Solid State Phono Stages

So a hook is a characteristic coloration that pleases the listener(?) Because electric guitars are deliberately distorted at the source.

If that is your understanding at this point, then I will leave it there.

I am much more comfortable with and would prefer to suggest, that in relation to an Audio Device, the Hook is the method used by the very experienced EE, to remove/minimise the perception of a colouration being present in the produced sonic.  

Maybe it will be better identified, if a visit to the last few pages of the Thread covering the recent released design for a 300b.

The Engineers offering descriptions are in my view, whilst also being careful in how they reveal information relating to a Hook or Design founded through their own experiences and specifically utilised for the Circuit/Topology of the 300b Design under discussion. 

I 100% support the protective nature/ring of steel, that an EE's can request to be in place relating to their work.

It is my sensitivity toward these requests and my proven track record for 'keeping mum',  that has been instrumental in my being invited to experience a selection of Prototype Designs being produced over the past years.

From the EE's perspective a set of ears without ulterior motives is surely something valuable to have at hand.

I’m just questioning the semantics. If a hook is a design element that leads to exceptional neutrality, then it ought not to be analogized to a guitar amplifier, which is deliberately designed not to be neutral. If I were designing a tube amp for exceptional neutrality, the first thing I would do is not use the 300B output tube. This is not to say I categorically dislike 300B amps, but they do have their inherently non-neutral character at frequency extremes while also capable of a heavenly midrange when paired with the right speaker.

My last few listening experiences have been all about the 300b.

I have been introduced to a P-P 300b produced in the 90's, with an overview of the pre production design carried out by Tim De Paravicini, the Tranx's Winding are certainly being described as TDP Legacy.

I have been demo'd this on three occasions over the past weeks.

Once in the owners system and compared to their VAC Integrated Amp, that the 300b is seemly superseding.

The Second, in the same system but used to present the demo' of recent changes to a Tonearm nearly at its final finish as a design.

The most recent being in another system and compared to the resident Power Amp in this system. The 300b had undergone scrutinization of the circuit and components, and had undergone changes made to the circuit prior to this latest demo'.

Not at any time has it presented a sonic that can be described as unattractive in any way. When driving the Klipsch Jubilees, the experience was something quite special, I was feeling very blessed at the opportunity to be present.

During the last demonstration, the modified 300b Klipsch Horns, was eventually  used in conjunction with my Prototype Pre-Amp being built. I feel confident in claiming the experience was underpinned in a way that was unimaginable.

This Month there is a demo' being arranged in another system using SET 300b Monoblocks.

My 845 Designer/Builder has last year completed a 300b build for a customer with a long term relationship as per mine. The Designer/Builder is keen for me to make an arrangement to meet with this customer and experience this 300b Amp' in use.

I'm a little stretched at present and can't fit it all in.

I still have not arranged to visit the Verismo Owner who kindly offered a demo, or the builder of the DML Panel Speakers I supplied a material sample to for trialing purposes, which went down rather well, and further supplies are being requested. 

Along with this, there is the need for me to be available for supporting the recent decision to invest in to a SS Phon'.

The Trials agreed that can be undertaken, on this design, that is already very attractive in use. Will allow for me to supply components of my choice to be added, with the intention to tweak the design to my unique preference.

The too and from the EE, Will absorb at least Four visits, adding up to approx' 1000 miles in round trips. 

I would really enjoy the opportunity to receive a demo' of the Verismo through this Phon'.  

It’s been a long time, and I’ve reverted my decision on my phono stage of choice and thought to update this thread in case anyone has interest or finds the information valuable.

The last step I wrote about was selling my BMC MCCI Signature ULN phono stage after evaluating it against the Simaudio Moon 810LP. In stock mode, there are tradeoffs between each phono stage, where the Moon is more liquid and refined, and the BMC had the upper end in realism, delivering more presence and a lower noise floor, but at times sounding overly technical and less graceful.

