Solid State Phono Stages

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.

OP…”I think my listening preferences have changed to be a bit more analytical, so the Ref 3 phono does interest me.”

Ok, the REF 3 should not interest you. From what you are saying you really are moving in the opposite direction.

If you look from a high level in the changes in audiophile equipment over the last 40 or 50 years. Tube was musical, really warm and a bit rolled off at high and low frequencies. SS was fast but with copious quantities of high frequency hash and really distorted treble. They have been converging from these opposite sides. As an example Audio Research leading the way (admittedly floundering a bit un the late 90’s ėarly 2000… but killing it after that) Pass has step by step worked from high output detailed… calming down the distortion and getting more musical. The devide still exists… but it is so much smaller… but important for those of us that have really great systems. ARC is high resolution (as opposed to MAC, for instance) very natural. And musical… not a bit of analytical. The ARC Ref 3 Phonostage is beautiful… but not remotely analytical… don’t give it another thought.

You should think Boulder, Mark Levinson, Pass, SIm… I am sure there are a couple more.

Seems like you will have to buy about a half dozen phono stages in order to appease the crowd, and then listen to them in your system in order to make your own decision. I am being only half facetious. Sometimes you really do have to buy several different versions of the same thing in order to figure out what you like. In your case, you already do have a backlog of experience with many tube and SS phono stages. It is my sense that the best tube and the best SS phono stages have tended to converge upon each other over the last 10 years; it is no longer justifiable to think of tubes as "warm and rolled off" or SS as "cold and analytical". As Mr Prentice already said.

@ghdprentice I understand what you are trying to say. But I am in the camp that believes that a component can be analytical and be incredibly musical and enjoyable. Advanced technology can now afford this to us, where resolution so clear and dissectable can be delivered to us in the most effortless and pleasing ways. The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC is a great example of this. It is probably one of the most musical and analytical components combined. I’ve also owned the Ref 6 and Ref 150 SE, which are fairly recent ARC reference pieces. They were both musical, but largely more analytical, especially for tube. You’re right that the divide is narrowing, but many will still agree that the latest ARC is analytical.

It’s funny how a word’s definition and connotation may change over a generation. People used to generally associate analytical with bone dry, providing clarity into the music at the expense of delivering emotion and understanding soul. Today, data is the silent language of people, and artificial intelligence mines it to make technology be more human. Hence, analytics is starting to understand and mimic soul. The same is happening for audio. This is precisely why I fell in love with T+A. Their Hv line has the soul that is typically associated with the very best tube gear, but the “blackness” from its incredible resolution and high SNR allow listeners to truly both analyze and feel the music in parallel.

With this in mind, I’d say I’d like to remain curious about the Ref 3 Phono. :) I doubt I will ever buy it, but I would never say no to an opportunity to listen to it, especially in my own system.

@lewm I initially posted this before reading your most recent post, but now that I did, I think you and I are on the same page, so this applies to you as well.