Tube vs. Solid State Phono Stage

I had a Hagerman Coronet for a long time and generally poo-poo'ed solid state designs. A friend brought over a Plinius integrated amp he was evaluating for a review and it had a solid state phono stage. What a dramatic difference in terms of slam! But it was a wee bit sterile sounding compared to the tubes.

So an upgrade was in order for me. I came across a Hagerman Trumpet and picked it up. It has the slam and speed of the solid state and the imaging, bloom and musicality of tubes. My vinyl is now one of the best I have heard.

I'm using it with a Dynavector 20X-H, otherwise I would need a step up - something to consider. the EAR 834's in their modded form are also certainly worth checking out if you want the best of tubes.

Enjoy,
Bob

i did a load of reviews of phono stages in 2005, and came to the conclusion that one should not try and differentiate between tube and solid state, but on the sound you like, and whichever stage delivers that sound, that's the one you want.

An important thing to consider is synergy. If you have a lazy/soft/syrupy pre-amp and power amp, a good solid state design like a Tom Evans groove may do the trick to inject some slam.

Nothing is perhaps more important than synergy.

I personally think that of the stages I have listened to in the £500 - £2500 range the two that stood out for me were by Whest and Paul Hynes, but they are not cut from the same cloth. the Hynes (tube)was musically relaxed and effortless, the Whest (solid state) was musically exciting and dynamic - oh yes deathly quiet too.

I recommend you also hear an Art Audio stage - very nice indeed.

whatever you do, get the dealers to lend you the equipment to put in your system.

Lohan

Our local audio club does phonostage shootouts several times a year. We play our personal phonostages against phonostages supplied to us via a friendly local dealer. The clear cut winners at various price points have been the SS Vacuum State JLTi (US$1,500) which has bested anything we have thrown against it up to US$3,000. The original Herron VTPH-1mc/plus (JFET tube hybrid) now discontinued but available used for US$1,700-1800, beat all contenders up to $5,000. We have only matched the new Herron VTPH-2 (JFET tube hybrid with both MM and MC inputs) against a few more expensive phono stages which it bested. However, the sample is too small to form any solid conclusions. However, we do know that it is substantially better than the Herron VTPH-1mc/plus.

All three phono stages are neutral and musical.

Hi Rgordonpf; I'd be curious to know which stages were included in your listening sessions that were bested by the Herron? Thanx