Well, after a year of having owned the Moon and living without the BMC, I found myself missing the presence the BMC brought. I tried upgrading cables and fuses inside the 810LP, but it did not get me closer to what the BMC brought. I ended up purchasing a different BMC MCCI Signature ULN on the used market. This time, I employed one of Synergistic Research’s Tranquility Base Carbon platforms underneath, which generates an electromagnetic field around a component to combat surrounding and internal EMI. What a difference it made! The BMC became ever more present, while any etched nature it may have brought has been wiped away. It sounds purely realistic and natural. I’ve now had the BMC and Tranquility Base Carbon in place for at least six months, and I can honestly say I have no desire to move from this. I can back that up by also sharing that I bought a second BMC phono stage for a second turntable I am building.

The BMC is here to stay. I’m glad to have sold the 810LP to a happy owner and make my money back. But also for anyone reading, if you haven’t tried a Tranquility Base Carbon under your phono stage, I highly recommend it!

Please keep in mind I am a dealer for Synergistic Research, so take this info how you will. I have no affiliation with BMC aside from being a very happy owner, but I am proud to call it my reference stage.

I re-read this thread. I thought I must have put in a plug for the Essential 3160 Phonolinepreamp, but apparently I did not, maybe because there are not that many in existence and because the 3160 is out of production. Anyway, this is the first solid state phono stage and linestage that makes me forget what it is made of. It’s every bit as pure and authentic sounding as any tube phono stage in my experience, in fact better than any, with the qualification that I also love my tweaked Atma-sphere MP1. Raul and Jose are back in production now with a new model, the 3180, which is said to be upgraded from the 3160. Not cheap but something to think about.

Bruce, if you do a little reading on electromagnetic fields (EMI), you will see that there is no theory to support the notion that a shelf that emits EMI could possibly cancel the EMI from a nearby component. To begin with, EMI is not only radiation into the air around an electromagnetic component, it is also put back into the circuit, both forward and backward on the wiring. No external source of EMI can cancel that. Second, one field might cancel another if the two are exactly out of phase with each other, but that is nearly impossible to arrange, and since there are several potential sources inside any component, all fields are unlikely to be precisely out of phase. The way to prevent radiated EMI from having an effect on nearby components is with shielding, and it’s well done inside any well built audio component, particularly in the BMC MCCI. The very fact that good equipment is shielded, at least between an internal PS and the audio circuitry, would also interdict any effect of an outside source of EM radiation. Synergistic Research is a frequent source of misleading or incorrect info about its products. This is not to say that the shelf itself might not be a good sounding shelf. I just hate to see their BS go unquestioned.

@lewm Fair point that even as a dealer I may not fully understand what is happening scientifically to address the sonic impact from the Tranquility Base Carbon, but I will say this. It is an ACTIVE platform, not a vibration isolation platform. It is not hooked up to the signal path, and when enabled, makes a very audible sonic difference in the qualities I mentioned above. It is very easy to A/B, and anyone I’ve demoed it for in the last two months who has their eyes closed has been able to tell when it is on or not. It’s that obvious. If it is not combating EMI, I’m not sure what it’s doing, but I would believe it has something to do with electromagnetism.

A friend who has produced a range of electronic designs for audio usage, that have at the debut demo's been thoroughly impressive, makes it known if the extremely expensive EMI protection material they have access to as off cuts in used in the circuit to protect choice components. 

I would like to think their own build experiences has shown just how valuable a local EMI protection being utilised is beneficial to the end sonic.

All members of the local HiFi group have been gifted sample pieces of this EMI Protection material to find their own ideal place for it, if they choose to do so. 

Synergistic Research...... a sad ending to this thread.

@gwgjr31 What I think is sad is that people take this tone with a brand when often they have no experience with it. The fact that I found value in an accessory that made a significantly positive improvement on my phono stage of choice is nothing but a positive thing. The fact that others try to negate it without having experienced it is what is sad. If anything, people should be happy about learning about the finding, considering that the BMC with one of the Tranquility Base Carbons still outperforms the Simaudio Moon 810LP, a very highly regarded phono stage, at half the retail price. Of course, my outcome won’t work for everyone as the BMC phono stage’s performance will depend on the synergy of the phono cartridge that is used (low-impedance MC cartridges are required), but I am absolutely ecstatic with the level of performance I am getting. In fact I just purchased a second BMC MCCI Signature ULN for a second turntable (that I am custom-building). 
 

