Back in July 2023, I posted my thoughts on Jeff Polan's exceptional-sounding tape repro cards: New Repro Cards!- post # 123 that are a direct plug-in replacement for Studer A80-RC decks. I believe that I was one of the first to evaluate those cards configured in an external chassis with power supply for use with my Dan Labrie rebuilt Ampex ATR-102 reel-reel deck. I wrote that what I heard with those cards on my ATR literally knocked my socks off.
Jeff Polan is an "electrical engineer for electrical engineers", the holder of numerous advanced-technology patents, and a lifelong audiophile who is big time into phono and tape reproduction. Jeff called me up a few months ago and told me that he had designed a phono preamp, based loosely on the NextGen tape repro cards. Now, we know that generally speaking, there is not that much difference between a tape head preamplifier circuit and a phono preamp. Both need to amplify vanishingly low signals from a coil of some type, and do it with as little noise as possible. Of course, EQ and impedance matching are different. So, it is not unnatural that Jeff would attempt to apply his circuits designs to phono. Having had such great experience with the Repro cards, I jumped and said "yes" to Jeff's request to loan me the new phono preamp pair to listen to.
Indeed, I expected a somewhat similar sonic presentation to the wonderful tape cards, and I did experience that, to some extent. However, what I did not expect were the sonic results of some new and highly-innovative engineering that Jeff created that differentiates the Phono cards, not only from their tape cousins, but sonically from almost every other modern phono amplifier. Among these innovations is a specially-developed Group Delay Compensation model for cutting head and inverse RIAA characteristics used in cutting. This provides unrivaled transparency and information retrieval.
Jeff provides complete technical detail of the cards with specifications, functionality and configuration on his website: NextGen Phono Preamp , so no need for me to get in the middle. Make sure you pay attention to the outstanding configuration flexibility as well.
So how does it SOUND? Sorry, but I already lost my socks when I first listened to the tape repro cards; this phono preamp does it again and yet is unlike virtually anything I've heard. First, I was slammed with a huge dynamic range- just totally effortless! Like the tape cards, the noise level approaches the technical term of "zilch to -10". This allows me to hear micro-details, hall or studio ambience, creaking chairs, fingers on strings and natural decay to an extent I had not experienced with both solid state and tube phono circuits. There is transparency and speed to a remarkable extent without producing a sonic signature that is all about transparency, detail and speed like so many other products. Nor, is it about a lush presentation that is temporarily soothing and which can fool you into thinking it's real. THIS phono preamp is ultimately about the natural, true sound of music and not a hyped avatar. The Nextgen phono cards walk perfectly the balance between transparency, detail, speed and low noise vs. authentic timbre, harmonic structure (OK, somewhat like the not-necessarily-still-valid comparison of solid state vs. tubes) resulting in just "real music", including the huge dynamic range of the real thing. Oh, and the soundstage! Wow! It just makes you want to keep listening, LP after LP.
Just be aware, the genius and magic resides in Jeff's extremely well-built, professional circuit cards (built on the Studer form factor used for his tape repro version). The cards slide into a "highly utilitarian", 5 1/4" standard rack chassis, virtually identical to the external chassis used for non-Studer A-80 tape card applications like mine. As such, the chassis is not, at this early stage, a pretty piece of kit. Nevertheless, it does have unique high-response, low noise digital VU meters which can be calibrated to a given level (and can be turned off) as well as a low noise external linear power supply that can be hidden away. The packaging is more of form-follows-function thing.
One final critical point- Jeff provides standard outputs on the rear of the chassis. HOWEVER, the cards have a mini-XLR output on the front of the card. OMG, use these outputs! The front panel outputs bypass certain buffer stages and, as great sounding as the regular rear panel connections are, the front panel outputs are the way to go for ultra-level performance and transparency. The output cables need to be custom built with a mini-XLR (I use Furutech) and can be wired as either single-ended or balanced. Of the 2 configurations, maximum performance is reached with the single-ended configuration (even if you have to use an RCA>Balanced adaptor into your line stage).
