Looking for phono stage recommendations

Like Brnlaw, I use the K&K Audio phono and find it to be to be an excellent choice. It is dead quiet, detailed, tonally balanced and projects a large soundstage. Typically, the K&K phono is supplied as a kit. If you have a DIY bent, here is a chance to get a $4K MM/MC phono stage for about $1600 plus assembly time. For a couple hundred more, you get a stepped attenuator which allows you run directly into your amps. Although K&K gives fine support, in my opinion this kit is probably too hard for a novice.

Speedy has a good point about tubes and heat. I think you would be fine with a seperate tube phono as these don't seem to put out much heat at all, at least the ones I'm familiar with. Now preamps are a whole different ball game. That is where the heat really comes from, forgetting about amps for the moment. Even my CDP with tubed output stage cranks some BTUs. I'm forced to run the AC constantly this time of year even with things in the standby mode as I get about a 5 degree rise in temps after about 1 hour of listening. Still, the touch of tubes in the front can be magical.

The biggest heater I have encountered has been a SS amp that went out of bias. Took me a while to track that one down but I kept wondering why the room was soo warm in the middle of a New England winter. Didn't even have to turn on the heating zone to that room as the temps would hover around 78. I had to open the sliding door for twenty minutes at a time to get breathable air back into the room.

Back OT, I do seem to recall that as far as noise goes the EAR was much noisier than the Rhea. I'm sure tube selection will affect this. The guy I bought the Rhea from was looking to try a Steelhead and I admit a strong desire to hear one as well.

You're making alot of changes in the analog chain at the same time. I did that a while back. Talk about a rush the first time I cranked it all up! On the other hand I did miss experiencing what each new component brought to the sound. A small price to pay for a good case of goose bumps. Have fun!

I have been using an X-ono for a couple of years with a koetsu black on a nottingham anna 12'.Just recently have completed a dual mono K+K using billington step up transformers and have added an SME3012-R with an ortophon spu royal to my nottingham dais.switch phono leads from X-ono to K+K and most discernable differences are the arm + cartridge characteristics taking into account cartridge loading and gain issues.Listening mostly to the K+K ortophon combo so its got to be doing something right and the close to maxxed out K+K cost less than$2000 to build and was a fun simple project less work than a dynaco in the good old days.and playing something you built adds listening satisfaction.

Just moved from California to Oregon and just before packing it all up the Jolida phono stage arrived. It will be another month or so before the stuff in storage gets delivered to a new house and then set up, so stay tuned. This is sort of an experiment to see how this relatively low priced stage stacks up against my Krell KPE Reference but $425 it didn't seem like too great a risk. I will write up a review of this unit when I have it up and running with a VPI Aries2, JMW 10.5 and Koetsu Urushi. Hope it sounds good; we'll see. I may have to do some tube rolling too...

Aesthetix Rhea is the best I've heard for the money, period. Built like a tank, artfully. This I do affirm.