That’s not quite a fair summation of my comment. I only pointed out that the stated mechanism of the base is at best questionable, because there are many reasons why it cannot possibly block or absorb EMI from the component. I then did acknowledge that it may nevertheless be beneficial in some way, but not by blocking or absorbing EMI. I am not a physicist, so if there is a flaw in my reasoning, I am happy to learn and would admit to an error, if I made one. Likewise, SR make some other questionable claims regarding some of their tweak-y products, like the PHT, which is referred to by SR as a "transducer". That word has a specific meaning, and although I have never seen a straightforward explanation of how the PHT works, I don’t see how it can be called a transducer, at least in common audiophile parlance where a transducer either converts mechanical energy into electrical energy (cartridge) or vice-versa (speaker). In the early years of SR, there were other problematic claims regarding their ICs. None of this is to say or prove that the products don’t sound good or improve SQ.

@lewm - I wasn’t calling you out, my apologies. I was more just referring to the previous replier saying that it’s sad that the thread ends with SR. That is a very closed-minded statement that is quite baseless. I had no issues with what you personally shared and appreciate you providing more context.

Also, not to make this thread about SR, but to provide you with further understanding of the functionality of the Tranquility Base Carbon - it does not block or absorb EMI, but it does generate a magnetic field designed to surround the component. This field drives uniformity in electromagnetism rather than blocking or absorbing it, but it is redirecting it. 

Rather than getting into debate about this further and detracting from this thread’s topic, I’m happy to take this into a separate thread if there are inquiries, or converse over PM. 

Current reference is my Audio Flight FL

My comment stands.  Repeating SR's nonsensical explanation for their products doesn't help your case.  If you hear a difference, that all that matters I suppose.  Hopefully, the difference is positive.

I’m not repeating a non-sensical explanation, rather trying to simplify a complex topic. If it isn’t helpful or making sense for you, then you should either learn how to be curious and inquire for more explanation or do some investigation on your own rather than being a troll. There are multitudes of resources on how EMI affects electronics, let alone audio equipment. There are even discussions on other past threads on this forum on the theory, benefits, and implementations of faraday cages, which I believe the SR Tranquility Bases are based on. This thread’s purpose is not about explaining the nature of EMI and how to eliminate it, but rather a documentation of my journey to find a phono stage (which I did), by soliciting guidance from the community, which has largely been quite helpful, and sharing my learnings back.

It is your comments that are not helpful at all, and your responses which are not helping your case, so just stop and let the thread stay its course without you taking it down in flames.

Lol, I have an electrical.engineering degree from MIT. So, I don’t need an education in EMI. I consider SR to be one of the worst of the snake oil companies which are a blight on this hobby. Regarding their explanations for their products, they are nonsensical BS. They consistency appropriate and misuse terms that have actual meanings in other context. Ted Denney has absolutely zero engineering background aside from his role at SR...

 I consider SR to be one of the worst of the snake oil companies which are a blight on this hobby. Regarding their explanations for their products, they are nonsensical BS

Couldn't agree more. Would never consider SR based on their BS

Bliss is a very good guy, but I have to agree with the SR critics, as noted. I am an MD/ molecular biologist with 40+ years experience at the lab bench. Had some wonderful physics teaching in college but have no advanced degree in the field. However, I build and repair my own audio gear and have been studying various aspects of electronics since my retirement 6 years ago and in my spare time for at least an additional 25 years. . Some of the ideas promulgated in the audio world, especially ones that invoke quantum mechanics or a quantum effect, are as laughably wrong or impossible as the speeches of certain politicians.

@lewm just this very moment i am working on a quad paired photon vinyil replay system… for stereo…. I’m at an impasse getting the ears to see the light…

I believe Jeff Lynne was on to this…late 1971

That's a fine kettle of photons.