Solid State Phono Stages
I used to be an all-tube guy, but I’ve now ventured into the realm of high-end solid state with T+A and no longer have any itch to go back heavily into tubes. Now, the only tubes I have left in my system are in my Modwright PH9.0X phono, and from what I’ve demoed against it, it seems to be a giant killer. I do love it, but I’m curious to try a higher end solid state phono stage to see what more noise and more music might sound like. Unfortunately T+A does not have a standalone phono stage, so I’m looking at other manufacturers and open to other opinions.
I currently have a Clearaudio Innovation Wood table and Air Tight PC-1s cartridge. i listen to a wide range of music, from Zeppelin to Vivaldi to Beck to Coltrane to Yello. The stage would ideally have between 65-74db of gain, maybe adjustable to 60db at minimum, and have variable impedance values. A balanced output stage would be ideal. I don’t ever really plan to have a second arm, but most stages that retail over $7K tend to have multiple inputs anyways.
My budget would be at tops ~$8K for a used unit. The unit that is sticking out to me from what I’m reading about is the Simaudio Moon 810LP. Another high on the list is the Esoteric E-02. I’ve also come across the Pass XP-27, the Gold Note PH-1000.
I’m looking for a stage with some personality in its character, not one that is overly refined. I’d love for it to be dynamic and bold when it should be, and also gentle and refined when it should be.
The only solid state stages I’ve ever owned and tried were the Pass Labs Xono, which was clean sounding but a little noisy and brittle sounding compared to a PS Audio Stellar Phono. I’ve liked all my tube phono stages better than both of those units.
I’ve also considered going further up the tube stage route, looking at Doshi 3.0, Aesthetix IO Eclipse, but I’m hesitant unless I can hear those in place.
What solid stage phono stages have you loved, and what have you compared them to?
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- 172 posts total
@varyat I have the first whest 0.20 - superb phono stage - I understand the ref and subsequent models are better still.
It's too much of a generalisation to consider it simply between valve and SS design.
For instance the Whest is very different to a Tom Evans which is then different to a Vendetta. Its a bit like going from a FWD to a RWD car - ie a porsche vs bmw vs ferrari are all very different.
Try and audition one in your system - take up @bigkidz offer...
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Hi @lohanimal - I fully understand it’s not black and white. But if you read my posts, you’ll see I’ve owned a whole suite of tube phono stages as well as the PS Audio Stellar Phono and Pass xOno which are both solid state. Those two had a lot of differences from each other, but they also did not have the characteristics of my tube stages. It’s not like I’ve never tried a SS stage. I’m just further exploring my options, just as I have with just about every type of tube preamp and amp and a number of solid state preamps/amps. But right now what I am looking for is a high end solid state stage to further my experience and expertise. I’m not looking to generalize and that was never the intent of this thread. And I’m being open minded with many of the suggestions because I know they will all impart different personalities in my system. As I said, the offer to audition is appreciated, but if it doesn’t have a balanced output stage it does not really suit my needs given the space I would like to have between the phono stage and my preamp. |
@thiefoflight the Avid Pulsare is a serious phonostage and possesses similar character as the ART9. Neutral, musical and dynamic. It can boogie and play classical without a bias. Typical grown up British kit. A little more data on other Phonostages being talked here. The only Whest worth considering is their MC Ref, their top of the line. Anything below sounds clean, fast but also dry and lacking intensity. Boulder is good but at that price check out an FM Acoustics 122 Mk2. It is very very good. |
- 172 posts total