Shakti, In your opinion, would the Lampizator MC1 (or at least its MM section) be on the same level as the phonopreamps you mentioned?
Best tube phono preamp under 10.000
- Thread starter dionisofun
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Shakti, In your opinion, would the Lampizator MC1 (or at least its MM section) be on the same level as the phonopreamps you mentioned?
I have Parks Audio Puffin, now Waxwing. And love it.
Vinyls Swiss Army knife.also a fantastic diagnostic and set up tool for vinyl
I see no reason to have anything else.
Vinyls Swiss Army knife.also a fantastic diagnostic and set up tool for vinyl
I see no reason to have anything else.
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In this price range I´d like to also suggest the Innovative Audio Phonomopped MK2B and the Ampearl RE-2030SE.
The Phonomoped MK2B designed by Reinhard Hofmann is a phonostage made around two EC86 tubes and matches with MC as well as MM cartridges.
The Ampearl is a LCR phono with 6Ж9П und 6C3П-EB in the signal path and 6С19П & 6Ц4П-EB in the power supply unit made in Crimea, what makes it difficult to buy new, but from time to time you´ll find them on the 2nd hand market.
The Phonomoped MK2B designed by Reinhard Hofmann is a phonostage made around two EC86 tubes and matches with MC as well as MM cartridges.
The Ampearl is a LCR phono with 6Ж9П und 6C3П-EB in the signal path and 6С19П & 6Ц4П-EB in the power supply unit made in Crimea, what makes it difficult to buy new, but from time to time you´ll find them on the 2nd hand market.
Sutherland Dos Locos Transimpedance Phono Preamplifier
A sonic change is in the Sutherland air
trackingangle.com
Another suggestion for your consideration would be the Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe Reference Level 5.1. When I bought mine a few years back, the price new was $10,000. I'm not sure what it may be priced at now.
It is an all vacuum tube design currently using (2 x 12AX7, 4 x 6DJ8); with extremely low noise ( I believe with the external power supply, noise is below 1uV (one-millionth of a volt ) competing with the best of the solid state phonos; providing 3 front panel selectable inputs providing 62 dB of gain (without the use of SUT’s or FETS) with a useful cartridge range of 0.2mV to 1.2mV. Having both Balanced and RCA inputs and outputs; adjustable loading available on the back panel via custom loading plugs; and an essentially flat RIAA EQ curve within one tenth of a dB (.1dB) from 3 Hz to 40 Khz.
Naturally, with any vacuum tubed high gain phono stage you will want to use selected low noise tubes, but I can say when using my NOS Mullards in this phono stage, it is dead quiet with my ears up against the speakers with my Dunlavy Signature SCIV's 91 dB sensitivity. I love not having to use a step up transformer with this phono stage; not having to worry about the SUT coloring the audio signal or worrying about possible hum issues, and having to use extra interconnects and connections, etc.
The Wavestream Kinetics gives me the pure, high gain, low noise sound that I love. It is incredibly dynamic in both the micro and macro sense, never runs out of steam, has the "meat on the bones" which I crave, brings the human voice to life, showcases the resonance of the body of cellos and acoustic bass, has the finesse for brushes on cymbals and snares, etc.
It truly is an incredible phono stage built by Scott Frankland, a genius when it comes to engineering and designing audio circuits and a true gentleman in every sense of the word who offers incredible customer service and support, which is the icing on the cake! I can't speak highly enough of both him and his products. This phonostage, imho, is an endgame piece!
For those of you who may not remember who Scott Frankland of Wavestream Kinetics is... He is the "F" in the MFA audio brand (Moore, Frankland & Associates) from years past who made incredible sounding vacuum tube amps, preamps and phono stages. You also may remember him from the famous V-8 tube amplifiers he made...
I will try and attach some photos of my phono stage below. This phono stage is quite large and heavy!
It comes shipped very securely in a very heavy duty wooden crate...
The outboard power supply came in a doubled cardboard box.
This phonostage is a behemoth. Very wide and extremely deep. You will need a large, sturdy shelf with lots of depth to be able to place this unit.
If you are looking for a vacuum tubed phono stage for around the $10K mark, you owe it to yourself to look into this unit. It is amazing!!!
