It would certainly appear that the MC stage of the Whest leaves something to be desired. However, I can think of at least one, very vociferous, poster on another forum and Whest owner that thinks it is the very pinnacle of perfection!
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It would certainly appear that the MC stage of the Whest leaves something to be desired. However, I can think of at least one, very vociferous, poster on another forum and Whest owner that thinks it is the very pinnacle of perfection!
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Ah yes, Jamesy-boy 'I buy on reviews, brand reputation and what my guru tells me' McPeake. He's a lost sheep, I'm afraid - and has been for some time....!
However, based on what I've heard, it's not the case that the Whest is especially bad, but rather that some SUTs and bespoke-designed head amps are *so* bloody good!!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
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I must admit that I was surprised he bought the Whest.
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Site Owner/Administrator
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK
Posts: 110,012
I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.
He'd have been advised to buy it and/or bought it as a result of its good reviews. The man seems incapable of thinking for himself or trusting his own ears.
Anyway, I wouldn't get too down on the Whest. It's actually pretty good (although, IMO, not worth the money). Trouble is, there are (again, IMO) better ways of spending £3k+ on a phono stage, where you will get a much bigger bang for your buck!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
£2k-ish. The PS.30RDT is over £3k.Originally Posted by Marco
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Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK
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I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.
Ah, thanks for the clarification
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
...and to add some balance here, the Whest's MM input stage (as that is what I set it for) is *very* good indeed. How otherwise would we have heard such good sounds from both the Hashimotos and PH head amp?
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Location: London
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I'm paul.
interesting thread I must say the views so far expressed have not put me off wanting to try Jez's head amp, Marco I think the Whest PS30 R is £1700, its the 30rdt se that's 3K,
I do find it strange that a MC phonostage would be better when used with a step up device , I would have thought the whest only has one amplification stage and selecting MC/MM is simply a case of changing the gain or does it have two separate stages in one case ?
cant wait to read Marco's write up, real world compelling, no wonder the mags cant compete
Paul
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Location: Prescott, AZ USA
Posts: 120
I'm Chris.
Great thread - I'm leaning towards the H7 in the future since I really like my C220's tube MM section.
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Platters and Phonos at MartinT's
I quite agree, bigger and better.
(Have just made a small but worthwhile change to my own MC stage - no, I didn't convert it to use a SUT)
Last edited by YNWaN; 17-12-2013 at 17:59.
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