Get past the current physical appearance and you will experience an innovative & highly flexible phono preamplifier with groundbreaking musical sonics. In my experience, there is little, if anything, like it. Of course I bought one, and I can't stop listening. Such fun!
Jeff Polan is an "electrical engineer for electrical engineers", the holder of numerous advanced-technology patents, and a lifelong audiophile who is big time into phono and tape reproduction. Jeff called me up a few months ago and told me that he had designed a phono preamp, based loosely on the NextGen tape repro cards. Now, we know that generally speaking, there is not that much difference between a tape head preamplifier circuit and a phono preamp. Both need to amplify vanishingly low signals from a coil of some type, and do it with as little noise as possible. Of course, EQ and impedance matching are different. So, it is not unnatural that Jeff would attempt to apply his circuits designs to phono. Having had such great experience with the Repro cards, I jumped and said "yes" to Jeff's request to loan me the new phono preamp pair to listen to.
Indeed, I expected a somewhat similar sonic presentation to the wonderful tape cards, and I did experience that, to some extent. However, what I did not expect were the sonic results of some new and highly-innovative engineering that Jeff created that differentiates the Phono cards, not only from their tape cousins, but sonically from almost every other modern phono amplifier. Among these innovations is a specially-developed Group Delay Compensation model for cutting head and inverse RIAA characteristics used in cutting. This provides unrivaled transparency and information retrieval.
Jeff provides complete technical detail of the cards with specifications, functionality and configuration on his website: NextGen Phono Preamp , so no need for me to get in the middle. Make sure you pay attention to the outstanding configuration flexibility as well.
So how does it SOUND? Sorry, but I already lost my socks when I first listened to the tape repro cards; this phono preamp does it again and yet is unlike virtually anything I've heard. First, I was slammed with a huge dynamic range- just totally effortless! Like the tape cards, the noise level approaches the technical term of "zilch to -10". This allows me to hear micro-details, hall or studio ambience, creaking chairs, fingers on strings and natural decay to an extent I had not experienced with both solid state and tube phono circuits. There is transparency and speed to a remarkable extent without producing a sonic signature that is all about transparency, detail and speed like so many other products. Nor, is it about a lush presentation that is temporarily soothing and which can fool you into thinking it's real. THIS phono preamp is ultimately about the natural, true sound of music and not a hyped avatar. The Nextgen phono cards walk perfectly the balance between transparency, detail, speed and low noise vs. authentic timbre, harmonic structure (OK, somewhat like the not-necessarily-still-valid comparison of solid state vs. tubes) resulting in just "real music", including the huge dynamic range of the real thing. Oh, and the soundstage! Wow! It just makes you want to keep listening, LP after LP.
Just be aware, the genius and magic resides in Jeff's extremely well-built, professional circuit cards (built on the Studer form factor used for his tape repro version). The cards slide into a "highly utilitarian", 5 1/4" standard rack chassis, virtually identical to the external chassis used for non-Studer A-80 tape card applications like mine. As such, the chassis is not, at this early stage, a pretty piece of kit. Nevertheless, it does have unique high-response, low noise digital VU meters which can be calibrated to a given level (and can be turned off) as well as a low noise external linear power supply that can be hidden away. The packaging is more of form-follows-function thing.
One final critical point- Jeff provides standard outputs on the rear of the chassis. HOWEVER, the cards have a mini-XLR output on the front of the card. OMG, use these outputs! The front panel outputs bypass certain buffer stages and, as great sounding as the regular rear panel connections are, the front panel outputs are the way to go for ultra-level performance and transparency. The output cables need to be custom built with a mini-XLR (I use Furutech) and can be wired as either single-ended or balanced. Of the 2 configurations, maximum performance is reached with the single-ended configuration (even if you have to use an RCA>Balanced adaptor into your line stage).
Get past the current physical appearance and you will experience an innovative & highly flexible phono preamplifier with groundbreaking musical sonics. In my experience, there is little, if anything, like it. Of course I bought one, and I can't stop listening. Such fun!
