Phono Preamp Upgrade

I've had some Cambridge Audio gear. Good stuff for the price. I've migrated over to vintage (well, 1990s) tube gear by Conrad Johnson (a PV10 preamp, and a Premier 11a power amp). I'm preferring the sound. I was definitely a step up in pricing too, though I try to only ever buy used gear since there's so much of it available.

I don't have golden ears or a great audio-analytical mind, but I think I prefer the CJ house sound over the CA sound. I'm sacrificing bass precision and upper extension and overall clarity perhaps (that what critics say), but gaining gusts of midrange magic, holistic sound-worlds, tubey warmth, and all this with zero fatiguing or tizzy highs. Staring at warm glowing tubes is fun too.

Also, my beefy CA amp (650?) died of unnatural causes at an early age. So did my CA phono preamp. They both just stopped, out of warranty of course. Those two early deaths really turned me off the brand. But of course my experience may be that of an unlucky outlier.

 

I bought a Budgie tube preamp six months ago (give or take), and I'm enjoying it very much. I wanted something that at least matched the quality of my old Pro-Ject Tube Box II, which I loved very much (especially with the reissued Mullard tubes). The Budgie a slightly different tube (Ecc88/E88CC, 6922, or 6DJ8) than the more common 12AX7.

I am very impressed with the sound of the Budgie. Music is very involving and detailed, more so than the Tube Box II or the Bellari VP-129/130, to to name two competitors. I think these tubes sound less "musical" than 12AX7-based units, but greater detail to instruments and overall sound. The stock Electro-Harmonix tubes are very good, and if you can't afford another brand of tubes, you'll be very happy. I'm currently using vintage Amperex Bugle Boy tubes, which are very warm and three-dimensional.

The adjustable loading is a godsend for my Denon DL-110, which is very much like its older brother, the DL-160, in that it's a bit bright on the high end in a normal 47K loading. I'm loading it at the 6.7K setting and the sound is very balanced. The Budgie is a Moving Magnet and High-Output Moving Coil phono stage. If you use a Low-Output Moving Coil, Shannon Parks sells a $200 step-up transformer, so that option is available to you.

I'm not experienced enough with phono stages to say how the Budgie compares to, say, the Jolida JD9, or a more expensive preamp, or one of the classic Fisher stereos. I do feel that the best music I've ever heard was on a restored 1960s console stereo that used vacuum tubes (The Beatles and the Gophers football game were both heavenly!), but I can say that the Budgie is very, very good. It's certainly worth your while to check it out and listen for yourselves.

I'll remind myself to share a couple clips. My desktop PC is noisy as hell, but you'll get a good idea how the Budgie sounds.

 

Those Budgie tube preamps are slightly shy on gain.

 

Compared to what?

 

37dB gain suitable for MM carts for the Budgie, 40dB for some others, like the Lounge Audio.

 

Ah, ok. Personally, I didn't notice a perceptible drop in audio level using the unit, but again this is coming from using a Bellari VP129 or the phono stage in my NAD 3020 PE and those may be on the lower end of the output spectrum too. I wouldn't think 3 dB of gain would be a deal breaker for anyone though.

 

Even at 40db gain Lounge Audio has had a few emails asking about getting higher gain. 40db is a standard. Manley Chinook is 45db gain. In a world of 12" dance singles 37db is not a problem. A lot of modern releases/re-releases are not printed very hot. Anyway, just seems a little low but if floats...

A few threads out in the wild web mention Budgie hum and a bit of hiss problems. Anyone get kicked in the face with similar problems?

 

I was worried about that too because I'm picky about that, but mine is quiet. I hear a little bit of very low level hiss in the back ground if I crank the volume all the way up, but it's faint. No RF noises, or hum though.

 

Any unit will do that. Ok so it's quiet, a nice thing for a phono front end.

 

It may not be for the overall system, and the addition of very flexible loading can really help with many carts.

 

Ok, so I saw the schematic for the Budgie. It is a clever design. It is basically a classic RCA phono pre with the 12ax7 replaced by a 6dj8/6922 but running at 48v plate. They can get away with 48v plate voltage by using current sources as the plate load.

