Audio Research produced the first phono stage i found satisfying… ARC PH2. I then upgraded to,Ph2SE, 3, 3SE, then PH8 (holy cow.. what an incredible Phono stage), now Refernce 3. This is ARC’s thing… phono stages and preamps.
looking for separate tube phono stage for use with VAC Avatar SE integrated amp
Yes, the VAC Avatar SE integrated amp has a great phono stage built in. I know this because I'm using it to swap between a Miyajima Zero Mono cartridge and a Hana ML stereo cartridge. But now I want to add a separate tonearm.
System:
- Above mentioned VAC Avatar SE integrated amp - upgraded and has a pre-out.
- Slagle SUT.
- Garrard 401.
- Schick 12" tonearm with graphite removable head shells.
- Currently swapping between Miyajima Zero Mono and Hana ML stereo.
- Klipsch Forte III speakers.
- Morrow cables.
- Room: 12' x 11' 10' High office.
I'm experiencing crosstalk and finding out that "swappable" is not so swappable as I'm needing to reset things when I switch between cartridges. The idea is to get two tonearms and dedicate one to mono and one to stereo and just set it and forget it. Then I would only have to switch between phono and line on the integrated amp.
And now the question:
What would be a good tube phono stage for the above set up, and would it plug directly into one of the line in RCA inputs? I also have tap in/out, CD and pre-out available.
Thanks All in advance!