Considering a new Phono Pre-Amp

I have the Simaudio MOON LP 5.3 RS - which was the 310 predecessor and looks to be the same from the internal photos I have seen

I can confirm it is very silent, has amazing dynamics, clarity & detailing, with a huge detailed image.
- I did not elect to buy the optional power supply, but instead, treated it to the very best power and interconnect cables, which I believe accounts for the stunning performance I now enjoy.

The only down side: you have to take the cover off to get at the dip switches to setup the gain/capacitance/resistance settings.

No matter which phono stage you select, you will need good cables to allow the unit to perform to its maximum ability, so budget accordingly.

Cables are a tough thing to rationalize, because "it’s just wire" and to get cables that allow components to perform their very best you can end up spending more on the cables than you spent on the component.

My preferred choice of Cable Companies that have products that perform really well, include...
- Inakustic, Nordost, KLE Innovations

DIY cables is another option, if you are handy, but most people prefer established brands.

Regards - Steve

Pass Labs XP17 is a superb phono stage without the noise of tubes. Highly recommended. Mark over at Reno HiFi is the man and would probably send one out to you for you to evaluate.

For what it’s worth, the Chinook preamplifier is a hybrid design. It uses both transistors and tubes. Perhaps for this reason it is much less affected by tube rolling than any pure all tube unit would be. I say this from my experience with the Manley steelhead. If anything, the steelhead is as neutral as any solid-state device I have heard. And I have heard some very good ones.

Jay, I think you will notice that the 310 is quieter. I'm not sure how much of an improvement in sound quality you will get otherwise. Noise is a very obvious and annoying problem. I personally lean toward tube units with phono amps and I really like the 6922 tube best but I think the Chinook is getting old in the tooth and is a bit noisier than the other units. The Herron is quieter but 12AX7s have more tube "bloom" than I personally like but a lot of people like this. The Moon 310 is very quiet and I love the balanced output. This allows you to keep your turntable set up further away from your other equipment and takes cable idiosyncrasies out of the equation. But, you do have to have a balanced input for it. I think I would lean towards the Moon here but I would want to hear one first.
 

Dear Mijo, Are there data to suggest that the Herron is quieter than the Chinook?  Great as the Herron apparently is, what with its many admirers hereabouts, I would have thought the Chinook would be quieter, just because of its use of transistors for gain in a cascode with the 6922 on top.  Also, I don't think it's quite fair to say the Chinook is "old", if the Herron is not also old.  The genius in the Herron is apparently how it is put together; it's design is that of a classic MM stage, where such stages have used the 12AX7 as input gain stage for decades.  I'm not judging one vs the other; I just wonder about the accuracy of your statement.