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phono pre-amp being replaced

Hi guys long time no talk to.

So I'm reaching out to the community to get some feedback. I recently purchased a Lyra Kleos phono cartridge. Love the cartridge by the way. One of the best sounding carts in its price range and more that I have heard. With that said I currently have an ARC PH-7 phono stage. Love that piece also. Its very natural sounding and just produces a lovely sound. However in regards to cartridge loading its just not the best match for the Kleos. I understood that when I bought the cartridge, but I really wanted the Kleos so I pulled the trigger. Don't get me wrong the sound is amazing with the two however the PH-7 has a fixed gain of 57.5 DB. with the Kleos being a .5mv output I have lost about 8-10 DB of gain in reference to my medium output Dynavector that the Kleos replaced. I think the optimal gain for .5mv is somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-61DB. So that is a little background. Here is my question. I'm looking for recommendations for a phono stage to replace the PH-7. I don't want to shell out the money for the ARC Reference which is around $10k plus. I think I can get just as good a sound for somewhat less. So as much as I LOVE my PH-7 I am ready to part with it at this point to better match the Kleos.  So I thought I would ask. So any suggestions would be helpful. I'm looking for something maybe with variable gain or at least maybe a high and a low setting for future cartridge upgrades. I would like it to be vacuum tube, and of course have a very natural sound. So that should narrow the field. I have  been so happy with what I have that I have not even entertained auditioning anything else until now so Im a little behind the 8 ball on the available models out there other than ARC of course. May have a little brand loyalty there, but I'm willing to give another brand a try to keep things in my price range of 3-$6k.


Thanks in advance


-Keith

barnettk
wlutke
726 posts
 
The last six months I’ve been using the Herron VTPH-2a. It destroys my last phono stage by no small amount in every category (a PH-7 with either Amperex or Telefunken NOS tubes. ) No contest. Call Needle Doctor and get 10% discount just for asking.   Sell the ARC for about $2K, ad the price of a decent SUT you'll have the cash for the Herron.

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three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
I agree with @roberjerman  If you like the PH-7 then it's well worth it to buy something like a Zesto Audio Allasso SUT (which is what I have paired with my Herron VTPH-2A).   The gain on your ARC PH-7 is 57.5dB for both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges. So you will have plenty of flexibility with something like the Zesto which has 10 different load settings that can be applied to 4 gain levels (12, 16, 18, and 22dB).  40 settings in total.  So now you can not just tailor your rig to one beloved 0.5mv cart....you can practically run any cart with your PH-7, including MCs in the 0.2 range.  I'm running an 0.28mv Dyna XX2 MKII and it sounds spectacular through the Zesto/Herron combo.
lewm
13,056 posts
 
57.5 dB of gain will give you a signal voltage of about .38V from the Kleos. Do you use an active linestage? A linestage with even 10db of additional gain would do the trick if the input sensitivity of your amplifier is typical. So you don’t need a new phono or a SUT or a prepreamp.
solypsa's avatar
solypsa
462 posts
 
I love a *well implemented* SUT too. I use Silvercore most often.

If you want to try a new phono pre on the scene just pm me and I will send you a demo 'Audiospecials Phonolab' to try no cost no obligation. Its in your price range and is two preamps in one box with outboard ps, made in Germany. Super quiet. My demo has both preamps MC but it can be ordered MC/MM if you wanted one input with a SUT etc. Oh and rca plus xlr outputs (and the xlr outputs can be configured for higher 'pro' 1.55v for more gain...)
I have a commercial interest in it as a dealer so will refrain from subjective comment on sq.
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