2. analog
  3. 1427225590

Aesthetix vs. Allnic vs. ARC ph7

Hi
I currently use a BMC MCCI mc only phonostage. Looking for a mc/mm unit with a budget of around $3k new or used.
Table is a restored Garrard 301 with Ortofon rs-309d arm/Ortofon silver meister cart + Fidelity Research fr24 arm/Lyra Delos cart.
The names which I have currrently :
Aesthetix Rhea
Allnic 1201
Audio Research PH7

Anyone comapred directly all or two of them and can comment ?
Any other name that I should consider ?
Thanks in advance to all repliers.
icorem

Showing 4 responses by analogluvr

analogluvr
859 posts
 
You should definitely consider the Herron. I AB'd it against the aesthetix rhea signature and it was no contest. The Herron was far more open and natural sounding.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
Sbrown not really a fair comparison, the IO is a lot more money. Which Herron did you compare the rhea to? The op should also know that you could spend the cost of a used car just retubing a rhea with good nos tubes. They are known to be noisy and hard on tubes.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
Sbrown just to clarify the rhea I AB'd against the Herron had a premium Jim mcshane tubeset in it. The Herron had telefunkens in it. 3 of us present all preferred the Herron. I'm a little baffled with your experience as it is so different than ours. Was yours the latest Herron? Did it have good tubes in it?
analogluvr
859 posts
 
This guy hand selects low noise tubes for the various positions. I forget which ones as I had just borrowed the unit for a week.
More to discover