What phono pre would you buy under $600?

+1. Have been enjoying my Vintage for a few years now. I think it would take a significant cartridge upgrade (currently a Soundsmith Otello) for me to consider changing from the Tavish. Though, that would lead to more upgrades, which would leave me homeless after the wife kicks me out....... Ohhhhhh, the rabbit hole........

 

Any Musical Surroundings Phonomena or Nova I could find. Sometimes a II & II+ show up for around $400.

 

I picked up a Project DS as an open box a month ago for $300 and have been happy. To my ears it was better than the Project S and my research led me to believe it would best the S2 as well.

 

I posted a while back on the Moon 110LP v2 and saw you were getting one. Glad it worked out for you.

Back to the OP on phono pre amps. I did purchase the Moon and heard a nice opening up with warmth and detail at 200 ish hours. Still using it with my cartridges falling in the affordable range. Sounds wonderful and the best money I’ve spent. Picked up an open box for $329.

 

Schiit mani is good. Art dj pre is good too. Either one and buy some records.

 

Lounge Audio LCRMKIII. Fantastic.

https://www.loungeaudio.com/lcr-mr-iii

 

You could look for a used Sutherland insight.

 

For MC carts either the Parks Audio Puffin at $450 or the combination of a Lounge Audio LCR mkIII and Lounge Copla step up amp at your $600 budget. I have all of these, my Lounge units have ben upgraded to Silver though. I’ve also had the Vincent Pho 701 and it sounded very good, but it inly has one gain setting for MC carts.

 

Mofi for $299

 

^This. Highly recommended.

 

The Creek OBH-15 MK2 is a giant killer of an phono amp and no one is talking about it here....Its under the radar in the States and cost $595, This thing is absolutely a giant killer MC with configurations up to 80db with no noise. Can handle very low carts without a SUT and really sounding great doing it as well. One of the very few amps that could handle my Denon DL-S1 cart and that includes amps costing 5x more. This thing does music right....and if you know Creek, it's built tough!

OBH-15Mk2 | Creek Audio Ltd

 

The truth is, you could really choose any one of the suggested pieces here and be completely satisfied.

If you want flexibility, choose one with multiple settings. If you’re going to stick with a MM for awhile, pick a solid performer at with a single output.

 

Thanks for all of the responses so far. I think my short list is:
- Pro-Ject Phono S2 Ultra
- Moon 110lp v2
-Arcam rPhono

Strongly leaning towards the Moon 110. Kind of disappointed the places I normally buy from don't sell it. Actually I kind of had a hard time finding a site online I could order it from, other than the one seller on Amazon.

 

Just bought a Parks Audio Budgie tube preamp and I love it. Took a while but got it for $425 shipped.

 

Re the Moon, might be a dumb question but do you have to play 200 hours of music, or just plug it in for that time frame? Had mine since January. Plugged in for weeks but only about 3 hours on it so far. Sounds pretty good, if it improves I’ll be happy.
My other option was the Lounge but by the time I allowed for upgrades and converted to CDN $$ it would have been a lot more than I paid for the Moon

 

Mine was always on but I logged play hours for my unit to show signs of improvement. Good things to come for you!

 

I got mine from BEKhifi in Allentown. Nice guys to deal with, could do an online purchase, and I think they have a 7 day return policy, check their website to make sure. I don't have audio stores nearby, Allentown is a 4 hour drive for me, but I've made it on a business trip (got paid for mileage, so win-win). Bought a pair of Dynaudio Excite14 from them too.

 

The Moon is always on, not even a power button on it, have to unplug to turn it off. But the break in time is not hours spent on from what I've been told, but actual hours spent playing. Not sure why 200 hours is needed frankly, that's a lot of records to play for break in. I didn't think it needed it really. Maybe it's still breaking in??

 

Here's another one to consider.
Parasound Z Phono XRM

Authorized Parasound Dealer
Audio Advisor
Safe and Sound

Michael Fremer review

 

I'm running the TubeBox with the stock tubes and I think it's excellent! What differences have you noticed since changing yours?

 

Looking at the specs or review, not a word about capacitance (which is pretty important). Any idea ?

 

Erik at Bekhifi is awesome. He (and his father) Love Vinyl. I had him setup my Hana EL on my Rega P2.

I specifically went to his place to buy the Moon 110 v2 and after we spoke about everything he recommended the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement instead.

I'm hoping I have a few extra bucks after this whole Covid-19 situation because I'd like to throw some kind of business his way.

 

Van Alstine Vision Q Phono $500

Vision Q Phono Preamplifier

 

I had this one for a while. It is good, but I went for an iFi phono2 in the end. It is sonically similar, perhaps a slight touch more direct, but my main reasons to go for it were that it is smaller and has lots more settings (impedance, amplification up to 72 dB, 4 RIAA curves).

 

What about a Bottlehead Reduction kit?

Reduction 1.1 Phono Preamplifier Kit | Bottlehead

There’s also an assembled and upgraded one on eBay right now if you are not comfortable building it.