Phono Amp Recommendations

Marakanetz,

Thanks for the additional recommendations. The EAR does look like a very nice amp, but I'm going to stick with solid state.

--------------------------------------

Steveaudio,

Actually, I won't be hooking up the turntable to my Luxman L-117. I going to set the turntable up in my home office using my Maxed Out Home headphone amp. That is why I need the phono amp. My turntable is over 15 years old as well, so it will also need upgrading. But since it looks like the phono amp will cost more than I thought, I'm going to take this one step at a time. If, after I get the amp, I decide I like LPs again, I'll come back and ask for turntable recommendations as well.

I'm still using my old preamps phono section (PS Audio 5.6), but the Phonomena comes highly recommended from one of the biggest analog-philes I know.

Hi Deana,

If you're interested in the Black Cube, I recommend buying it used and saving yourself $300-$400. You can probably find one of the original versions for $350-ish (they are often listed on this site). They're very basic inside and there isn't much that can be damaged. It's not much of a risk if you can find a respectable seller with good feedback. You can always sell it for what you paid if you discover that vinyl isn't for you. And I agree with 4yanx...they sound quite good "as is"...you can always upgrade later if you fall in love with vinyl. Good luck.

An interesting observation is that the vinyl asylum seems to prefer the monolithic to the black cube. I have no experience with either but was ready to go with the Monolithic till I read this thread. I guess I'll toss a coin since I have nowhere to audition either.

Has anyone tried the new Grado phono amp yet? I don't know if it is even available yet. I just happen to see a new posting on their web site.