Review: Angle Audio phono stage

[legalhippy]

Did you get the battery version

Yes it is the one with the Virtual Battery.

I will be doing some serious listening over the next few days and into the weekend.

According to the seller, the units take around a week to 'burn in'.


Slightly off topic, does anyone know the best DP switch settings on the Dino for a Denon DL-304 cartridge? I find when playing singles that I get serious clipping, which is the reason I have been looking for something else.

[legalhippy]

Day three with the Angle Audio, playing David Gilmour at Gdansk and Pink Floyd's The Wall (Jap one, superb sounding).

Found that the Angle was still sounding somewhat flat and lifeless at the top end so to make sure that it wasn't just my ears going I plugged the Trichord back in (after getting advice on DP settings for the cartridge).

I know it hasn't been a week since getting the Angle unit and it obviously hasn't burnt in yet but there is just no contest whatsoever. The music suddenly sounded alive again, wonderful highs, great mids and the full bass I knew so well.

If I could just figure out why it clips so much playing singles I would send the Angle one back. I certainly can't afford to change the amp at the moment, (anyone know anything about Primare Amps and their input allowances?)

Still, I am going to give the Angle unit a good run in over the weekend and decide what to do next.

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Michael Would you mind popping into the welcome section & introducing yourself as this is required of all new members on AoS.

Some details such as your system & musical preferences would go down a treat to chap

Thanks in advance!

[Spectral Morn]

I purchased one of these recently too. Previously, I was just using the internal phono stage on my Marantz PM7001, but this sounds better already. Still need to do more listening though, but so far a big thumbs up from me.

Welcome to AOS Simon

Could you please on your return pop into the Welcome section of the forum and formally say hello to the AOS community by telling us a wee bit about yourself, system and taste in music thank you in advance.


Regards D S D L

[Simon_LDT]

I just got one of these Angle Audio phono stages and am quite impressed so far, it is to go into the system in place of a Trichord Dino (with Dino+PSU and High Performance Power Cable) so has a lot to live up to.

So far I have found the mid-range and bass to be comparable to the Dino and certainly lively without doubt. The top end detail is nowhere near as open and somewhat restrained, will be interesting to see with a bit more playing whether that will sort itself out.

One gripe, and it will hopefully not be major, the transformer that came with it buzzes like a hive full of bees. I have informed the seller, will be interesting to see if it can be resolved quickly and easily.

Test records played so far are: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Pink Floyd Dark Side, Martha & the Muffins -Metro Music, Bjork - Vespertine and New Order - Blue Monday 12".
All sounded good apart from the Miles Davis, a bit flat.

Will probably write a more comprehensive review at some point in the future but at the moment I would say the Dino is still well ahead overall.

I noticed mine had a buzz sound as well. I ended up sending mine back in the end. The thing that got to me was the battery. It just wouldn't charge for some reason. It would flash for like 20min but then go into trickle mode, even though I had run it flat and it needed a full charge.

Can't fault the sound though, it easily beat the stock phono on my Marantz PM7001 amp and I really liked the sound for the price. I've nothing else to compare it with though.

I wonder if the seller would consider making a version with potential external PSU upgrade in the future.... I might ask.

[DSJR]

Clipping when playing singles? Sounds like too high a sensitivity to me, or low overload-margin perhaps? Some 7" singles were cut very "hot" using compression in abundance (easily seen on a wave editor), where many 12" singles on the other hand, had the limiting turned off with sometimes awesome results - if only all records had been made this way, no limiting at 45rpm and say, one track per side.....

The phono stage in the ancient and much maligned old Crown preamp has variable adjustors. The max setting allowing high-output MC types but with a very low 33mV overload. Set fully the other way, it's perfect for those huge output Shure M44-7's etc and the overload is around 300mV. My own feeling is that the overload should be no less than 50 - 75mV and if you're using a Decca, summat around 150 - 175mV would probably be more like it, as it's the ticks and snaps of vinyl reproduction which can cause the trouble a lot of the time.

[legalhippy]

Clipping when playing singles? Sounds like too high a sensitivity to me, or low overload-margin perhaps? Some 7" singles were cut very "hot" using compression in abundance (easily seen on a wave editor), where many 12" singles on the other hand, had the limiting turned off with sometimes awesome results - if only all records had been made this way, no limiting at 45rpm and say, one track per side.....

