The best phono stage out there?

The Aesthetix Io Signature or the Io Eclipse are two additional candidates for consideration among the top competitive phono stages.

You really should list what your budget is. By saying the best, you are getting into some really expensive phono preamplifiers. (The ones I've listed below retail from about $5K up to about about $10K.) Also, do you want or require the phono preamp to run your cartridge in balance mode, hence do you want or need the tonearm cables to be terminated with XLRs? Also, you should state whether you can put up with tube rushing noise, (and the benefits of tubes), or if you wish to have solid state, (and lose the benefits of tubes). (I bring that up because the output of the Dynavector XV-1S is 0.3 mv, which is pretty low, and most tube phono stages will be stretched to their limits to provide the gain necessary for such a low output cartridge. Luckily you are not using a highend Allaerts with its 0.1 mv output - Ouch!!! FYI, I am not trying to frighten you out of using the Dynavector XV-1S, as I use it, (with my Basis 2001 and Vector M3 tonearm), and think it is an incredible cartridge, and possibly the last cartridge I'll ever own.)

Based on my experience and research, the choices I would recommend are:

ASR Basis Exclusive - A great phono preamp, that is actually two phono preamps, and has the capability of running even the lowest output cartridge. It is solid state by the way, and is set up to handle XLRs. (My favorite, btw.)

The Manley Steelhead - A hybrid phono preamp, that can handle most any cartridge, that still has the sound of tubes. Single ended only though.

The Einstein (The turntables choice) - Another great solid state phono preamp with lots of gain. (A friend uses the XLR version of this preamp with his Basis 2500 and the Dynavector XV-1S, btw.)

Lamm LP2 - A great tube preamp, but somewhat limited in its fleibility. Very musical. Single ended only.

Aesthetics IO Signature - A great tube phono preamp.

ARC PH-7 - A very nice tube preamp, but may not have quite enough gain, (it depends on your preamp's gain, as to whether it would work). Has the advantage of having a remote to adjust loading (and other features) on the fly.

Good Luck in your search.

Ecka,

At best, you will be able to compile a list of candidates. Unfortunately, there is no realistic way to audition the various candidates in your own system.

I've only heard the Sutherland at shows, so at best, I can say that the systems I heard it in sounded refined and pleasantly listenable. Is this what you are hearing? Is there any sense that it is lacking in some area?

In the solid state camp, the Lyra Connoisseure that I've heard at shows sounded VERY good -- dramatic, dynamic and exciting without being mechanical and artificially edgy as some solid state phonostages sound to me. A friend has a Boulder, and though it is hard to isolate the contribution of that particular phonostage (he also has a Boulder linestage), I have NOT particularly liked the sound.

In dealer systems, I have heard great sound from Audionote (uk)phonostages and from custom-designed phonostages built around an Audionote step-up transformer. These would certainly are capable of delivering top-flight sound.

A friend has the Tron phonostage. I thought it is sounded pretty good in two different systems a bunch of us heard it playing through (Transfiguration Orpheus cartridge and Ortofon Per Winfield). This tube-based phonostage, like all tube phonostages, sounded dramatically different depending on the selection of tubes so it requires some experimentation to sound its best. The Tron also lacked any convenient way to change loading (one would have to open the unit and solder in different resistors). The good news is that it is not ridiculously expensive.

I have a Viva Fono phonostage. It is tube-based, and like the Tron, it lacks any kind of convenient way to change loading. It too required some fiddling with tube choice for me to find what works best in my system. To me, this is a terrific sounding phonostage -- well worth the trouble. It is dramatically different from the Sutherland, in terms of size. It has a power supply bigger than many power amps, and the separate amplifier box is bigger than most linestages. The only phonostage I've seen and heard that is more massive is the Audionote phonostage. The other bad news is that it currently costs something like 14,000 Euros (sadly, this is MUCH cheaper than the Boulder, Audionote and Connoisseure stages mentioned above).

Another pretty good stage that I've heard in a dealer's system is the Manley Steelhead. It is extremely versatile and easy to adjust for gain, loading, etc. I thought it sounded nice and punchy, and it represents good value, compared to the units I've mentioned above. Perhaps not a candidate on most people's "best" list, but a realistic and practical choice.

I'm no expert, but the Sutherland PhD is probably quieter than any other (batteries) and as good as any provided you pair it with synergistic cartridges such as Lyras

There is no "very best" commercial preamp as others have already stated. The various offerings mentioned earlier all have their merits no doubt, but they will span a wide spectrum of sound character. If you really want the "very best" you will need to work with a custom builder who can design and build for you a phono stage that has the exact sound you want and the gain you need. This is an area where an experienced DIYer has the advantage over the average consumer who must choose between commercial offerings. In my case, I ended up with a variation of Stephen Robinson's Izzy Wizzy phono circuit (see website below) where I have chosen each part to give just the sound I want. This is a 2-stage tube design with a stepup transformer on the input. Although you can't buy it from your local dealer, a custom builder could build it without any great difficulty and it then can be tweaked to adjust its sound in whatever direction you like.

http://www.izzy-wizzy.com/audio/preampnew.html

BTW, I have no connection to Stephen.

Dave