Tube Phono Stage..thinking of diving in...Suggestions $500+/-

I have a handful of well regarded "budget" phono stages..Schiit Mani, Lounge Audio LCR, Graham Slee, etc..

Any suggestions for nice sounding, well built TUBE phono stages around $500?

Table: Rega Planar 3 2016-

 

I am all ears on this one, as I am also shopping. Had my mind set on the Budgie, only to find they are discontinued.

 

...yes, I saw that, and was bummed...bizarre pivot to DSP...

 

IF...you don't mind waiting for your stage to be made, you might consider stretching another $100 and get a Tavish Design Vintage 6SL7 phono pre. I've heard really good things about it.

Vintage 6SL7 Phono Stage (MM / MC)

 

DIY an option? I got started with the Bottlehead Seduction (now called the Reduction) with my old Rega P3-24. Really quite amazing bang for buck.

 

it looks nice..what is the turn around time...also how do you decide what tubes to choose...

 

DIY=DOA Lol...two left hands..

 

Oh about a month and a half lol! This company's products are all in high demand, and unfortunately have a wait list.

The stock tubes should be nice, and of course there's a rabbit hole full of NOS and other vintage tubes to explore to raise the sound quality a notch or two.

 

After purchase remember you may want to try different tubes.

 

Hagerman has a few options available, namely the Bugle3 and the Cornet2. Both are highly regarded, but perhaps not the best looking things. That's the rub when you want to keep costs down. Traditionally these were sold as kits (no DIY I know) but they seem to be offered as prebuilt options now. I don't think you can go wrong with these for the price!

Phono

 

I knew about Hagerman, but for some reason forgot he did tubes too...The Comet3 may be the one...thanks for link...!

 

6 weeks is not too bad.

Rabbit hole indeed..spending more on the tubes then the unit is crazy..but people do it..

My only "concern" is the wal wart power supply...

 

Depends how you come down on the ethics of copying and selling existing designs, but there's at least a couple people around here using EAR 834p clones from China, which you can get for between $300 and $400 on ebay from companies like Douk (they even sell one with copper tape covering the EAR name, which is sold without the tape in their home market) ... not something I would be comfortable with buying, but a huge bargain compared to what is available on the market in this price range ...

 

The Project Tube Box DS is 399.99 down from 699.99 because a newer model came out. Sound is the same on both units, the newer model just offers a feature you may or may not use. I forget what it was right now -maybe more options for MC carts. I purchased a DS and used it for a few months to hold me over while I was between stages. It sounds really good. My advice is DO NOT swap tubes, just go with the factory set, they sound really good. I spent a couple hundred dollars on tubes and went back to the stock ones. For 399.99 it is a very nice tube phono.

 

I think tubed designs in that price range are generally going to be hybrids, which aren't my thing. With the phono stages you have, I think anything at this price point (tubes or SS) will be a mostly horizontal upgrade. I'd be patient and double your budget (at least) and revisit the situation.

 

Davey,

How does this sound? I was on the fence about this. I have found the MM/MC version for $450 , but was curious to read a review.

To the OP,
I have a hybrid ProJect Tubebox SEII that I am currently running. I like it a lot. It replaced a Little Bear T10 that sounded pretty good. I did have some issues with it, but with the ProJect I have no more problems. You can find one if you look for it, probably $150 -250 range, allows for MM/MC and really improved on my Little Bear experience.

SB

 

No idea, like I said, it's not something I would be comfortable buying, but there are a lot of discussions around at sites like this.

 

I would tend to agree with this but that little Tube Box DS is not a bad little unit and if he absolutely hates it he can return it to Music Direct within 60 days or sell it for not much of a loss.

 

Another good option..Project...thanks.

 

..you may be on to something..something like a Rogue Ares at 2 grand is probably a massive step up..

 

Cool, thanks..i am rolling with MM only...no future plans for MC.

 

If you're still tube-curious though, you could also look into the new Line Magnetic phono stage at that price point.

 

Plus me on this.

Little Bear was an interesting budget buy but h had problems.
Now have a Pro-Ject Tube box and very happy.

 

wow. it looks very interesting..one might buy it on looks alone...

 

Not at all the same thing, but since you have a bunch of really good phono stages I might look at the Jolida Foz SSX -- Sound Stage Expander if you just want to add tubes to your system. You can roll tubes and have some fun playing with the dials on the front. They are $400. Just throwing out a different option since tube phono stages tend to be double your budget.