Luxman E1 if you can find one on the used market. I have one in one of my systems and the sound matches the "relaxed, slightly warm" in the OP
Phonostage recommendations under $3K
Folks,
I am looking to step up from my current Parasound ZPhono XRM (still under 60 days audition trial). To be honest, I am quite pleased with its performance, feature set and flexibility. I mean what else you can expect from a $600 phono. While I enjoyed listening to vinyl through XRM, I feel there is room for improvement and XRM may be the weakest link in my vinyl setup. And since XRM is the only phono I’ve experienced in my setup, I don’t have quite have a reference point. So what else should I be considering under $3K?
I prefer a relaxed and slightly warm sound since I mostly listen to jazz genre.
I started to put together a list list based on sound quality and flexibility with gain and impedance settings.
Parasound JC 3+ Phono Pre
Allnic H-1202
Leben RS30 EQ (requires a SUT for MC Cart)
I hear high praises on Herron VTPH-2A but it’s bit more than I would like to spend at this time.
My current vinyl setup, Thorens TD1601, ZPhono XRM, Hana ML (low output - 0.4mv), Accuphase E-650 and Tannoy Canterbury’s.
I would really appreciate some recommendations based on your personal experiences. Thank you!
I am looking to step up from my current Parasound ZPhono XRM (still under 60 days audition trial). To be honest, I am quite pleased with its performance, feature set and flexibility. I mean what else you can expect from a $600 phono. While I enjoyed listening to vinyl through XRM, I feel there is room for improvement and XRM may be the weakest link in my vinyl setup. And since XRM is the only phono I’ve experienced in my setup, I don’t have quite have a reference point. So what else should I be considering under $3K?
I prefer a relaxed and slightly warm sound since I mostly listen to jazz genre.
I started to put together a list list based on sound quality and flexibility with gain and impedance settings.
Parasound JC 3+ Phono Pre
Allnic H-1202
Leben RS30 EQ (requires a SUT for MC Cart)
I hear high praises on Herron VTPH-2A but it’s bit more than I would like to spend at this time.
My current vinyl setup, Thorens TD1601, ZPhono XRM, Hana ML (low output - 0.4mv), Accuphase E-650 and Tannoy Canterbury’s.
I would really appreciate some recommendations based on your personal experiences. Thank you!
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- 110 posts total
I don't have that much experience with phono stages in the price range you specified. However, as a general observation, I like tube gear, including tube phono stages. Where higher gain is needed for MC cartridges, my general preference is for using a step up transformer rather than another active gain stage. I happen to like the sound of "iron" in my system. The other reason to go with tubes is the ability to tailor the sound to one's specific preference by trying out different tubes. It has been a while, but, I heard a Hagerman phono stage in a friend's system and it sounded quite good, particularly for the money. I recently read about the Sunvalley tube phono stage in Stereophile, which costs less than $1,000 for a kit, and something like $2,000 if purchased assembled. It gives one the ability to actually change equalization curves--both the turnover frequency and the slope of the curve. I've heard phono stages that have this ability and was surprised at how useful this is even when one doesn't have older records that do not use RIAA equalization. You can read about this phono stage at: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-42-sunvalley-audio-sv-eq1616d-phono-equalizer Good luck on your search. |
- 110 posts total