Requesting recommendations for phono stage
Mabonn, not a good idea. That money will get you a Sutherland 20/20 which is a far superior phono stage. You are also not far off from a Parasound JC3+ which competes with phono stages costing over $10,000. John Curl is an amazing engineer. If my Audio Research died today that is what I would get (with my current allowance) |
Do yourself a favor and find yourself a used Artemis Labs Ph-1. This is an all-tubed design providing roughly 52 dB of gain without the use of SUT’s or FETS/Solid State gain devices! Pure tube, with a natural organic tone to voice and acoustic musical instruments; and dynamics that can make you jump. It gives you the ability to adjust loading to your liking from 50 Ohms to 47500 Ohms by simply adding resistors in parallel via zif sockets on the back panel. ***I personally would not ever buy a phono stage that didn’t offer you the ability of having an infinite customization of it’s load impedance. Being able to definitively match your specific cartridge can certainly make the difference from good to outstanding sound reproduction.*** It also utilizes readily available small signal triode tubes from the 6np1, 12AX7, and 5687 families. This will work great with medium to high output Moving Coil cartridges to Moving Magnet cartridges all on it own, or you can certainly add an outboard SUT if you wish to use low output MC’s. I think I paid about $3000 for mine new, but I would think you could find a nice used example in your price range. I currently have the latest reference level 5 Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe phono amp $8995 (which also is an all tube design eschewing the use of SUT’s/FETS and also has adjustable loading on the back panel), but I can’t imagine letting my Artemis Labs PH-1 go. I will keep it for either back up use duties or if I ever set up a secondary analog system.... that’s how much I love it! Dick Olsher gave a great review of this phono stage in http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0805/artemisph1.htm if you’d like to learn more about it. Best wishes, Don |
No need for a separate power supply for the Hagerman (Trumpet MC) wall wart. The circuit is designed around canceling noise with a wall wart. I have a phono pre with a separate power supply and it gets noisy with MC carts. Not with the Hagerman. I turned the volume all the way up and was able to hear a subtle low frequency pulse. I pushed the Hagerman back 4" and it disappeared into a subtle hiss. I have a crowded rack so this is an achievement. Load and gain is adjusted on the front. Soooooo much easier turning knobs than messing with dip switches. Can’t afford the Herron? Try the Hagerman Trumpet MC. It seems to be at that level for about a hair over $1000. It has a large, sweet, organic presentation. Excellent bass.
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