Suggestion for a good phono stage

[Gibo69]

Yep...MM+MC version.


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[Boyse6748]

If you want the best Phono stage available you can’t go wrong with this!!!!! (It will better anything at ten times the cost. MM & MC with load matching on the fly).

Ray Samuels - Nighthawk F117

Take a look

Peter.




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[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

If you can find one, give some thought to an Audiovalve Sunilda, 2 I/P's and either are selectable to MM/MC and load and capacitive adjustable.
Has an external PSU too.
I too have a Dais with 2 arms, great TT.

[Bigman80]

If you want the best Phono stage available you can’t go wrong with this!!!!! (It will better anything at ten times the cost. MM & MC with load matching on the fly).

Ray Samuels - Nighthawk F117

Take a look

Peter.




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I completely disagree with this.

Compressed sound under the weight of negative feedback in the circuit. Yes, silent background but other than that it just didn't do anything for me. Quite emotionless and grey when I heard one.

The EAR has negative feedback in the circuit and the suggestions of it sounding dark would allude to the feedback. I've never heard one but they are very popular.

The Tron Convergence suffers from sounding dark although with a few tweaks it becomes a very very good phonostage. The most holographic phonostage I've heard. I almost bought a modded one.

Personally, I'd try and find a Jolida JD9II. it's an exceptional phonostage or ask Firebottle for a listen to a Vivant both in your budget.

The Jolida gives nothing away to anything I've put it in against. It's a tube buffer after an opamp based SS board so is very tight and detailed but has good grip on the bass. It has all the possible capacitance and impedance settings you can shake a stick at and can be used with really LOMC carts.

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[Boyse6748]

I completely disagree with this.

Compressed sound under the weight of negative feedback in the circuit. Yes, silent background due to battery but other than that it just didn't do anything for me.

The EAR has negative feedback in the circuit and the suggestions of it sounding dark would allude to the feedback.

The Tron Convergence suffers from sounding dark although with a few tweaks it becomes a very very good phonostage

Personally, I'd try and find a Jolida JD9II. it's an exceptional phonostage or ask Firebottle for a listen to a Vivant

The Jolida gives nothing away to anything I've put it in against.

There are other candidates too on other forums.

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Oliver, I'm afraid it didn't sound compressed to me. I tried this via the Mcintosh and it was superb. I think it's a case of we all like what we like, as we are individuals.


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[Bigman80]

Oliver, I'm afraid it didn't sound compressed to me. I tried this via the Mcintosh and it was superb. I think it's a case of we all like what we like, as we are individuals.


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No doubt, Peter. As in all things, personal experience will differ but It certainly didn't give a good impression when I tried it. In fact I found it difficult to tell the difference between the Tron and the Nighthawk when we tested them. I disliked both. Again, all personal experience and opinion but I can say with confidence, it wouldn't beat a LDA JFET which is well within the 10x the price limit at £1800.



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[montesquieu]

Do you like the phono stage on the Croft?

If you do then why not have a custom SUT made with two inputs and a bypass for use with moving magnet. Graeme 'Valvebloke' (trades as Ampregen) did a couple of these for me, one using S&B TX103 transformers, the other using Hashimoto HM7s. But really you could take any sensible pair of step up transformers and do this.

This gives you the option too of swapping in an improved stand-alone MM phono stage at a later date.

There are in my experience very few two input phono stages out there that sound equally good on both MM and MC, the exceptions are generally expensive ones with good bypassable SUTs ahead of a MM stage.

Here's a pic of my former setup, the Aurorasound Vida I had was a very good phono stage but while the MC section was indeed very capable, it was significantly bettered with a good SUT like the Hashomotos, so I ran both arms via the SUT into the MM stage. Nowadays I run an EAR 912 which has SUTs built in.

[Firebottle]

If you want the best Phono stage available ...
Ray Samuels - Nighthawk F117

It's good but it's certainly not the best. There are a number of phono stages that will show it the door.

Of course the rest of the system has to be top notch to appreciate the difference.

[montesquieu]

No doubt, Peter. As in all things, personal experience will differ but It certainly didn't give a good impression when I tried it. In fact I found it difficult to tell the difference between the Tron and the Nighthawk when we tested them. I disliked both. Again, all personal experience and opinion but I can say with confidence, it wouldn't beat a LDA JFET which is well within the 10x the price limit at £1800.

Haven't heard the Nighthawk but wasn't overly enthused by the Tron when I heard it.

I'm not the biggest fan of the EAR 834P myself, at least when stock, but I have heard modded versions of it sounding superb.

[Bigman80]

Haven't heard the Nighthawk but wasn't overly enthused by the Tron when I heard it.

They sound similar. The Tron had a bit more life but neither really delivered IMO



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