ASL Mini Phono

I'm not ready to give it "giant-killer" status yet, though this may be because I have access to so many giant-killers and I haven't had a chance to burn it in yet. But I think it is definitely a keeper, and if my experience with other ASL tube equipment is anything to go by, there will be a transformation soon. I can say that it is very detailed and very clean, with the usual tube ability to paint the soundstage. I just ran a Supex 901 MC into it with no volume or noise problems. Now I believe the Supex, from ear alone (I bought it NOS but without the paperwork - perhaps someone can help me here) has an oputput from .8 to 1 millivolt - so this is quite something. But I bought the Mini Phono from a good dealer who had sold it to me with a matched pair of tubes chosen for their specific Mini Phono characteristics (the North Audio manufacturer lives in town), at a slight premium. For $200 I don't believe anything out there can touch it, though I can't say for certain: for those who like tubes and need a budget phono stage, then this is it. More when it burns in! I can't believe it works so well with my Supex!

I'm falling in love with this thing, though I'm not certain what's going on. I just made an armboard for my Ariston RD80 (Linn LP12-like) out of Purpleheart, an exotic purple hardwood. I put the Black Widow tonearm on it, and mounted the Grado Platinum on that. Plugged into my ASL Mini Phono, there is a beautiful resonant quality to the music, like a fine cello, or other lacquered woody instrument. It's beautiful. ASL Mini Phono or Purpleheart armboard? More listening required. The bass has made an appearance, it's still burning in. For this type of resonant magic, a tubed component is definitely necessary: so if that's the type of magic you want and this is your budget, this is it. Great clarity and detail too. Be aware I had NOS Philips tubes matched, measured, fitted when I bought it.

I use Mullard 12AX7 on my mini phono and it improves the bass a little. I use Shure V15 type V cartridge and my Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 preamp volume is at 12 O'clock level. I wonder if there are mods to improve gain on the mini phono.

I have heard that the new Mini Phonos have had their design chaged to increase output. Though my Mini Phono has been found wanting in certain comparative tests, I still love mine, as I find it gets the timing right, and is sufficiently detailed (very for my tastes) and provides excellent imaging information. Though I often turn my preamp up to 2 o'clock (!), with my matched Philips tubes I find there is no noise penalty. If you do find tweaks anywhere for the Mini Phono, let me know. Until then, I continue to happily use mine, as I have not even been tempted so far to even open it up to see what's inside!

I'm late to this forum, but recently bought an ASL Mini Phono. I'm a big fan of tube phono stages and figured this was a bargain for $200. I'm not aware of any other $200 tube phono stage with a decent power supply like this one has. Mainly, I want to see how good this unit can sound with some modest upgrades.

I'm going to replace the cheap Bennic caps with 0.1 uF KY40 for the input and 1.0 uF Dynamicaps for the output. I'm also going to change all the resistors to low noise PRP and swap in Silver Mica and Relcap for the RIAA caps. I'll also upgrade the cheap Wincap electrolytics with some decent Panasonic.

All told, I plan to spend about $75 on parts. If it compares favorably with a Bottlehead Seduction, I'll be very happy.

I'm sketching out the circuit diagram. I'd be happy to share it with anyone along with my modifications which are easy to do. Just shoot me a message.

-Mark