Pani:
Obviously YMMV, but I auditioned (all at the same time) the ARC Ref 3, Sim Audio 610P or 810P (don’t recall exactly which Sim unit it was, I know it costs about $8K), the Pass Labs XP25. There were a few other lesser priced units I also auditioned.
I probably liked the Pass the least as I found it thin sounding but airy and ethereal. It just had no substantative presence with the music. I also noted that it seemed to pick up more ticks and pops than the others. I think this can be a sign of high negative feedback BUT not necessarily. Nothing wrong with feedback, I am just saying I heard more ticks and pops on the same vinyl with the Pass.
I did not care for the ARC, I found it overly (artificially) warm and soft sounding. The music also had a quality of sounding like it was not riding on a firm foundation. I also found the prat to be wanting to my ears. I could not get an identifiable rhythmic flow out of the phonostage.
I did like some of the things the Sim Audio did, specifically it’s resolution, quietness and relative dynamism. I thought the prat again, was not quite where I would want it be, my foot just did not tap.
The SPL Phonos took the best of all of the above and took it to another level. The prat was awesome as well the dynamics. With my London it is nearly unbelievable. I would not use it with a super low gain cartridge unless you had a step-up as it can present some noise if you really have to turn the volume up super loud (it is not a problem with my 103r/103.3 and even played very very well with my MC Anna which has an output of only .2mv). Not sure if some of the noise I hear when the volume is high (read too high for comfort) is due to my area in the city. The iPhono 2 is quiet like a tomb as is the PH77. This unit runs a proprietary 120v rail system and it sounds very alive. This is studio gear so the designer frills aren’t there like a good deal of the audiophile stuff, just outstanding perfomance. It really is exceptional. Actually shocked me as I had never heard of it before I went into my buddies audio shop, but I found that I kept going back to the unit.
The PH77 is simply better but the Phonos at this point is the second best phono stage I have spent an appreciable amount of time enjoying. It is certainly not embarrassed by the PH77. I could easily imagine that on some types of music I may prefer the Phonos to the PH77 much as I prefer my London on jazz over my other cartridges.
These are just my ears opinions, as I stated, YMMV.
Thinking of trying a Tsar DST to compare to the London :)
Hope this helps.
