Phono Stage Shootout

[Bigman80]

Hi all,

As I was in a position to spend a few hours with some high quality phono stages, I thought id do a bit of a comparison and write up the results.

I visited Alan (Firebottle) as he had recently purchased a Tron Convergence.
We decided to do a straight shootout between the Tron and the FB range. The results surprised us greatly.

So the line up was
FB-OTP
FB-Plus
FB-Vivant (in the KIN pre amp)
Tron Convergence.

So, first up.....The Tron (£1000)

This thing is HUGE. It has a beautifully machined case and it looks very imposing and authoritative.

Unfortunately, the sound didnt match the looks. The first listen was rather underwhelming. The Tron sounded compressed and lifeless. I asked Alan if it needed time to warm up but it had been switched on for about an hour prior to me arriving. I was very disappointed with the, to be frank, bland sound it made. There was no background noise though and surface noise was extremely quiet. This impressed me massively. Channel separation was excellent too. It did create a very good soundstage but its tone sounded flat and lifeless.

We moved on to the FB-OTP (£225)

Straight away, the boogie factor just woke me up. Thundering bass notes and sweet midrange. Sparkly treble and a very good soundstage. Not the​ same level as the others but still mightily Impressive. The OTP definitely has musicality in spades. There is a solid feel to the music, typical of SS. The most impressive thing about the OTP is how you just listen to the music, foot tapping and with a smile on your face. How this unit only costs £225 is beyond me. A stone cold bargain.

On to the FB-Plus (£600)

We go up a level here in terms of resolution and soundstage but overall, the OTP is very close and at less than half the price. Im surprised by this greatly. However when we played Eurythmics - thorn in my side, the Plus really moved into another gear. The airy but driven sound was palpable and the tone was perfect. Its got everything the OTP has got, but more of it. Channel seperation is excellent and the stage is very wide and deep. The noise floor is also very low and this is something the OTP couldn't match. The saxophones reed was very apparent in the sound which had a realistic feel to it. Piano also sounded authentic. I am very impressed with this Phono stage.

On to the FB-Vivant

Well, its like 20yo Mike tyson has just hit me in the face. Its just not like anything ive heard before. The bow is moving across the strings on Eleanor Rigby and I can hear which direction the bow is moving in. How is this possible ? Witchcraft....thats how. Its the only explanation. The sound stage extends beyond the walls and into the street. We have no roof and the floor is gone. We are in the performance. Remarkable. Truly exquisite. This is the undisputed heavy weight champion IMO. Detail in abundance, ambient and transient sounds are collected from the grooves and delivered with delicacy, Guitar riffs are laced with venom and I feel dirty listening to lynyrd Skynyrd play Poison Whiskey. Its fantastic. I want one !!!

Alan and I laugh somewhat at the audacity of the Tron being in the same price range as the Vivant, so to mock it further, I ask to plug it in again......but wait, what's going on?

The Tron appears to be picking itself up off the canvas and having a real go at a comeback

Eurythmics is now in 3D and hallucinogenic, that flat feeling has lifted somewhat to reveal a real depth. Im slightly confused! It actually is starting to sound very very nice indeed. We play a few tracks, Lynryd Skynrd, London Grammar to name a few and all the time the Tron is clawing itself out of the mire.

Im now rooting for the Tron. Chanting its name and willing it to win. But it never quite makes it to the FB-Vivants level. The Vivant was the clear winner.

We try the FB-Plus again and its almost as if we are listening to the Tron with the compression removed and thats the issue I had with the Tron.....it just couldnt match the FB-Plus or FB-Vivant for resolution or air which is a real shame because it actually does sound very good.

So Alan and I discussed price.....

FB - Vivant £1000 (ish)
Tron Convergence £1000 MC version
FB-Plus £600
FB - OTP. £225

So how did they finish ?

1st Place = Vivant. No competing against the best phono stage in this price point. It beat the competition with a shitty stick. In terms of VFM, the Vivant is cheap. It could easily cost twice as much and still feel cheap compared to its performance.

2nd Place = FB-Plus. I cant get past the price. Its fabulous and does about 80% of what the Vivant does for roughly half the price ! There is a loan unit doing the rounds. Get it and have a listen.

3rd place = Tron Convergence. Apart from the slightly compressed sound, it had phenomenal imaging and truly stunning soundstage. It was the quietest of all four stages when no record was playing and had a really solid feel to the sound but its equalled (and bettered in some areas) by a phono stage costing half the price. Its a shame because I really liked how the Tron held its authority on a track.

4th place = FB-OTP. This placing is far closer than this suggests. It more like 3rd and 1/8ths. Its ridiculous value and only really lost out to the FB-Plus on background noise and that last little percentage of soundstage, resolution and imaging. A stunning bargain and in terms of VFM probably represents the highest return for the money. This should cost more to be honest but it doesn't so grab one before Alan stops making them. Even as a back up, its worth every penny.


Oliver.










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