Phono amp upgrade

I think it sounds great with the standard fuses but can be even better.
Most all the amps I looked at can be improved upon one way or another.

 

Nice Cart! Hopefully it has low hours on it.
That was to be my next planned purchase after I got my phono pre.
Look at your carts recommended settings, then see what the SPL's options are. I'm sure it'll handle it...but better make sure.

 

Wow, congrats! I had this feeling you were a man of action.....

On the phono preamp front -- SPL -- you referred to user reviews, I am not seeing a whole lot of them - where are you finding these?

 

Amazon. 3rd party.

 

Yeah, saw that --- all one of them............ ???

 

The thing that concerns me are the glowing reviews and the fuse thingy...I've installed an "audiophile fuse" on my amp....nothing did I notice.
And if this unit wakes up with a fuse change, why put the weaker in it? It's just a fuse, won't add much at all to the cost at time of manufacturing.
Perhaps I'm too pessimistic, the unit is prob very good.

 

i wouldnt touch the SPL personally. they look good on paper. i have been following it since it was introduced on two well respected online sites approx 18 months ago. since then there has been a slow but steady incidence of customer returns winding up as open box demo items.
there are too many well proven phono stages on the market that are deserving of a purchase over this one.

 

^^^ And there, it was said! Didn't want to do it myself, but should have.

 

congrats on the turntable though. the G and the Lyra are certainly solid products and essentially no brainers. make the same move with your phono stage.
Sutherland, Simaudio, Parasound, Lehmann, all winners.

 

I was wondering the same, as I have also seen a couple re-sold as open box I thought too.

With so many phono preamp choices out there, it is definitely easy to buy one with a strong user base and a slew of user reviews to draw upon. Check resale too - how quick do they sell, and what percentage of retail do they sell for? Many of the more "obscure" phono preamps languish on the used market. (Obscure by my definition are ones without many users reviews - and I am NOT talking about pro reviews. Ones that don't have a lot of past sales evident).

Things like the JC3+, the 20/20, Sim Audio and many more are just safe bets........ but that is just my take, YMMV. Somebody has to buy the other ones too -- sometimes we get hidden gems that emerge. Maybe the SPL is one of those. But the phono preamp market is wrought with high dollar choices that really aren't any better design or performance-wise than the time-tested and user-approved ones out there. Plus it removes the inherent risk to find out first hand it was not what a couple reviews said --- then again if you don't have anything to compare it to and it is the only one you buy, you may never know and think it's great.

Off soap box.

 

I first read about the fuse on the audigon website which has a bunch of great reviews.

 

So far I've only found one for resale on music direct. And that sold for $45 less than advertised at the moment.
I'll most likely go through music direct as I can return it within 60 days if necessary.

 

Have you spoke with sales associate at MD to see what they think of the SPL as apposed to other brands at the same price point?
I find them to be somewhat frank at times on these matters.

 

Was thinking that same thing. Will call them tomorrow and see what they say.
In an ideal world I get to try the Moon, 20/20 and the SPL.

 

Now you're talking. Solid plan hombre!!

 

Doing some research and the Manley Chinook and the Graham Slee seem popular choices for the Lyra.
The Chinook being tube might be a good choice to soften the Lyra.

 

Sounds too much like ifi phono part 2. I'm too old to serve as a free QC service for some garage company.

 

If you need to soften the Lyra, then it is not for you. It is neutral from my understanding. Feed it the best vintage vinyl and it will reward you.
When I talked with MD years ago and told them I like to do shootouts to determine the better mastering, they immediately rec'd two items...the Moon 310 and the Delos.

 

I also see you have a class D amp, but not digital...correct?
Does your gear have balanced (XLR) inputs?

 

That should be a fun shootout, keep us posted.

I tend toward no feedback discrete designs, and there's sometimes a good deal around on the Ayre P5-Xe phono stage, it doesn't have unanimous acclaim but those who do like it tend to love it, and I like their design philosopy, and their sound goals tend to fit with my own. As with most of their gear, this is an all discrete design with no feedback, good parts, and fully balanced too. They suffer a bit because a few years back Ayre had to ramp up their prices a LOT, but you can still find deals on models bought at the old prices. There's one on USAM for $1500 in silver, and I just saw one listed today in black on Audiogon for $1750. The market is full of nice designs right now, both new and used, I'd take my time and get something that really does the cartridge justice.

 

Just reading around forums and reviews. The consensus is that it can be harsh at the high end.
The Moon has such a long break in period. Not a deal breaker just might have me second guessing.

 

Yes it does.

 

Maybe another reason to go with the Moon

 

Which (cart or pre) did you hear was harsh? The Moon is not harsh, actually the opposite. It is revealing and frank.
And why worried about a long break in? It's the end game you need to look at.
The unit sounds good after a few LP's, much better about 12 hours in. Then things get even better as time goes on.
I just would not judge it until around the 8 - 12 hour mark.
But, if you have doubts, best to rest easy and first talk to the sales guy, then take it from there.
Only you know what will work for you.

 

If balanced is a requirement or something you want to have --- also keep in mind the Parasound JC3+. Not sure if you took a hard look at that one yet - but again I got mine open box for $2100 shipped.

It shouldn't be overly difficult to consider fitting that into the shootout - they are out there and not hard to find. They retail for $3K, but for $2K range I would stack that up against anything in your list at this point. Also many testimonials and user reviews. Very dynamic, high-ish gain on MM --- but hard to ignore if you can find one in the $2K range which is not out of the question......

Also, @Davey's point about considering an all-discrete design is always attractive, I wish I would have spent more time on that avenue at times, I would really like to compare a couple at this point to see the difference!