I have solid state (Whest PS30RDT) and valve (inbuilt Atmasphere MP-3) phono stages.
The Whest is dead quiet, very smooth, detailed, has a huge soundstage, and layers like crazy. It does big stuff incredibly well, and is my go to for rock, electronic, classical.
The Atmasphere is definitely noisier (faint valve rush at low volumes) but once the music is playing it's not noticeable. And its not quite as controlled on the really big stuff. But it has a texture and grit that I find more lifelike, and is simply gorgeous on smaller scale, acoustic, jazz, and human voice.
I love them both and use them both. But if forced to decide on one, I think I'd go for ...... nah, not telling :-)
The Whest is dead quiet, very smooth, detailed, has a huge soundstage, and layers like crazy. It does big stuff incredibly well, and is my go to for rock, electronic, classical.
The Atmasphere is definitely noisier (faint valve rush at low volumes) but once the music is playing it's not noticeable. And its not quite as controlled on the really big stuff. But it has a texture and grit that I find more lifelike, and is simply gorgeous on smaller scale, acoustic, jazz, and human voice.
I love them both and use them both. But if forced to decide on one, I think I'd go for ...... nah, not telling :-)