What is the Phono stage you have finished with?


Hello, Like many I have an e.a.r 834p, and it has served me well for many years, I am now however looking for a new MC phono stage. I am up for going quite a few stages up from the ear (so the next phono will last me a few years!).

Would like to hear from you guys who have already gone down this road!
Happy listening

Cheers
James
sme10
Yep, it's all good. I believe I understand what Atmasphere was going for. However, I think for those in this upper end of the market the cost of an additional IC isn't that big of a deal. If a particular integrated sounds better than a particular set of separates, or if the separates sound better, is only an evaluation of those pieces. Extrapolating those results into some blanket statement about which approach is superior is great marketing.

T_bone, Nick has already done an excellent 2 chassis, full-function preamp with built-in phono stage. The 4 chassis model that I commissioned was exactly as you say, more expensive, however it does surpass the 2 chassis model in performance. (I even skipped the remote, to give an idea of what I am after.) The four chassis model is the separation of the pre and phono circuits and a separate power supply for each, 2 circuit chassis and two power supply chassis. There are always trade-offs and implementation is everything. The extra IC is not a problem at all from where I sit (pun intended). IMO, YMMV, and all that.

disclaimer: I don't represent Doshi Audio, I'm just a very happy camper.
Manley Steelhead. 3 phono inputs plus line input, lots of loading and gain options and sounds great.
Manley Steelhead running a Clearaudio Talisman V2 MC into the Steelhead MM input.

Settings - 47K, 55db gain, all Capacitance settings at 0.