Next Phonostage

how did the ref phono 2 compare to the xp-25?
i love tubes to the max, but was thinking, maybe, i could possibly get away with ss as i'm running tubed pre and power? no? i'm dreamin'?
how can one demo a ref2se? a/c don't represent anymore, so i don't know the new guys.

the allnic h3000v sounds like a great unit - do we have a distributor down this way?

I had a Steelhead (2.0 version, but without remote) that I bought new, and
used for a number of years. I rolled tubes, and settled on NOS Teles, and
NOS Raytheons for 7044 slots. I ran it through the MM, not the step-ups,
with both a Titan i and an Airtight PC-1.
It is extremely flexible, is built well and Manley's support is second to none.
I far prefer the Allnic H3000 in my system. It sounds less compressed and
conveys more spatial information. It is not a question of 3d image- the
Steelhead was able to deliver that as part of the system, but there is far
more separation of instruments and dynamics peculiar to each one that
comes out through the Allnic.
Some folks have used the Allnic and decided to go another route; i think it
is very system dependent.
I also rolled rectifier tubes in the power supply of the Allnic and currently
use a fat base Mullard 34 first series, and it sounds great. (I have a whole
pile of NOS rectifiers, and have played a little but nothing definitive on
comparisons of those tubes). The audio path uses telephony tubes which
are prone to microphony. Allnic uses special gel-sockets to address this.
FWIW, none of the tubes used in the Allnic are terribly pricey, and the
rectifier tubes are used for a lot of other equipment, including guitar amps.
The audio tubes are not as common, but also aren't terribly expensive. The
best of those, according to the importer and the manufacturer, come from
Philips in Holland, and can be marked variously as Mullards or Siemens.
I found the importer and dealer to be very responsive.
Other interesting phono stages might include Doshi. I'm not up on the latest
Tron gear, but everytime I've heard the system Jeff from High Water
demonstrates, it is good, and others have had great experience with that
company's equipment. I think, but am not sure, that you can opt for various
wiring upgrades, and perhaps a separate power supply on the Tron, but I
may be confusing the phono stage with his line stage or full featured
preamp (Syren?) which i gather is also terrific.
PS: I also had zero tube noise with the Steelhead, and I use 104db efficient
horns. Something awry there, and maybe not the Steelhead?

Whart, you're making want to try the Allnic again!

Phil, I have just seen your system and that you use Avalaon (same as me). The Allnic with the avalon is mindboggling, it's like a double dose of holography. My suggestion is for you to demo as many stages as you can but make sure you include the 3000 as it will sing massively in your system.

Wmr57- I always enjoy your posts here.
Lotus- i think we have corresponded here or elsewhere on other gear.
To the OP- good hunting, there are lot's of good phono stages at the higher
end of the scale, but I agree that you should try to audition some of these in
your system- dealers may allow a home loaner if you cover the shipping-
Audio Federation in Denver sells Lamm- also a good phono stage but may
be limited in number of inputs- there
are different gain versions so make sure you try the one best suited to your
system; Albert Porter here, in Tx, is an Allnic dealer, so he's not on the
other side of the world, isn't Oklahoma sorta 'north Tx', etc. You just have to
work with the dealers but the added expense and time of home trial is
worth the trouble- the sound you get is system dependent (and in the case
of tubes, tube dependent for most of them as well).
Note also, one poster mentioned the H3000v, that is the unit with variable
eq curves. It is my impression-and I'm not sure where i got this info- that
the standard H3000 sounds better, but I
can't be sure. Unless you listen to a lot of records that don't follow the RIAA
curve, I wouldn't make the trade-off and would stick with the 'standard'
H3000.