REVIEW: Vincent PHO 8 phono preamp

This is not a full review, but I wanted to comment briefly on this fine piece of gear. Recently I had the opportunity to borrow the Vincent PHO 8 phono preamp that I had installed a few weeks ago in one of my customer's systems. I purchased this for my customer blindly on recommendation and it seemed to be the perfect fit. In fact, it sounded so good, I wanted to hear it in my setup. I am blown away by the PHO 8. It is most definitely the best sounding, most musically satisfying budget phono stage I have ever heard.

Pros:
Bold, huge, rich, dynamic, full-bodied, smooth sound
Fantastically deep bass
Incredible build quality
Features separate power supply
Absolutely nothing bright, shrill, or fatiguing about this preamp
Has built in MC SUT
IEC jack for use with custom power cord
Beautiful appearance
Alluring, musical presentation. Fun and addicting to listen to vinyl with this preamp.
Dead quiet

Cons:
Bass is a bit 'loose' and 'boomy'(but easily tolerable given the overall sound)
Not the last word in detail and does not sound very 'airy'. Detail fanatics may be disappointed.
Compared to various tube phono stages I've owned, realism is not it's strong suit. Very slightly synthetic sounding, but then again this is a budget phono stage.

If you've been suffering with a bright or anemic sounding vinyl rig and you want something with a top-shelf musicality score, you cannot beat this preamp in it's price range. Makes other, similar, preamps sound like cheap and puny toys. I recommend the Vincent PHO 8 highly.

(I am not a Vincent dealer and have no affiliation with the company.)

 

I have one of these and love it. I listen to mostly classic rock, and some 70's and 80's pop, and I couldn't be happier with the sound quality. Of course, I'd like to try some tube equipment for comparison at some point in the future, but very happy with the PHO 8 over the past year.

 

I bought a Vincent pho-8 to listen to vinyl while my Transcendent Sound Phono Amp was being serviced. I enjoyed the Vincent and think it is well worth the price. I could be happy with it, but it is now in reserve that the Transcendent is back. That is a great $700 kit when you go looking into tube amps.

 

How do you get on with the 70dB gain? Also, is this the same circuit as the Jasmine? You may not know, but thought I'd ask anyway.

 

Audio Advisor has them at a reduced price also

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=VIPHO8

 

Returned my Schiit Mani...should I buy one of these PHO 8 preamps?
I'm really intrigued by the much lowered price tag. $300 for what seems like a quality unit. I was experiencing major RF feedback with the Mani, and I'm thinking the separate power supply may help out in that category as well.

 

Only if you're willing to change the op amps and possibly more. I believe it has great potential. It's probably the best in it's price range. But I do not like it in stock form. It's edgy, thought subtly so.

 

This does not have an SUT- it's solid state active stage with gain for MC or MM. Looks a bargain by today's standards when you usually get a plug top PS at this price..

 

Op amps?

 

Yes. I am not recommending the Zphono in stock form. You must change the op amps. Once you install the op amp sockets, you can try many different op amps until you find one that you like the best.

 

The zphono is the Vincent PHO 8?
Sorry but I'm confused.

 

Oh, I'm sorry. I misread your post. I don't know how that happened. Yeah, I would hold off on the PHO 8. Also, the PHO 700 is way better.

 

What would you recommend in the $300 range?

 

That's a really good question. I'm attempting to answer that in the next couple weeks. If you can hold off, I have some things coming in that I'm going to check out and will let you know. What type of sound are you hoping to achieve and what is your cartridge?

 

Just looked at your profile. How comfortable are you soldering? With your Shure M97xE, I would suggest that you pick up a used Parasound Zphono for $100 or so, then install a pair of AD8597 op amps and I think you'll be pretty blown away by the results. You'll have spent under $150 and you'll have a real serious piece of gear that may suit your tastes very nicely.

 

I'm really not looking to mod anything.

Not quite sure what sound I'm looking for. The Main didn't sound too bad at all, for my setup anyway. I listen to a lot of Metal, Heavy Rock, with some James Brown and Bowie thrown in there amongst a bunch of others

I can try to hold off the 2 weeks but that's a toughy, I'm currently using a cheapo TC-450.
Which would you prefer between the Vincent and Parasound (stock vs stock).

Thanks for all the input (pun intended)

 

For $300 bucks go with the Lounge Audio LCR III. You'd have to spend well into 4 figures to do better.

 

I've seen that as well. The wall wart doesn't hold anything back? I wasn't sure if that was part of my FM feedback issue with the Mani.

 

Not in my experience, but I know you've been having a weird problem with RF interference that seems like it must be local. FWIW I compared the Lounge with the Emotiva XPS, Cambridge 651 and the Schitt and it was obviously way better than any of those. Don't go cheaper, you'll regret it.

 

It's definitely in the running! The separate power supply intrigues me with the Vincent.
The Lounge gets killer reviews,I guess I can always return it if I have feedback issues.
Any other notable options?

 

Don't let a PSU determine your decision. My wall-wart powered Phonomena is, for my tastes (rock, metal, classic rock), far beyond how the PHO-8 performed. I had both at the same time with the intention to keep one. I returned the PHO-8 with a quickness. It's not "bad" but it just isn't very good, either. FWIW.

 

Probably the Vincent for the simple reason that it's less edgy in stock form. I'm going to order a Yaqin, I think, so if you want to wait...that's within your price range.

 

That's exactly what's good about the PHO 8. It's not bad. Most are. What didn't you like about it compared to the one you kept?

 

I was curious about a Lounge. Contacted the seller and offered to write a review in exchange for a loaner and that I'd buy it if it was as good as everyone says it is. I never heard back, so I moved on.

 

I didn't feel like it provided any excitement. No "snap," no feeling of paper on a kick drum or tom, no guitars ripping through the fabric of space. I know, it's hyperbole, but that's how it (didn't) sound once I had the Phonomena to compare it to. I think, ultimately, it was the lack of loading options compared to the Phonomena that made the difference. The PHO-8 isn't bad, like you say. It WAS far better than the built-in phono pre on a stereo receiver I was using to begin with.