Phono Preamp price range $2000-$4000


I want to buy new Phono preamp for Shelter 9000 cart, the sound i want very neutral and high resolution and balanced, also synergic with Krell gear.

JC3 have good reviews but some complaint its noisy, Sutherland Duo look very promising but no reviews, Pass lab XP-15 sound good choice.

I appreciate any comments or thoughts about these models particularly Duo. Also some suggestion for other phonos, most reliable and popular, also sonically impressive.

Cheers.

Thank you.
knight7m

Showing 3 responses by roscoeiii

I'd take a look at the Manley Chinook. Sounded great in comparison to my Musical Fidelity kW, which I still ended up preferring, but more a matter of flavors than better/worse.
Solid state? Look into something by Avid, or a Musical Fidelity kW if you can track one of those down.
Tubes v. solid state will come down to personal preference and system synergy.

Especially with LOMC carts, you will want to be attentive to a tube phono stage's noise floor. But many tube phonos are nice and quiet (the Chinook for example). I agree that for a phono stage tube life will not be a real concern, due to the signal sizes involved.

Most of the solid stage vs. tube trade-offs apply for phono stages. But there is also the caveat that some tube gear can sound quite similar to solid state and vice versa.

Happy hunting.