thoughts on a new phono stage

[Zoidburg]

So it looks like my Firebottle phono stage is probably now sold so I'm interested to hear people thoughts on the next step.

I have to say I've really enjoyed the Firebottle but I've a few spare quid and for no other reason than that am looking for something new to play with.

Given recent bake-offs I am hoping to hear one of those stages that cant be discussed here and I will say no more on that front. I'm also interested in hearing a Croft stage as well but wonder if that will be more of a sideways step than anything significantly better than the FB. Looking on Glenn's website he only offers the 1 stage but I was wondering if he offers any other upgrades or improvements to it?

Other than that what else should I be looking at ? I'm not adverse to SS or valve, my budget new or used is about £650.00 and will really only be used with an AT150 (but it would be nice to have the ability to switch to a MC at a later date too)

cheers,

Ben

[Bigman80]

Hi Ben,

The Jolida JD9 Is easily recommendable but not easy to find one. Also two different manufacturers. One in China one in Maryland. I have the Maryland. It's very good.

There's loads to choose from. Good luck!


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[Zoidburg]

Thanks Oliver,

That's my thinking but lets leave it there now.

Looking for other suggestions as well please folks, particularly anyone with Croft experience.

cheers,





Hi Ben,

The Jolida JD9 Is easily recommendable but not easy to find one. Also two different manufacturers. One in China one in Maryland. I have the Maryland. It's very good.

There's loads to choose from. Good luck!


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[speedracer]

I have tried quite a few phono stages in my system & heard a lot more at bake offs & whatnot, plus I owned a Firebottle Plus for a while so I know how they sound, which is very good, I would probably have kept it longer or upgraded it had I not found some cash for a big upgrade.
I used a Dynavector P75 mk3 for a while & really liked it until I heard the Firebottle, which was better by quite a bit, & I found moving on from the FB difficult, sometimes it is not so much that you get a better phono, just that you prefer a different presentation, & often what you gain on the roundabout you lose on the swings.
If you can find one a Kinshaw Perception SA 2 box MM/MC is easily in budget & is the best SS phono I have heard under say £500. Really very good. The Rega Aria is very good too, £800 ish new so should be easy to find second hand. Icon Audio's PS1 mk1 is also very good but I think just outside your budget unless things have changed recently. All the what I call mainstream phono's such as Graham Slee, Trichord & Lehmann mid-priced offerings were all bested by the Firebottle IMO.
I had a similar budget to you when I was looking & in the end I had to up it considerably to get a clear winner, but isn't that always the way!

[hifi_dave]

Croft or Rega Aria.

[alphaGT]

I don't have a great deal of experience with phono preamps, but I got a great price used for my older Musical Surroundings Phonomena. I paid less than $500 shipped. Sold for a grand new, at that time. It's a two box unit, with a clever battery power supply. The wall pack charges the battery, and the unit runs off the batteries, actually two battery packs. It's all solid state, and I never expected a lot from it.

But it sure has proven itself at every turn! Every upgrade I've made, it has kept up with. And every time I think I know how good it sounds, I'll upgrade something and it's even better! While it may no have the air and space that some have, it's got plenty, and also has that boogie factor, that thing that makes your toe tap. But the main reason I got it, and keep it, is the unlimited adjustability, it can match up to pretty much any cartridge made. I've run both MM and MC, even low output MC, and thought it sounded very impressive. Since then improvements in my amplification have revealed even more of its benefits, the deeper I dig, the more it shows.

Sure I'm curious to see how it stacks up to others, I've got an eye out for a used Jolida, just to see how it compares, but for the money I've got in it, I sure can't complain.


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[montesquieu]

I've always had a soft spot for the Graham Slee phono stages from the Era Gold upwards. I've no idea how it compares to the Firebottle as I haven't heard one (I havent heard Jez's phono stage either which is probably worth looking at too) but for me they are very good indeed, probably my favorite non-valve phono stage (that I've heard anyway). It's worth going for the better PSU.

You can buy a MC version of one of them (can't remember the name) but the MM ones work superbly and they do an excellent matching head amp if / when you need it.

[Firebottle]

Hi Ben, here is a suggestion.
I have a modified Tron Convergence which is really a Firebottle convergence now with the improvements and circuit changes made. It owes me £750, however it is only MC at the moment.
I can either fit extra sockets and a switch to give MC/MM capability, or remove the SUT's and offer it as MM for £650.

