Phono Preamp Recommendation


I recently sold my ARC SP-16 and went to an LS-26 linestage. One goal of the upgrade was to improve my vinyl playback which was then suffering in comparison to my Esoteric X-03SE. Now it's time to add a phonostage and I could use some suggestions. Parameters: $2-3K, leaning toward solid state (lower noise, no tubes to swap), low profile (3" high or less). I doubt I'll need gain enough for really low output moving coils nor do I need tons of loading and capacitance adjustments, though some ability to adapt to different cartridges would be nice. Right now I'm running a Dynavector 20XM (medium output coil with 1mv output) in a VPI Scout. I don't see this as my last phonostage but rather one to take me a few years down the road until I can upgrade my table/arm/cartridge in a big way. Basically, I'd like to end up with vinyl playback as good (or better) than what I'm getting on the digital side right now. If I can do this for less than $2K great but I'll go to $3K if the jump in performance is appreciable. Bottom line: performance and reliability are key, features less so. Anything you might suggest should be as good or better than my fallback which is an ARC PH-5 (I know, tubes and taller than 3"!).

Thanks for your assistance.
dodgealum

Showing 2 responses by restock

Since you have a Dynavector cartridge and prefer solidstate I would look at the Dyna P75 MKII first. A friend and I preferred the Dyna unit to the Wright using a 20XM on a Scoutmaster.

Otherwise, the Pass XOno or the Vacuumstate JLTI go in the same direction as the P75 sonically (fast, dynamic, detailed, controlled) and are worthwhile improvement over the P75MKII. I compared the JLTI in detail to the Wright and Ear units and preferred the JLTI but a huge margin. Both the EAR and Wright lack detail, nuance, and definition and only have average soundstage and instrument separation IMO.

Other interesting units are the Herron, Art Audio, and K&K tube phonostages.

Also, going to a better cartridge like the Dyna XX-2 is a huge step-up. My friend with the Scoutmaster first went from the P75 to the XOno and then from the 20XM to the XX-2 and the cartridge made a bigger difference.
The new Pass will be around $3800.

Don't be fooled by the size of some of the units. I preferred the JLTI to some much bigger units (Aesthetix Rhea, Sutherland Ph.D., EAR834, Wright WPL200CC) and it did offer a head to head race with the Pass XOno.

If you like built quality the XOno won't disappoint.