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Phono Preamp

Hi!
I upgraded my equipment recently with a Triode Lab 2a3 integrated and a pair of Klipsch Forte III. My turntable is still a Project Carbon 2Xperience Classic, and the phono preamp it's a Pro-ject Phono Box S.

I am thinking about to change the phono preamp and wait a bit for the turntable upgrade. Is very difficult to get a demo for home test, so, according with your experience, witch pre-amp do you recommend with this equipment?

Or is better to go to the full pack and change both, turntable and amp?

ramon74
dgb553's avatar
dgb553
7 posts
 
mijostyn posted:
"If you like leaning more towards SS sound but want just a little of that tube glow a used ARC PH-3 or PH-3 SE would be the way to go. Funny thing is that both phono amps use the same three 6922 tubes."

The PH-3SE had the next generation of resistors, so it was an upgrade from the PH-3.  I have the SE and have replaced the 3 Sovtek 6922s with 3 Philips 7308 SQs the improvement in sound is amazing! 
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
192 posts
 
My thoughts are that I still cannot ’warm up’ to tubes any longer..... lived with them for so many years in radio gear and I just don’t want to deal with the changes due to aging and going out of spec, losing vacuum, getting ’gassy’, trying to match them, etc..... Very old technology, to me anyway. I only use tubes now in  high power linear amplifier transmitters as they are able to make a lot of output power.

I really don’t know what the fascination is with tubes otherwise.
audiofun
799 posts
 
Comparing transmitter tubes to small signal tubes in consumer gear. Literally shook my head. 
audiofun
799 posts
 
Oh, and the transistor, invented in 1948, so that’s nearly 72 years old. Not so far from the “100 year old technology”. What the age of the tech has to do with anything I don’t know. Hmm, now that I think of it all of my gear has ancient transformers in it! Those transformers predate the tubes and the transistors, guess I have to get rid of all my tube and solid state gear. 
Again smh, some of the reasons I read on this site; in the words of Kelly Bundy, “the mind boggles”.
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
192 posts
 
Well Mr. Audiofun,  if you love tubes, stay with them and have fun matching them and finding ones that meet spec or stay in spec a year or so later.   

I'll stay with modern SS devices.  As I said, high power ceramic tetrodes are great for transmitters, but there is a reason why the rest of the chain before the transmitter migrated away from tubes and over to SSD.   Keep on shaking your head and listening to Class A amps too.
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