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Looking for phono stage recommendations

I have recently ordered a Sota Cosmos, with a Tri-Planar VII arm and a ZYX Airy 3 cartridge. A friend of mine is interested in my Pass Labs Aleph Ono phono, so that leaves me with nothing (thanks a lot Paul)to use for my new frontend.

Several friends have made recommendations. The Pass Labs X-ono, the Manley Steelhead, ZYX phonostage, and a Supratek(?) have been recommended. The Zanden and Boulder are out of my price range, so don't bother...

Are there any other phonostages that I should consider. I don't have a preference of Solid State vs Tube.

I have used and/or heard the Krell KPA and KPE already and they're not really in the running. Not that there's anything wrong with them, they are very good, I'm just looking for something better.

I want something quiet that will work for low output cartidges.

HEEEEELP!
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Showing 2 responses by dan_ed

dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Second on the Rhea. Very flexible. I really don't hear much tube noise from mine at all and I tend to listen at around 90 dB most of the time. Another I would throw out for consideration is the BAT VK-P10, great sound and lots of options for tube rolling and about the same price as the Rhea. I had an 834P and it really is a great performer for the money, especially after having it fully modified, but I'm not sure how good the internal step-ups are for handling low output MCs. You could always run it in MM with a quality step-up externally.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Speedy has a good point about tubes and heat. I think you would be fine with a seperate tube phono as these don't seem to put out much heat at all, at least the ones I'm familiar with. Now preamps are a whole different ball game. That is where the heat really comes from, forgetting about amps for the moment. Even my CDP with tubed output stage cranks some BTUs. I'm forced to run the AC constantly this time of year even with things in the standby mode as I get about a 5 degree rise in temps after about 1 hour of listening. Still, the touch of tubes in the front can be magical.

The biggest heater I have encountered has been a SS amp that went out of bias. Took me a while to track that one down but I kept wondering why the room was soo warm in the middle of a New England winter. Didn't even have to turn on the heating zone to that room as the temps would hover around 78. I had to open the sliding door for twenty minutes at a time to get breathable air back into the room.

Back OT, I do seem to recall that as far as noise goes the EAR was much noisier than the Rhea. I'm sure tube selection will affect this. The guy I bought the Rhea from was looking to try a Steelhead and I admit a strong desire to hear one as well.

You're making alot of changes in the analog chain at the same time. I did that a while back. Talk about a rush the first time I cranked it all up! On the other hand I did miss experiencing what each new component brought to the sound. A small price to pay for a good case of goose bumps. Have fun!
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