Solid State Phono Stages

I re-read this thread. I thought I must have put in a plug for the Essential 3160 Phonolinepreamp, but apparently I did not, maybe because there are not that many in existence and because the 3160 is out of production. Anyway, this is the first solid state phono stage and linestage that makes me forget what it is made of. It’s every bit as pure and authentic sounding as any tube phono stage in my experience, in fact better than any, with the qualification that I also love my tweaked Atma-sphere MP1. Raul and Jose are back in production now with a new model, the 3180, which is said to be upgraded from the 3160. Not cheap but something to think about.

Bruce, if you do a little reading on electromagnetic fields (EMI), you will see that there is no theory to support the notion that a shelf that emits EMI could possibly cancel the EMI from a nearby component. To begin with, EMI is not only radiation into the air around an electromagnetic component, it is also put back into the circuit, both forward and backward on the wiring. No external source of EMI can cancel that. Second, one field might cancel another if the two are exactly out of phase with each other, but that is nearly impossible to arrange, and since there are several potential sources inside any component, all fields are unlikely to be precisely out of phase. The way to prevent radiated EMI from having an effect on nearby components is with shielding, and it’s well done inside any well built audio component, particularly in the BMC MCCI. The very fact that good equipment is shielded, at least between an internal PS and the audio circuitry, would also interdict any effect of an outside source of EM radiation. Synergistic Research is a frequent source of misleading or incorrect info about its products. This is not to say that the shelf itself might not be a good sounding shelf. I just hate to see their BS go unquestioned.

@lewm Fair point that even as a dealer I may not fully understand what is happening scientifically to address the sonic impact from the Tranquility Base Carbon, but I will say this. It is an ACTIVE platform, not a vibration isolation platform. It is not hooked up to the signal path, and when enabled, makes a very audible sonic difference in the qualities I mentioned above. It is very easy to A/B, and anyone I’ve demoed it for in the last two months who has their eyes closed has been able to tell when it is on or not. It’s that obvious. If it is not combating EMI, I’m not sure what it’s doing, but I would believe it has something to do with electromagnetism.

A friend who has produced a range of electronic designs for audio usage, that have at the debut demo's been thoroughly impressive, makes it known if the extremely expensive EMI protection material they have access to as off cuts in used in the circuit to protect choice components. 

I would like to think their own build experiences has shown just how valuable a local EMI protection being utilised is beneficial to the end sonic.

All members of the local HiFi group have been gifted sample pieces of this EMI Protection material to find their own ideal place for it, if they choose to do so. 

Synergistic Research...... a sad ending to this thread.

@gwgjr31 What I think is sad is that people take this tone with a brand when often they have no experience with it. The fact that I found value in an accessory that made a significantly positive improvement on my phono stage of choice is nothing but a positive thing. The fact that others try to negate it without having experienced it is what is sad. If anything, people should be happy about learning about the finding, considering that the BMC with one of the Tranquility Base Carbons still outperforms the Simaudio Moon 810LP, a very highly regarded phono stage, at half the retail price. Of course, my outcome won’t work for everyone as the BMC phono stage’s performance will depend on the synergy of the phono cartridge that is used (low-impedance MC cartridges are required), but I am absolutely ecstatic with the level of performance I am getting. In fact I just purchased a second BMC MCCI Signature ULN for a second turntable (that I am custom-building).