Phono Amp Suggestions

Hi all. My current setup is a Line Magnetic 518 (should be here in mid to late January God willing) feeding a pair of Devore Orangutans. My front end needs some help to catch up. My dealers only cary a Leben, which I heard is good but I don't want to have to add an external SUT, and Acoustic Plan Phonomaster which is 1) on the spendy side and 2) there is a dearth of information and reviews about it. Some that I've read about are as follows:
Audio Exklusive P 0.2
Black Pearls Aquarius
Heed Quasar
Rogue Ares
Manley Chinook
Acoustic Plan phonomaster (if this is a considerable step up from anything else I'll save my pennies)

My current turntable is a Traveler but will soon be replaced with either a Well Tempered deck or the new VPI Prime if feedback is strong. The cartridge is a Denon DL103r but will be soon replace with the EMT Tsd15.
Any thoughtful and constructive advice is much appreciated. Thanks all

 

I've always thought since the RIAA curve is basically what's referred to a "tilt EQ" (two shelves at a single hinge point)....I've always thought it would be nice if one of them would give some adjustment of that a few DB in either direction. Some vintage vinyl is so much brighter than new 180gr pressings....there are times I'd like to tilt the old ones a few DB darker.....and go ahead and add a gain stage so one can hit the amp at a similar volume to (equally dynamic) CDs.

So, I'll watch the thread unfold. See if there are any recs that include such things.

 

When I had a turntable I went through about 7 different phono amps in 2 years. Most were under $1,000. I really thought the Clearaudio Nano was the best bang for the buck. You can get the v.2 for under $500.

 

I have the Rogue Ares (with built-in Cinemag SUT) that I'm quite happy with, no feeling of needing to upgrade any time soon!

 

Budget?

 

Budget is anything up to 3,500. It's a soft cap. I've also read a little about the Herron amp and that sounds intriguing but it costs about 3,700. The problem is there are few dealers in my area. It's difficult to demo in my own system before purchase so just trying to get as much input as possible.

 

The lounge gets mentioned here quite a bit. http://www.loungeaudio.com

 

I have been enormously happy with the Decware ZP3. Great value for money and tremendously good sounding.

http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm

 

Allnic H1201, possibly.

 

I love my Balanced Audio Technologies VK-P10. They can be had used in your price range.

 

I borrowed a Parasound JC3+ for an audition, thinking it wouldn't be too big a step up from the built-in phono stage of my Musical Fidelity kW500. Well, it was. Highly recommended and it's in your price range.

 

I have a Manley Chinook that I am completely happy with. I like the fact that it is tube-based and has incredible flexibility when it comes to loading and capacitance. It might very well be my last phono stage.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. In my research the Allnic gear seems to always have pretty favorable reviews and I've also had good experiences with Decware as well. Keep me coming! That BAT looks like a beast! Something to look into put I am leaning toward a smaller footprint if possible, but if it sounds good...

 

+1. Pretty magical.

 

I hope the OP does not mind me piggybacking on his thread as I am researching the same topic.

I currently primarily use a HOMC cartridge (DV 10X5). I may use a LOMC in the near future (as we are now a two-turntable household , but I am not averse to SUTs.

These are the phono stages I have tried with my current configuration:

The built in all tube MM stage in my McIntosh C2200 preamp
For: Lovely hyper-real midrange, melodic bass, lush sound.
Against: The bass, while melodic and nuanced, is a bit loose and missing some snap. Also, it only appears to have 35dB gain, so the volume control position with the HOMC is grossly out of wack with other sources, more than can be compensated with the preamp input trim setting. It is not a problem, just an annoyance. The stage works fine with MM Elys2 on my Rega, gainwise.

Simaudio MOON 110LP (all SS)
For: Smooth and inoffensive
Against: Too thin, clinical and bass-shy for my taste. I ended up selling it.

