phono preamp for the ortofon 2m bronze

yes I saw it on parts connexion  and the price is very good. I did not know that arcam has discontinued it. but I did check on parts connexion and they have quite a few in stock . the arcam did have some good reviews and  so did the sim audio lp110 v2 . the musical surroundings is priced higher but used is  just a little higher than the sim and arcam. the only difference is the sim has is 0 pf capacitance switch and no on off switch. the project ultra 500 has discrete technology but no reviews I can find.

anybody else have any more suggestions  which is better for my purpose thanks

thanks for the help every one

I have been chasing this stuff since the early 70s and  some times you are happy and some times you are up all night thinking haha!!!!! been out of the vinyl for some time, and being my system is all finished except the vinyl portion it is just a excuse to start some were else for now. I guess it will never end .

thanks for all the help from this great forum . I decided to go with antinn  suggestion on the arcam r phono. I did a lot of reading and with all the  reviews on the arcam and at the discounted price of $299.99 from $600.00 it was a steal. I received it today and gave it a 2 hour listen this is a nice preamp for the money. it will be very tuff to beat at the price . I was using a bugle 2  that my brother and I built. it is a very nice preamp but it did not move me that much so I stayed away from my vinyl. this arcam is a little warmer sound and has more bottom end, with better define highs. the bugle 2 does has better separation and a bit on the bright side for me which I did not like.  the adjustments on the back of the arcam are also nice for future use. it is a very well made piece and also has some weight to it . it does has a rubber bottom so I install isolation pads under it which right of the bat I heard it tighten up the bottom end . I am now thinking about an upgraded  linear power supply as they are on ebay for under $100 across the pond . it would be tough to built it for that price and it just might push this little wonder of the edge. I have a bp17 cubed preamp and a 14b cubed amp. and I still do not like my volume with the phono as compared to my cd transport and tuner. I know the phono is going to be lower but my cartridge puts out 5mv which is plenty high. maybe it might be my balanced cables with on the bryston amp it runs 6 dbs lower in the balanced mode . 

I can not run the r phono at 30db, I tried it and the volume control would be at full level. at 40db my volume control is at full volume as compared to my cd player at 2/3 thirds volume.  50db gain gets distorted, the ortofon bronze should be at about 36db and I could not imagine being any lower in volume.  I can live with it at the 40db range and be very happy but it still bothers me why the big difference. I use the 120 capacitor setting which is great and any higher and things  start to get to bright. I did drop my tracking down to 1.45 grams which gave me a little clearer top end also.  have you given any thoughts about upgrading your power supply? 

I bought my 2m bronze  late 2016 - early 2017. yes I am not jumping to buy a power supply yet, but my wheels are all ways turning and I enjoy researching equipment and upgrades. I do not buy unless I do all my home work / research . in this hobby it is very easy to go in the wrong direction  fast . thanks

hi antinn I believe you have it reversed the 29db for 1v most amp gain and the 23db for 2v. the owners manual recommends which I run balanced cables is the 23db gain setting [ noise -119db]. the singled ended [rca] is 29db for 1v [noise of -115db]. I use all balanced cables and also aes/ebu digital cable.I found these sound the best for my system. I may flip my gain setting to the 29db and leave my sub woofers off and see how it sounds . I all ways new the vinyl will play at a lower volume but is should not be at 1/3 more on the volume control .thanks for checking for me I let you know how that works out. also on a side note to the linear power supply. my research came up with the r-core transformer being much better than the toroidal transformer type so it seems .

hi antinn, thanks for all the help and suggestions . it work out well at the 29 db gain setting much more control over all on all sources. my cd player is at 1/2 volume and the turntable is at 3/4 volume much better . it seems that I have more authority to my speakers [ little more punch] very happy now . I also rebalanced my subs and was able to lower the crossover point from 60 hertz to 48 hertz . my speakers roll off at 48 hertz anyway . if I further decide to build or buy a linear power supply and try it I will let you know how it works out . king regards kully