In search of : Phono Stage to replace Rhea

My friend upgraded from the Rhea to the ASR Basis Exclusive. It is an utterly dead silent design, (probably partially due to its use of rechargable batteries, which recharge automatically when the unit is not in operation). It is very musical and it is made for balanced inputs, (in fact two of them, in case you happen to run more than one table/tonearm/cartridge). It has plenty of variable gain, and fully adjustable loading, (for both inputs). FYI, I have two other friends who also use the ASR Basis Exclusive.

If I were to upgrade from my Ayre K-1xe, (which I too run in balanced mode), I would probably go for the ASR Basis Exclusive, (mated with a ARC Ref. 3 line stage). A true reference phono stage, IMHO.

FYI, there are two models of this unit. A regular unit, (with the blue boards), which came out in 2006 and an upgraded unit, which came out last year. (All of my friends have upgraded to the 2010 unit, and say that it is slightly better than the 2006 unit.) Bought used, the 2006 unit is well within your budget, ($3-4K), and the 2010 unit is just barely within your budget, ($5K).

My two cents worth.

I have the 2006 model and am quite happy with it. Another to consider is the Audia Flight. I use its matching pre with the ASR.

I haven't owned a Rhea, but have heard one in my system. It"s a nice phone stage sound wise. At the time I had a BAT VKP10SE with Super Pak. Another nice phono stage. I ended up keeping the BAT. For the money used, this is a great phono stage, hits everything right, is very very quiet, fully balanced (best is to use XLR terminated phono interconnects from your table).

I have not heard the Pass phono stages, they get great reviews, you might should check these out. Ditto the Allnic. I have a friend who went from a Io Eclipse to the Allinic and never looked back.

I'm running a Lyra Skala with a Nagra VPS/VFS. It's a lovely combo, more transparent and just right sounding. Wonderful sound staging and dimensionally beautiful. If you want to stay with a tube phono, that's quiet, you should check this out with your Lyra...It's not balanced. Does have xlr outs for convenience. I will say I was a all balanced guy until I heard the Nagra VPS in my all BAT/all balanced setup. The Nagra new is just over your budget..used will be a bit below...

Lot's of choices here. I bet it's a tough call !

Thanks to each of you for your input. There is a lot of information to digest in this quest. I just talked to my dealer and I'm going to demo the X-15. Jfrech, that make the most sense, since I'm running a Pass amp/pre. The ASR is very interesting and the reviews are excellent. Too bad I can't get hooked up on a demo for one of those. We'll see how the XP-15 goes ........ Thanks again!

The best phono stage I have ever heard was the Coincident Technology Phono Stage. It lists at $5,500, but can also be used as a line stage for another input. The power supply alone weighs in at 41 lbs and is obviously in its own chassis. Whether one has has an MM, MC, or MI cartridge, this unit perfrorms flawlessly (or as close to flawless as humanly possible).

Some people love the new Audio Research phono stage, but I think the Coincident is better, particularly since the Coincident model is a little less than half the price.

Greg