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What's your experience with fine phono preamp s ?



Arthur Salvatore highly recommends the Coincident Technology Statement phono preamp on his blog. I know nothing about Arthur's listening preferences, so can't know why he feels it superior to other phono pre's.

My table is a Technics SP10, arms are Talea and SME with Benz and AirTight cartridges respectively ( phono cable undetermined for SME arm, open to suggestions on a separate thread --to keeps things 'simple' ) My gear is hybrid, with solid state 100 wpc bass amps, 300B and 6SN7 tubes for mids and tweeters, and JL Audio subs for the bottom octave. The CDP and preamp are solid state and very high quality.

Please weigh in on phono pre's between $2 and 7K that you have owned or heard in systems you know well. I don't have a prejudice or preference for solid state or valve gear, and I'm receptive to used equipment.

I DO, however, strongly prefer an 'I am there' presentation, over 'the musicians are in the room' sensation, when the that's in the vinyl. More interested by far in an emotionally engaging ( not distortedly emotional or euphonic ) listening experience than a precise, highly detailed but soul-less presentation.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and shared experience.

Best,

David
cdk84
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
P.S. to my previous post: If the cable length that is necessary to connect the phono stage to the preamp is particularly long, say 12 feet or more, that should be indicated as well. Phono stages having high output impedances (e.g. 2 or 3K) at high frequencies may not be optimal choices in that situation. That would be a particular concern with the Rhea's unbalanced outputs (but not its balanced outputs), and with the EMIA.

Regards,
-- Al
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Lew (Lewm), I just noticed that the description of the EMIA phono stage here indicates that for an LOMC it would require an external SUT or other step-up device. Is that correct, or is the web page out of date?

Best regards,
-- Al
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,622 posts
 
Having heard many a phono rig over the years, both old and new, and at all price points, I think the phono portion of the ARC sp16 pre-amp I have currently to be pretty darn good and its a fairly modest piece in the ARC world. ARC has been doing this stuff for a long time. For good sound and a world class track record to back it, I'd look no further than Audio Research.

I don't know what's the best but I think I can recognize good sound when I hear it.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
@Mapman ... agree. IMO and IME, even better is the ARC PH-7 or PH-8. I owned the SP-16, the SP-17, the PH-7 and now the PH-8. Between you and me ... I think the PH-7 and PH-8 sound about the same.

All that being said, I've reviews that say the ARC Ref Phono 2 SE is to die for. That's a tomorrow project for me. Other priorities ahead of the Ref Phono 2 SE.

But Al's points above are very important. Electrical compatibility of components and I/C length should be carefully considered.
cdk84's avatar
cdk84 OP
70 posts
 

Almarg: If the input impedance is less than around 25 or 30K or so some of the suggested phono stages may not be optimal matches. That may include the EMIA, the Rhea, the Herron, and possibly the Allnic. On the other hand, if the preamp's input impedance is say 47K or higher impedance compatibility would be a non-issue with pretty much any reasonably designed phono stage.

This gear is the Aurum Acoustics Integris CDP system. Input impedance is listed as 25 kOhms unbalanced, 48 kOhms balanced.

IC length will be as short as possible; the phono pre will be on a preloaded Vibraplane as close to the Technics as possible.

Thank you. I look forward to learning more with auditioning. Still open to suggestions and personal experience.
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