Pro-ject Tube Box S (SS gain, tube buffer)
For: Tight snappy bass, surprisingly nice 'tubey' lush sound overall.
Against: The bass is not as melodic. The midrange is a bit commonplace sounding.

So I'm wondering, could I do better overall? My budget is lower than OP's, maybe I could spring for the Chinook, but I would cringe a bit.

From the earlier recommendations, the Decware ZP3, Manley Chinook, Rogue Ares jump at me as the most promising as I seem to gravitate towards tube sound. I would rather err on the side of lush and romantic than clinical. The BAT is out of my price range. I have read somewhere that the Ares is not the most lush sounding and Manley is also not known for romantic sound. But the Chinook is the most flexible out of the box and the 45dB gain on low setting would be handy for the HOMC.

There are also a few other handcrafted stages such as the Parks Budgie, Hagermann Cornet3 and tubes4hifi SP16.

So, can anyone move me along? Specifically, has anyone tried two or more of the ones mentioned above?

 

Piggyback all you want. Any discussion can lead to something I may haven't considered. Aren't the Hagerman units kits? I've heard they are pretty good for the price but I have zero confidence that anything I build would sound like it's supposed to. Has anyone tried to audition an amp through Acoustic Sounds or Music Direct? I think some of these places allow you to try out for thirty days but if it's a hassle then forget it.

 

Both. $100 more for an assembled unit. Same with the tubes4hifi SP16. I agree, building a phono stage is not suitable as a DIY beginner project.

 

I know the Decware ZP3 well and I would say it is not "lush and romantic." It's pretty uncolored in all ways and lets through what is on the recording. It does have the body and dimensionality of tubes though, that fleshed out sound, but it's not a lush and romantic fleshing out.

 

Parasound JC 3. I am very happy with it.

 

It is so hard to describe sound. How would you say the bass is? It looks like you listen mostly to jazz. I listen to 60-70s rock - would it do?

I've just played Yes - Fragile (AP exquisitely mastered by SH and KG). I played the first side using the McIntosh C2200 built in stage. The midrange was to die for, all instruments esp. the guitars and piano sounded like the real instruments. The bass, however, was subdued, loose, you had to listen for it carefully and had no impact at all. I put the Tube Box S on for the second side. The bass tightened dramatically, had punch, impact, without being boomy or overwhelming. The midrange, however, was mediocre, the guitars became generic sounding, even a bit screechy. Still, I've left the Tube Box on for now. If I listened to jazz, it would be no contest and the Mac stage would be used, but the bass is just not doing justice to the rock that I listen to. So I'm wondering if the ZP3 had a chance to?

 

I love my Manley Chinook and I have never heard anything negative about them. Every owner seems thrilled with them.

 

Alex,

The bass on the ZP3 is awesome. I listen to jazz but I also listen to rock, blues, Brazilian, classical. . . . There is no genre the ZP3 doesn't step up to the plate and deliver.

Also, there are five tubes you can roll. The supplied tubes are good. I've been tube-rolling a few decades now so I have rolled different tubes into four of the positions. The rectifier and regulation tubes alone can easily be swapped out and aspects of the bass sound tailored. Very flexible preamp.

 

Had a Pass Labs Ono for 13 years and loved it. Loving my present Pass Labs XP15 even more. Excellent gear and great company to deal with.

 

Sounds good. I've found out that there is a 2-3 months wait time on this thing - holy smoke!
Also, it appears that it uses a regulation tube that is a long time discontinued and NOS has to be relied upon. A bit risky, no?

 

Not risky at all in my opinion. There are literally hundreds for sale and I've bought probably several dozen (I have three amps that use a pair each as well as the ZP3) and I've never had a failure with any that I've bought, and some give fantastic sound and are not expensive (I am using a Westinghouse OB3 in mine currently).

There is a waiting list true, I've waited and waited for Decware components. I have four amps, three preamps and three pairs of speakers, most of which had long waiting times. But. . . worth the wait.