2. analog
  3. 125723-119

Do they make a quiet great sounding phono pre amp??

Hi, I have purchased and listened to 3 phono preamps which are: A musical surroundings phonomena, musical surroundings Nova II, and a Manley labs Chinook. The Manely labs Chinook is by far bettter sounding then the first two (double the cost too). But, All three have given me nothing but trouble (noise,noise,noise even terrible clipped signals!), and 2 of them basically failed on me. So before I go DIGITAL, can someone please tell me who makes a phono preamp in the $2,000-$3,000 range (tube or solid state) that I can rely on, and sounds as good or better than the Chinook?? Thanks.


Matt M                                             
128x128mattmiller

Showing 2 responses by regafan

regafan's avatar
regafan
56 posts
 
Graham Slee from the U.K.. His best stuff is thousands less than anything comparable. Avid, Luxman,Sutherland, and many others make good, reliable and quiet gear.
regafan's avatar
regafan
56 posts
 
If you want silent backgrounds like that of digital go solid state. Tubes have an allure, but at a cost. Many reviews are done by tube aficionados that blithely over look reduced (poor) bass and tube noise. Many of them are also in the late stages of middle age or can honestly be called old. Hearing does diminish over the years. The Manley Chinook is just one such example. I have read rave reviews about this tubed wonder. When I heard it, I heard tubes.  The ParaSound JC3+ is a better unit without tube hiss and tube cost. It will cost hundreds of dollars to retube a Chinook every few years. Especially if you go with exotic tubes.

This is not an anti-tube rant. I have heard excellent examples of tubed gear. None of it was cheap. It costs more to do it with tubes than with solid state, especially with a phono stage. 

If the original poster wants a decent phono stage that is very quiet below a 2500$ price point, solid state is probably the way to go.



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