It really has an excellent holographic sound, as others will attest to.
As it is modified the Tron warranty is no longer valid but I will give continued support for it, to my usual after sales level of good service.

You are welcome to trial it :cool:

[Bigman80]

Shame you are so far away, we could have done a swap test.

[Bigman80]

It really has an excellent holographic sound, as others will attest to.


I attest. Its incredibly holographic. I had it for a little loan period and thought it was very good. I would have bought it but for the extra pennies required.

[bob4333]

................. Icon Audio's PS1 mk1 is also very good but I think just outside your budget unless things have changed recently.

+1.

I had a PS1 mk 1 for a long, long time. Bought used for about £500 - fully supported by the company based in Leicester and at worst a new set of valves may be needed over time. These things are built like a tank (and almost as heavy).

After having gone through 4 SS stages nothing prepared me for how good this was.

Worth a listen.

[Haselsh1]

Only really had experience with the cheap Pro-Ject Phonobox SE, built in Croft phono stage and the current Dynavector P75 MkIII. I did listen to a Firebottle prototype a few years back but hopefully it was not representative of the current ones. The best I have owned so far by a helluva long way is the Dynavector however back in the nineties I had a Hart Linsley Hood kit built phono stage and that was the best I have ever heard.

All the best with your search.

[montesquieu]

Hi Ben, here is a suggestion.
I have a modified Tron Convergence which is really a Firebottle convergence now with the improvements and circuit changes made. It owes me £750, however it is only MC at the moment.
I can either fit extra sockets and a switch to give MC/MM capability, or remove the SUT's and offer it as MM for £650.

It really has an excellent holographic sound, as others will attest to.
As it is modified the Tron warranty is no longer valid but I will give continued support for it, to my usual after sales level of good service.

You are welcome to trial it :cool:

Now that sounds like a great offer.

[speedracer]

Hi Ben, here is a suggestion.
I have a modified Tron Convergence which is really a Firebottle convergence now with the improvements and circuit changes made. It owes me £750, however it is only MC at the moment.
I can either fit extra sockets and a switch to give MC/MM capability, or remove the SUT's and offer it as MM for £650.

It really has an excellent holographic sound, as others will attest to.
As it is modified the Tron warranty is no longer valid but I will give continued support for it, to my usual after sales level of good service.

You are welcome to trial it :cool:

You should yank Alan's hand off in the process of accepting this offer, well played sir.

[Zoidburg]

Thanks guys

A few things for me to consider there, Alan Thanks for the great offer too. Il have a think / read up about things

Cheers

Ben

[ianlenco]

I bought a Nighthawk F-117 phono stage from some kind soul here and it's the best phono stage I've ever owned, including some valve stages. It's very flexible for loading mm and mc cartridges and also for gain. Plenty of reviews on the web - well worth a look. Most recently compared it side by side with a Graham Slee Accession. The owner of the Accession preferred his but everyone else in the room liked the Nighthawk the best.

[Bigman80]

I bought a Nighthawk F-117 phono stage from some kind soul here and it's the best phono stage I've ever owned, including some valve stages. It's very flexible for loading mm and mc cartridges and also for gain. Plenty of reviews on the web - well worth a look. Most recently compared it side by side with a Graham Slee Accession. The owner of the Accession preferred his but everyone else in the room liked the Nighthawk the best.Heard a nighthawk and didn't really like it. It's got a great reputation so might just be me lol

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[Firebottle]

The Nighthawk is the quietest phono stage I have heard, at max gain there is a bit of background hiss, but it's way down and the gain is a lot at that setting. The Tron really isn't far behind this for quietness, in standard build this is one of it's strengths.

The thing that lets the Nighthawk down IMHO is the slightly 'sat on' dynamics, I think due to using feedback equalisation.
The Tron uses passive eq, and with the modifications offers a more spacious and open sound.

Have fun with your search Ben.

[moodybuilder]

ive got the angle audio pro. very good indeed you can have it either mc or mm or switchable i have the mc version loaded to match my cart, thet hybrid alan is offering sounds attractive, good luck

[Chivas]

I sold an upgraded Croft RIAA R about a year ago for £650. New with the upgrades it was £1200 and was an awesome phono stage. It will take a lot of money to beat it in my experience, although I've not heard the FB. They are scarce on the 2nd hand market, but worth looking out for, and considerably better than the standard RIAA version. The only reason I changed was that I was looking for an integrated pre and my system is slowly morphing into an Audio Note based system. Glenn's service is also second to none.


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