Tube Phono Stage vs Solid State What do you think?

Swampwalker, Oh yes. Without a doubt. "Great" = the sound I seek. But give or take a few details, I don't think we are all so different from one another in what we seek. Anyway, one's own absolute sound and the difference between two phono stages that both sound "great" to the same guy might or might not be the same thing.

"But not" is exactly my response to most of Raul's posts. It is facinating to me that after years of recomending obsolete MM cartridges he is now singing the virtues of a moving coil. Does that mean his earlier posts are no longer valid? Unlike him I judge componets by the way they sound and not what is inside; some very good equeptment uses opamps, some junky ones do too. Ditto tubes, ditto mosfets and so on. While we are slinging mud let me say if he had better speakers he might have different opinions.

Dear Stanwal: I never deny the MC cartridge quality, I own several top LOMC ones and I heard in my system the latest tops.
That some MM/MI cartridges can even or ouperform LOMC cartridges does not means that I can't recognize the MC quality level as the DLS1 that I own.

I don't know which is your point or what you are trying to say.

+++++ " recomending obsolete MM cartridges " +++++

obsolete?, well today there are hundreds/thousands of persons that in this moment are enjoying/hearing one of those " obsolete " MM cartridges you are refering and IMHO any one of them can tell you that are cartridges that has everything you want but OBSOLETE, they as me are hearing it right now: could you imagine why?

In the other side, always I can I judge any audio item for how it sounds and what is " inside " or how it measures: what's wrong with that?. What is inside/measures IMHO is a good complement for what I hear, can give me a better " history " of what I'm hearing.
I normally prefer to hear what is right along what likes me, I don't like to hear what is wrong even if could be " acceptable " like it is for you: well my targets are different as is my training that's not only in focus inside my audio system but through my experiences with several a lot of other audio systems.

Btw, about my speakers you have no single idea and I mean NO SINGLE IDEA how it performs, useless to argue about.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

A used Pass XONO is a great value.

Both sound cool to me.