of hearing these in my own system.
ptmconsulting
1,000 posts
 
One of the most well regarded phono sections ever built was designed by Arthur Loesch and integrated into a world class line stage preamp. John Weisner has built the Loesch design for many years now, commonly known as the Loesch/Weisner.

I've heard thie preamp/phono directly against many others that are well regarded and still think it blows them away. Unfortunately they are very hard to find used, but some have recently been on Audiogon.

I do have a friend that knows John Weisner personally and I would be willing to put you in touch, if you're interested. E-mail me directly: ptmconsulting@att.net

Enjoy,
Bob
s23chang
620 posts
 
The above suggestions are great except for the price. $$$$
Depends on your budget, there are many options out there.
For around $2000, you can consider the Audio Research SP-11 MK II, cats SL MK III, Counterpoint SA-5000... anyway.. you get the pictures.
I personally found something under $1000 with great tube line/MM and active tube MC step up combo ( I'm a big fan of tube gear.)
chriskeating
189 posts
 
YOu might check the Hovland.
raquel
841 posts
 
For that budget, two possibilities that immediately come to mind are ...

Tube: VAC Renaissance Mark II preamp with MM/MC phono board, if purchased used (it is a current production model that lists for $17k+ with phono board). Really well built and great company. Webpage: http://www.vac-amps.com/rsigpre.htm

Solid-State: Rowland Coherence II preamp and Cadence phono stage, purchased used (the Coherence II was discontinued three years ago / the Cadence is still in production - together, they listed for $17.8k). This is a separate preamp and phono stage combo, but within your budget. Ditto as to build quality and quality of company. I own this combo.

Webpages: http://www.jeffrowland.com/Coherence%20Preamp%20Page.htm and http://www.jeffrowland.com/Cadence%20Page.htm

Both the VAC and Rowland phono stages are flexible and can handle low output MC cartridges. Both the VAC and Rowland preamps are extremely transparent, which should be crucial to you if you are used to a passive preamp.

Good luck
More to discover