phono stage help please.

@viridian 

Yes I found out the issues with Mani 2 the hard way so now I'm looking for something much bette and if possible fully balanced in and out. Pass XP-15 looks good and as far as I heard is more peasant to listen to over updated  XP-17 model.

I've had the Aleph Ono and the Xono phonostages at different times.  If I were in the position of needing another phonostage I wouldn't hesitate to buy either of them again.  The Xono was a better unit, some of which I'm sure was attributed the the outboard power supply.  They will beat the @#$% out of your Schiid. 

@nrchy 

Awesome ! that king of info is helpful.

I was looking in to Pass XP- 15 and 17, do you have any idea how do they stand up to the Alph Ono ?

Most who have heard both say xp15 is superior to Xono. So if Xono is superior to Aleph, as per the above opinion, you have your answer.

@lewm 

well by that definition newer is always better, but life teaches us that statement is not always true, thats why we ask questions to ones who had it and can form stolid opinion.

My Bugle MC might fit the bill? 

Pass Labs are a Company that embrace Tech’ as it becomes available that will offer new sonic.

The Company will reconfigure Topology and Circuit Design to exploit design changes. The swapping of a component only is not typical for a new product range.

Pass is not adverse to Circuit Board Tweaks, NP is active in the DIY community offering advisories on such matters.

There are a few DIY Phonostage Designs on DIY Audio that are known to punch well above their weight in relation to pricing.

I have been demo’d one SS Design with a BOM of approx’ £800 where it is commission built for less than £2K hold its own next to £10K retail.

From my personal experience. I had Ortofon 2M Black and moved to Hana MH then to Hana ML. Found Ortofon having more aggressive sonic signature than Hanas being more relaxed and mellow. ML seems to be able to pull out slightly more miniscule details from recording than MH. So, maybe for progressive rock and elecronic music Hanna might be too mellow. 

I also had Mani and now enjoying QHW Vinyl, see Framer' review: 

The Pass phono stages are excellent, but you should really look at the very highly rated Channel D Lino C. Stereophile has it as an A+ component. If you are a rock fan and you like your dynamics I would stick with the Ortofon. If you want a higher level of performance look at the Soundsmith Voice. It takes a $10,000 MC cartridge to outrun it.