There are only about 3 persons in our forum who are rich. So this
question is not relevant for the rest of us.
question is not relevant for the rest of us.
Is it really worth it to get a phono stage over $10k
Since people have mentioned the Zesto Andros 1.2 and the Manley Chinook in this thread, I’ll chip in with my two-penneth. I went from Manley Chinook to Zesto 1.2 and I’m currently using the Allnic H-1202 on loan from Hammertone Audio in Canada. [https://www.hammertoneaudio.com] The progression from Chinook to Zesto was more about personal preference than the superiority of one over the other. The Chinook was warm and musical and instantly identifiable as a tube phono. The Zesto was cleaner, more detailed, more dynamic, more analytical. I chose the Zesto over the Chinook. Thinking I’d probably hit a reasonable point on the scale, where the laws of diminishing returns would kick in and negate the need to rise beyond the Zesto level of performance, the Allnic H-1202 came along. The Allnic set a new benchmark, yet it’s their entry-level unit. It’s neither overly warm nor overly analytical, it kinda pulls the qualities of the Chinook and Zesto together and combines them. It’s a knock-out unit for under $4k. (the Zesto was closer to $5k) So I think ’yes’, it’s worth trying something different, but ’no’ it doesn’t necessarily mean spending north of $10K to get a substantial improvement. I used even more words to say the same thing here https://audioresurgence.com/2020/03/allnic-audio-h-1202-phono-preamp-review.html For context, Origin Live Resolution MKIV with all upgrades, OL Illustrious arm with silver hybrid cable, ZYX Ulti 100/z Rooze |
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