Depends mostly on what improvements you’re looking for and what sound characteristics are most important to you.
Looking for a great phono pre-amp in the $1000 or less range
I’ve a vintage Kenwood KD-500 DD turntable (concrete base), and grace tonearm. Currently running a grado gold MM cartridge running through the built-in phono preamp section of my NAD C658 preamp, into an Anthem MCA 225 mk 2 amp and Martin Logan Classic 9 electrostatic speakers. Streaming Tidal can give me some stunning results but my music through the turntable is far less compelling. Hence the desire to try upgrading my phono preamp section (and eventually move to a MC). After substantial digging I’ve got a few higher level candidates, there are obviously many out there.
the two front runners I’m considering are:
the Back Ice Audio F9 mk and the gold note PH5. The black ice is intriguing but not nearly as well known or reviewed as the gold note.
others I’ve considered:
sutherland KC Vibe mk2
moon audio 110 LP V2
parasound zphono XRM
feedback from the community appreciated!
39 responses Add your response
@jl35 Thank you! Diminishing returns set in quickly for phono stages! Money would be better spent on a cartridge upgrade! The OP should consider the Hana SL for ~ $700. That and the Mani would keep the cost ~ $1K. |
I’ve owned a Sutherland insight, moon lp110 and IFi iPhono3 black label in that price range. The moon lp110 was a while ago so I don’t remember a lot about it to be honest, but it was the least impressive of the ones I’ve owned. The Sutherland was excellent - warm and full sounding, more traditionally ‘analog’ if you know what I mean. Out of all of them, my favourite - to my taste and system - was the iFi. Detailed, clear and transparent, with incredible black backgrounds. It was super versatile, with a range of different gain and load settings. And I t was the size of a few packs of cards so easily hidden. |
Return Option! Of everything in the chain, I think Phono Stages are the most difficult to find one you love. You simply cannot rely on specs; reviews; advice; other than to make a hopeful choice and put it in your system. I recommend you only buy from a source that allows return/refund, so you can either get lucky with 1st choice, or finally fall in love with the ... 5th one. To complicate matters further, a unit might not sound great, until you find a cable that brings it to life as happened to my friend recently.
|
I have an ifi iPhono3 Black Label and have been very happy with it so far. Very quiet, very dynamic, and has a wonderful soundstage presentation. Not sure of course how well it will work in your system, but is right in the price range. Also, is very flexible for both MM and MC cartridges, so if you decide to upgrade there down the road, you’ll be able to so easily.
|
The Schiit Mani or the iFi Zen Phono would be your best bet with that cartridge. Grados are not detail-hounds, nor are they particularly accurate, and you will not benefit from a higher-end phono stage. I have the Mani 1 and the iFi Zen and use them with a Grado Red, Shure V15 IV, AudioTechnica Pro14S, and Dynavector Ruby moving coil. I prefer the iFi over the Schiit, but I have not heard the Mani 2 or the Skoll. |
I found that my turntable was constantly held back by my phonostage for at least several decades. While when I finally got it out of the way with the purchase of a Audio Research PH 8… I had a better table… so that isn’t helpful to you. Phonostages have been produced for a very long time, so buying used is a great way to leverage your money. I recommend spending as much as you cane on a used Audio Research or Conrad Johnson… as contemporary as you can get. |
@crustycoot gave you spot on advice to work well with your fantastic tonearm…. |
Does one really need to go to the expense of close to $2000 to surpass the Tidal Streaming Experience with a Vinyl Source. A new MM with a different presentation to the Grado might just suffice, if extra is desired a MM Input Phonostage may be the final ancillary required. The ESL's should help with making differences in Cart' Types quite discernable. |
@tmortsd gives good turntable advice
tube: hagerman cornet $590
opamp: sota pyxi van alstine vision Q+ jfet: darlington labs MP-7 hybrid: project s2, DS2. i believe these use jfets for the first gain stage. sound damn good and very flexible. esp good for HOMC because of the gain features |
Thank you everyone for your input! I’m intrigued by the Hagerman Cornet 4, on sale currently for $500, the downside is it’s MM only with zero adjustments. I don’t want to rule out a MC cartridge in my future (without having to buy more gear). I do think a tube / hybrid approach may be my best bet here and so I’m likely to pull the trigger on the Black Ice F9 hybrid preamp, while I’d love the F159 which is much more known and reviewed, it’s twice the price at nearly $2k and used ones seem unicorns. |
If you ate compelled to purchase a Phonostage, the Mr Nixie Digna is going to be hard to beat at your price range. I have owned this Phon' for many years and have also taken this to Bake Off's, where its small size has been a deception to its performance, it has been a show stopper where the Values of comparisons have been up to £5K. I still use it regularly as I thoroughly enjoy what it does, even though I have a Bespoke Built Phon' in use now, that was designed to offer plenty of what the Digna Offers and surpass it in other areas. |
I agree with ghdprentice; "Phonostages have been produced for a very long time, so buying used is a great way to leverage your money." The used hybrid phono preamps from Audio Research are hard to beat. They have a J-FET input for low noise and a vacuum tube gain and output stage for great sonics. A PH3, PH3-SE, PH5 and PH6 are great values for the money. |
So I got really lucky and found a Black Ice Audio Fusion F159 hybrid tube preamp on US Audiomart ($1,875 retail), within my budget. It’ll be delivered tomorrow but it’s a Christmas gift (from the wife to me), so I’ll not get to try her out until after Christmas! Reviews for this are very positive. I’ll follow up with my listening impression!. |
The Sota Pyxi replaced a highly regarded tube based phono stage that I’d had for 12 years. My prior stage is very popular and the customer service was great. I was able to sell it for over $2,500, but prefer the Pyxi by no small margin. I’d swap in my tube stage just to be sure, and it came across as soft and unfocused without the detail, resolution or low noise floor that the Pyxi has. Frequency response issues like brightness, glare or lack of midrange "thereness" simply don’t come up. It sounds like real music. Bass is accurate and tight too. It has MM and MC inputs, load and capacitance are adjustable, and it's only $300. At that price you’re not going to find many dealers who’ll recommend it, there’s just not enough margin in it for them. That may sound cynical, but if I ran a store I’d probably do the same. Cartridges - Myajima Shilabe and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, so these observations are from listening to the MC input. |
A list I compiled from positive reviews: Make Model Price |
Take a look at the Lounge Audio LCR phono preamps, hand made in the Los Angeles area by Robert Morin (https://www.loungeaudio.com/hi-fi), and they get great reviews. Prices begin at $380 for the MKIII, go to $560 for the Silver, and $810 for the Gold. I bought the Gold version, made to order, and I am extremely pleased with the phone preamp. I am using a Thorens TD 126 MK II and an Audio-Technica VM540ML MM cartridge, and playing some high-quality LPs from the 1980s (Sheffield and others, including a couple of 45 rpm LPs) the sound is simply amazing--superb tonal qualities, incredible imaging, both laterally and in depth--the sound seems better than most of my CD collection. I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase and recommend it without reservation. If you want moving coil capability, he also sells a hand-made step up transformer for that purpose. |