Best wishes to you all,
Don
It is an all vacuum tube design currently using (2 x 12AX7, 4 x 6DJ8); with extremely low noise ( I believe with the external power supply, noise is below 1uV (one-millionth of a volt ) competing with the best of the solid state phonos; providing 3 front panel selectable inputs providing 62 dB of gain (without the use of SUT’s or FETS) with a useful cartridge range of 0.2mV to 1.2mV. Having both Balanced and RCA inputs and outputs; adjustable loading available on the back panel via custom loading plugs; and an essentially flat RIAA EQ curve within one tenth of a dB (.1dB) from 3 Hz to 40 Khz.
Naturally, with any vacuum tubed high gain phono stage you will want to use selected low noise tubes, but I can say when using my NOS Mullards in this phono stage, it is dead quiet with my ears up against the speakers with my Dunlavy Signature SCIV's 91 dB sensitivity. I love not having to use a step up transformer with this phono stage; not having to worry about the SUT coloring the audio signal or worrying about possible hum issues, and having to use extra interconnects and connections, etc.
The Wavestream Kinetics gives me the pure, high gain, low noise sound that I love. It is incredibly dynamic in both the micro and macro sense, never runs out of steam, has the "meat on the bones" which I crave, brings the human voice to life, showcases the resonance of the body of cellos and acoustic bass, has the finesse for brushes on cymbals and snares, etc.
It truly is an incredible phono stage built by Scott Frankland, a genius when it comes to engineering and designing audio circuits and a true gentleman in every sense of the word who offers incredible customer service and support, which is the icing on the cake! I can't speak highly enough of both him and his products. This phonostage, imho, is an endgame piece!
For those of you who may not remember who Scott Frankland of Wavestream Kinetics is... He is the "F" in the MFA audio brand (Moore, Frankland & Associates) from years past who made incredible sounding vacuum tube amps, preamps and phono stages. You also may remember him from the famous V-8 tube amplifiers he made...
I will try and attach some photos of my phono stage below. This phono stage is quite large and heavy!
It comes shipped very securely in a very heavy duty wooden crate...
The outboard power supply came in a doubled cardboard box.
This phonostage is a behemoth. Very wide and extremely deep. You will need a large, sturdy shelf with lots of depth to be able to place this unit.
If you are looking for a vacuum tubed phono stage for around the $10K mark, you owe it to yourself to look into this unit. It is amazing!!!
Best wishes to you all,
Don
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Looks interesting, but I couldn't find any information about it. I like the wood side panels!
Best wishes,
Don
Over the past 25 years, I've often had the pleasure of listening to Ängstrom devices. I always found them to be excellent. The name has changed a few times, from Ångstrom Research to Angstrom Audiolab. The effort put into the power supply, for example, is spectacular. The workmanship is beyond reproach. Unfortunately, there's little information available about the new models. Here's a page where you can see opened devices.
If you are handy with a soldering iron and have $120 to spare, you might want to play around with this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008358092063.html?channel=twinner
This is a phono preamp board of the Marantz 7c circuit. Adding a chassis and power transformer brings the price to around $120. I built one and modified it for the playback head of my Revox B77. It is quiet, dynamic and very musical. It does not have enough gain for an MC, so you will need a step up transformer. I think anyone would have a hard time guessing how much it cost once they have heard it. It might even save you $9880.
This is a phono preamp board of the Marantz 7c circuit. Adding a chassis and power transformer brings the price to around $120. I built one and modified it for the playback head of my Revox B77. It is quiet, dynamic and very musical. It does not have enough gain for an MC, so you will need a step up transformer. I think anyone would have a hard time guessing how much it cost once they have heard it. It might even save you $9880.
By listening to judge which is better. This fundamental principle is embedded in the naming of this audio forum
Rex, if you can’t call one component better than another, how did you select a system?
I have no huberous to say what I use is the best. Its good. It works for me. It is what I selected from what I heard and what I read or talked with friends about. But come on??????? There is no one Best Phono stage. There isn't. Just like there is no one best amp or speaker. There isn't. There are options.
Every stand alone piece of equipment is going to react to the environment it is set in. There is no standard for environments. Every room, every equipment setup, every power supply is different. There is 0, as in zero parameters that allow one to say anything is best.
For $10,000 there are 20 to 30 very nice phono preamps that someone could love. If I was in a room that did not have RF issues, I would probably have selected a different phono stage that the one I did. I love the phono pre I have, but I have heard better. But there were issues in my space. Noise issues. The new space I am in may not have the same issues as the old. But the phono pre I bought is darn good and I feel no impious to sell it for something else.
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