I have ss phono stage sutherland 20/20 it’s very good.But my icon ps3 phono pre is tube. Tube is hard to beat. So I have best of both world. If you love VDH ss why not keep it and enjoy it.
How Soon Do You Realize You Don't Like a Piece of Gear?
I've been running all Allnic H3000 for a bit and love it. I decided to try a solid state transimpedance phono, The Grail by Van Den Hul and am coming out unconvinced of the change. The VDH has only been powered on for 24 hours and not fully broken in yet, which is estimated to be around 50-100 "listening hours".
I don't hate the VDH, but am curious if it's going to grow on me or not. It has the detail, silence and linearity in spades, but my Allnic has the gravity, lushness, depth and ethereal timber I've grown to absolutely love. How soon until I should cut my losses and move back the Allnic and what are your thoughts on break-in time and waiting it out?
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@tablejockey I wish it was a lateral move to be honest. More of a downgrade in terms of emotion and connection. Greater detail, but not cohesive and engaging to be honest. I can see why people use these types of descriptors now. Gear really does unlock a different understanding of sound and connection.
Also, I've done a ton of upgrades since those pictures. P10 is gone and Shunyata Denali now. Primaluna pre has been upgraded to Allnic L7000. Primaluna Power amp has been dumped for Atma-sphere Class D. Bass traps floor to ceiling now. Vast improvements. |
You must give it time to break in. But in all honesty, unless you were looking to have a more analytical sound the move from tubes to solid state was probably not a good move. Also, in terms of sound quality (without regard to the sound family) I always increase the cost by 2x or it is likely to be lateral. I would recommend finding a used Audio Research Reference 3 phonostage. I think this would be a significant upgrade on all respects. |
The H3000 is a high bar, especially if you’ve rolled the rectifier and tried alternative footers under the power supply. I’ve been running mine for a decade. The best rectifier I’ve found is the Riccardo Kron Anniv 5u4g. Many people like Stillpoints SS ultra footers, the smallish ones. But only under PS, which controls the overall sound to a shocking degree. They open up the highs but do compromise the midbass a bit. I just recently switched from them to CMS footers and the jury is still out. All that said, I’ve been thinking about bringing in a transimpedance phono stage to supplement the Allnic, not replace it. Given your results, I think I won’t try the Grail. The new Mofi looks interesting. |
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