See review(s) from Audiogon below site:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rprea&1330286889&&&/New-Valve-Order-SPA-II-Tube-preamp
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rprea&1330286889&&&/New-Valve-Order-SPA-II-Tube-preamp
Stand out phono stages
This topic has been started before by others and myself as well, maybe too many times, but it is worth revisiting since the source is so very important!
So far I have had the pleasure to enjoy two worthy phono stages: the EAR 834p and the JLTI.
I have to admit they are spectacular. Obviously the record and all the equipment downstream play a role in the sound heard. In some cases I prefer the JLTI and in other cases the EAR. But neither out do the other dramatically.
What phono preamps outshine others by a big margin, those that can be considered the last phono preamp ever needed.
So far I have had the pleasure to enjoy two worthy phono stages: the EAR 834p and the JLTI.
I have to admit they are spectacular. Obviously the record and all the equipment downstream play a role in the sound heard. In some cases I prefer the JLTI and in other cases the EAR. But neither out do the other dramatically.
What phono preamps outshine others by a big margin, those that can be considered the last phono preamp ever needed.
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- 403 posts total
Dhcod, I owned three versions of both: the Basis and the Emitter II. Scheafer the owner/designer is very fond of modifications. Each new mod means new and higher price but not necessarily any improvement. The 2005 Basis was worst then 2003 version. I was not able to notice any difference between ,say, 2002 Emitter II and 2006 Emitter II. The first 'golden' version (2008-9)of the Basis Exclusive was a disaster for me. I bought this one assuming that both MM and MC connections were present but Scheafer decided for some unknown reasons to mod this one with only MC inputs. So I was 'forced' to buy the 2010 version a year later. I have some relatives by ASR company so I wrote 'forced' with quotation marks. Now if you live in Europe you can buy Emitter II for cheap on ebay.de or Audio-Markt.de. The problem for those who live outside of Europe is the weight and consequently the postage cost. With the Basis phono however one can remove the batteries from the transformer part and reduce the weight with +/- 12 kgr. This means 2 packets with less than 20 kgr. with reasonable postage cost. Regards, |
Do research the Jasmine LP20MKII. I've seen it favorably compared to the Manley Steelhead, other TOTL units. I am an owner. The company stands behind their product and have been excellent to work with when I asked for a reduction in global gain prior to sending it out. http://www.jasmineaudio.net/lp20MKII.html |
- 403 posts total