The phono stage in the ancient and much maligned old Crown preamp has variable adjustors. The max setting allowing high-output MC types but with a very low 33mV overload. Set fully the other way, it's perfect for those huge output Shure M44-7's etc and the overload is around 300mV. My own feeling is that the overload should be no less than 50 - 75mV and if you're using a Decca, summat around 150 - 175mV would probably be more like it, as it's the ticks and snaps of vinyl reproduction which can cause the trouble a lot of the time.

Quite agree with you regarding the 12" singles, some of those sounded stunning. Two of my favourites of those are New Order's Blue Monday and Propaganda's Dr Mabuse. The cartridge that I am using is the Denon DL304 which at 0.18mV is very low at 47 Ohm. Reading other forums (I know, bad move) there are suggestions that I should use a 1kOhm loading, which sounds a bit nuts to me. I set it to 100 Ohm on the Trichord, or should it be 33 Ohm which is the next one down.

I have tried all sorts of connotations with the unit but when I do find one that cures the clipping on 45's then it just sounds flat and lifeless, if I wanted that sort of sound I would buy some average amp with built in phono stage. (NOT GONNA HAPPEN!)

[DSJR]

My experience of listening to and reading about the 304 is that it's forte is good tracking, rather than grab-you-by-the-balls musical energy... I know that many people used to and probably still do use a high-output MC into a low output input, preferring the energy and "drive" this gives them.

I'm way out of date on MC pricing these days, as they seem to have shot up - all except the DL103 which is little more than double it's late eighties price. Two low output models I've been impressed with (I used to sell their predecessors) were the Dynavector 17D (neutral to toppy in some systems but good tracking I remember) and the 20 series (high or low output versions - ballsy balance and a good step up for fans of the 10X models I thought). As for high-output MC's, I remain a huge fan of the Sumiko BPS, but dislike the skeletal construction as I'm far too clumsy, and also it's more refined sibling, the Blackbird, which a mate has been using for a few years on his Gyro/Technoarm.

I'm not trying to blindly defend the Angle Audio phono stage, as I don't know it, or the people making it. maybe an email to them with your concerns might come up with a solution. Perhaps a straightforward external power supply might be better, especially if the supply is beefed up a bit?

[legalhippy]

I noticed mine had a buzz sound as well. I ended up sending mine back in the end. The thing that got to me was the battery. It just wouldn't charge for some reason. It would flash for like 20min but then go into trickle mode, even though I had run it flat and it needed a full charge.

Can't fault the sound though, it easily beat the stock phono on my Marantz PM7001 amp and I really liked the sound for the price. I've nothing else to compare it with though.

I wonder if the seller would consider making a version with potential external PSU upgrade in the future.... I might ask.

I haven't had an issue with the battery on the 'Angle' stage, but that transformer is just a hideous piece of junk. It is unnecessarily noisy and gives a high pitched whine through the speakers when plugged in, which is totally unacceptable.

On the up side for it though, when running on battery without the transformer plugged in, it gives a real nice full sound (at times, see below) if a little reserved.

I didn't get to use it as much as I had hoped over the weekend so am giving a few discs a spin tonight. Starting again with Miles Davis, there was definitely more there than the first time that I played it through this stage. Much more top end and the mid and bass full and rich.

Next up was a dose of The Specials, this I always remembered as being a lively record but not this time. There were moments when some of the tracks sounded okay but I was getting bored after a bit. Stiff Little Fingers' live album Hanx! was on the deck next. This is one of my favourite live albums because it just sounded so raw. UM - ER, what can I say, I've heard poor CD systems play it with more life than this did. Does this phono stage not do punk and ska?

However I carried on trying things, Jeff Buckley's Grace up next. Now this album it likes, alot. This was getting somewhere towards how the Dino Sounds, again still reserved at the top end but having a good go at it. Could be due to being a louder pressing than the Specials and Fingers albums but there was more excitement, detail and overall muicality when playing this.

More tunes tomorrow with differing styles aplenty. Might have to try some classical, see how it handles that.

I don't think I have yet heard the best of this phono stage, or at least I hope I haven't.

[keiths]

I haven't had an issue with the battery on the 'Angle' stage, but that transformer is just a hideous piece of junk. It is unnecessarily noisy and gives a high pitched whine through the speakers when plugged in, which is totally unacceptable

I imagine that that's a sample fault as mine is silent (both through the speakers and from the transformer itself).