Why would millercarbon mention an MM phono stage that doesn't meet the OP's requirements of handling a LOMC? He claims he reads well and admonishes others when they don't. Well of course...so he can shamelessly pump a brand that's on his list of brands to talk about everywhere and at all costs. There are many all-tube MM-only phono pre's out there. Dude has no shame....
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"All tube" seems to be a tough find. Most have one thing or the other, but not BOTH. A manufacturer needs to step in and clarify the tube rectified thing. From my understanding, SS(diode/bridge rectifier) is the way to go from a technical standpoint? Quiet is a personal tolerance thing. With my "all tube" Foz, the volume at 1:00 o’clock or so you hear hiss. Once the needle hits the first groove-no hiss. Hiss between tracks also. I doubt even the "best" tubes would completely eliminate that. You can hear hiss(VERY little) in THE FINEST tube based setups, so prospective users need to get over it. It’s the same thing as the errant tick/stitch we hear now and then regardless of how great your "stamper" and cleaning regimen is. I like the Decware piece. I considered it years back, but vetoed against it since it wasn’t a one box solution. You still need a step up for LOMC. I hope an NVO owner will drop in in to describe their experience. I heard the NVO only once, but I remember what I heard. The entire system was WOW, but I’m certain the NVO is responsible for a good part of that. |
The Manley Chinook! https://upscaleaudio.com/products/manley-labs-chinook-special-edition-mkii The Herron! http://www.herronaudio.com/vtph2specs.html |
The Manley Chinook!
which has a JFET front end for MC cartridges
https://upscaleaudio.com/products/manley-labs-chinook-special-edition-mkii The Herron! which has a FET front end for MC cartridges http://www.herronaudio.com/vtph2specs.html |
What is the bias against using a SUT? If setup properly they are the quietest solution to increasing the gain of a LOMC. High quality SUT's also have a very high bandwidth so they induce no roll off at either end of the audio spectrum. Using an all tubed setup for a LOMC just seems like an invitation to frustration as the tubes wear and get noisy. Finding suitable replacement tubes is going to add another level of frustration. I've seen folks complaining about finding good quiet tubes for a MM stage, MC voltages are typically only 10% of that. To me, using a SUT is a very elegant solution, it doesn't add any components not found in a typical tube system, no solid state components, just simple transformers. BillWojo |
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