The RIAA is feedback type. Not my cup tea but it has its applications. I built the RCA classic once with a 12ax7 just to check it against Lounge Audio LCR.

 

'Hiss' may have been a reference to tube rush. A bit of tube rush noise is pretty much a given with a true tubed phono stage like the Budgie, Chinook, etc. As long as it's low level it really isn't a problem, but many aren't used to hearing it. Tube rush is usually less noticeable with hybrid tube + solid state designs like the Bellari or Pro-Ject Tube Box, because those use solid state op-amps to provide most of the gain.

 

If your going w/the Dynavector 10x5 the P75MKIII would be a good choice. I have the P75 w/the 20x2L and it was a huge upgrade for my set up.

 

Jolida JD9A.

 

There's also the new Musical Paradise MP-P1, a tubed unit with four 12AX7s and built-in MC head-amp at $599. Has 50, 100, 300, 600, and 47k ohm loading options. Capacitance is 0 pF (or close to it), so it should do well with moving magnet cartridges. It's so new that no reviews are available, and minimal owner feedback. But the Musical Paradise stuff tends to perform well for the price.

 

I enjoy my Grado phono stage, though I don't see much about it here or elsewhere on the web apart from a couple of reviews singing its praises. One audio shop told me these preamps were made by only one person in the Grado shop and were hard-to-find these days because that guy had health problems. Might be an urban legend. But the phono stage was a definite upgrade to my Cambridge 540P.

 

I'm about to step into the world of tube phono preamps. I now have a Cambridge Audio 651P that's hooked up to my Technics 1210 M5G with a Shure V15 III cart and JICO SAS stylus. I'm using my Peachtree Nova integrated to then drive my JBL L36. I do plan on upgrading to a tube amp/integrated amp sometime in the near future and will upgrade the speakers and turntable/cart in the distant future (probably have to wait until I have a new house with dedicated listening room again) but my priority now is the phono stage.

I would like to ask the forum what you think about the following preamps and if you see any glaring concerns or omissions in using any of these with my current analog setup. Any others I should research? I probably wont' be able to hear any of these before buying as there really aren't any stores that carry this kind of stuff where I live.

1. Manley Chinook
2. EAR 384P
3. Decware ZP3
4. Rogue Ares
5. Parks Audio Budgie

 

That's a wide variety of price points there -- from $500 to more than $2000! For moving magnet use I like the flexibility of the Budgie. It's one of the few (or the only?) phono stage with numerous resistive loading choices for MMs.

 

I use to have the DV 10x5 and a DV P75 MKII with a P5 and it sounded very nice.

 

The Chinook is very very nice for the money.

 

Well I've always believed that the best stuff doesn't always have the highest price. I included the budgie because it's had favorable reviews, especially for the loading choices. I might try this one anyway even if I get one of the others. I have a second system that it could go into.

Yeah it seems people that own one are really happy with them. My only complaint is the looks (same with EAR too), I kinda like seeing tubes glowing but in the end it's the sound that matters most.

 

Yeah, the Bellari is only 30dB gain @ 1kHz looking at it on the needledoctor, I have no idea on the NAD's integrated stage.

 

Has anyone compared the Budgie to an EAR?

I would be very interested in a comparison between those two.

 

I would love to hear some direct comparisons between the Budgie and other models, such as the Bellari VP-129/130, Pro-Ject Tube Box, and the other models mentioned in this thread. Heck, I'm still curious about the Yaqin tube preamps. And I would have definitely bought the Jolida JD-9 if it still sold for $450...thanks for jacking up the price!

Part of me just loves that little red firetruck Bellari; it melts with buttery midrange style. That's probably just me. But I am impressed with the Budgie; it delivers very good music, solid dynamics and excellent details. The stock Electro-Harmonix 6922 tubes are very good, and one doesn't feel the need to "upgrade." I think anyone interested in a tube phono preamp should consider the Budgie. Give it a listen if at all possible and judge for yourself.