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Superb PHONO Preamp ?

There are now some very interesting Phono Preamps out there.
Sooner or later I am interested to buy one, beside my existing Stan Klyne 7 PX 3.5
I was very interested in the newest Design from
Aesthetix Io phono Signature Version.

Now I heard from 2 other units which caught my attenttion, the
Tom Evans Design " The Groove "
and from
Manley , the " Steelhead ".
I don't have much info about them - beside their Websites - but I heard some interesting things.

Is someone out there who owns one of these units or has compared one of these to others and can give a little info ?
I use always MC's, I prefer low output, that means, around 0.20 mV.
The Klyne can handle this WITHOUT ANY Problems, and I would like to have another Phono amp TO DO this SAME way.

These are all units which - I imagine -, will only be bought from REAL ANALOG specialists, so this info could be very interesting.

( Please don't write me stories from Linn, Audio Research etc. ,these are not in this class )
Thanks
Thomas
thomasheisig
dkp
13 posts
 
The connoisseur definintions phonostage has been purchased by Japanese audiophiles that have compared it with many of the other superb phonostages mentioned in previous posts.It is regarded as an upgrade to the top FM acoustics phonostage in particular.As a money no object product it is, as with its sibling linestage, regarded as the best available in Japan(with the possible exception of the
Connoisseur definitions 3.0 full function preamp at $50,000).
samaul
13 posts
 
I Just re-check the Japan Stereo Sound magazine, the Connoisseur phono had not been awarded the COTY instead the Connoisseur 4.0 line stage was actually the one that receive the COTY award.
dkp
13 posts
 
samuel you are quite right,the Connoisseur line stage and not the phono stage was awarded the COTY also called the 4.0, my Japanese is not that good. However the previous year the Connoisseur 3.0 was awarded COTY, from which the 4.0's phonostage was derived.
deshapiro
177 posts
 
Hi All,
I just changed from the Herron VTPH, a very quiet and slightly warm unit, to the new Vendetta which is integrated into my new CTC Blowtorch preamp. It is fast, musical, has a huge soundstage and mates well with my Koetsu RSP (also new). This is straight out of the box! Can't wait until it breaks in. Meanwhile, I've sold the Herron, the interconnects and the power supply. I love getting rid of all those boxes.

David
rcrump
427 posts
 
David, it was about time to tidy up around there! :) I have heard the preamp you are using (I built it) and maybe I imagine my prespective is a more than a bit tainted, but brand new and dead cold your unit beat the absolute tar out of my fully updated Vendetta SCP2-T which had beaten the poop out of the SCP2-B that Extremephono and others here have been familiar with the past almost fifteen years as a reference......I do want folks to keep in mind that there are probably only half a dozen of the SCP2-Ts out there and only four of the full function CTC units which include the updated Vendetta.......We aren't particularly commercial as we built it initially as an experiment to see how far we could take the design just as Jim Smith did with the Io and Jonathan Carr did with the Connoisseur.....Glad you feel spoiled David as that was our intent as Curl, Thompson and I built it for ourselves as did Jim and Jonathan with their units.......
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