WhestTHREE signature phono pre vs. ModWright PH 9.0X

@blisshifi Thanks for those recommendations! I'll probably look into experimenting with some upgrades in the future. What sort of power cables do you recommend?

@davehg Congrats! I'm definitely loving it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some different tubes at some point myself, but enjoying as-is as well.

I'm looking into the Umami red currently, but that will probably be my last upgrade after I swap out my speakers and amp (I have speakers being built now, and then amp to come after), so it's a little ways down the line for me. I really like the Hana ML I have now, so I can only imagine the Umami will likely take it to the next level once I have everything else dialed in.

@mmcgill829 It will be system dependent, but with the PH9.0X, which already brings warmth, doesn’t need any cable that adds additional density and will prefer a cable that is neutral and has a very low noise floor. I’ll PM you directly on some specific product/model thoughts but figured this information would help provide guidance on your inquiry without distracting the thread into a cable discussion.   

Has anyone compared the MW PH9 to a Zesto PS1 or a 1.2?

@mmcgill829 I upgraded from the SL to the Unami Blue and quite enjoy that combo.

In the last few months, I’ve gone big on my vinyl in both systems. The Blue was a big step up from the SL when using the MW’s MC stage.

In the main system, I added a Kuzma Stabi R and 4PT11 arm with the Blue. I moved my VPI with the SL to the second system (Leben) and added the Leben RS30EQ stage with a Cinemag 1254 SUT. I compared that phono setup with the ModWright using the Hana SL.

The MW won out via its MC stage, but the Leben effectively tied with the MW when using the MM stage combined with the SUT on both. I have not done a comparison in my main system of the MW vs Leben/SUT using the Unami.

In my comparison, the MW was quieter than the Leben/SUT combo. And the Unami Blue was quieter than the SL. Lastly, the Kuzma was immensely quieter than the VPI.

I’m thrilled with the MW as it has kept up with my upgrades of cartridge and table.

Lastly, my interconnects are all Acoustic Zen: Absolute Copper in my main setup and Silver Reference in my Leben setup.

@davehg Thanks for the update and great info!

I still havent decided on whether to go for an umami red or etsuro cobalt. My hesitancy around it is mostly because I have trouble justifying paying big bucks on a cartridge that will just have to get replaced in a year or two of use. The 4-6k price tags on these is a bit hard to swallow with this in mind. We'll see!

I've been a bit distracted lately with getting my digital front end set up - and since October of last year I've replaced my speakers, amplification, added an entire digital set (streamer + dac), and am working on replacing cables. yeesh!