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
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