LammLP2 vs. Arc PH_7

I considered the Shelter, which is a very nice cartridge and should have more than enough output to work well with the Lamm. However, I preferred the EMT JSD5, as it had much of the midrange of my Koetsu RSP, better bass and dynamics, and a good deal of gain (I only use the step up because it was ideally matched for the cartridge and a better loading match than the transformer in the Lamm's MC stage, not for the additional gain). Works well with my Graham 2.2, also, so it should work nicely with your Phantom. The Shelter sounded a little less vivid and lush to me (I almost want to say a little homogenized in comparison, but that would not be fair to the Shelter, which really is one of the better ones out there), and I wanted those qualities because I listen primarily to classical music and admit that I like the Koetsu "sound". A lot of the modern cartridges are sounding more and more like CD to me, which is what a lot of people like; I prefer a little more of the old-fashioned vinyl warmth.

By the way, very nice system!

Fwiw, current TAS has a Valin PH7 review with brief comments on comparo with the Lamm and a few other top tier phono stages. My own extended thoughts on the PH7 are here.

Past experience finds me agreeing with Rcprince's comments on ARC leaning toward the yang, however their most recent top-o-the-line offerings (PH7, Ref3) wholly changed my view on this. Gone is the slightly aluminized slant. One of the true strengths of the PH7 is a gorgeous tonality across the frequencies.

The new TEA phono stage from CJ should be out sometime this year. Its a good time for analog.

Tim

Rcprince,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I thought about it a bit, and considering my record collection isn't very large, I went ahead with a Denon 103 R cartridge. I figure when my record collection gets serious, then I'll move into a nicer cartridge.

I will look into the EMT JSD5 however.

Thank you for the suggestions and compliment.

Thank you all for your comments and contributions!