I have had 4 different phono stages in my system over the past 6 months, so I have done a lot of side by side comparisons. Here is my list:
Clearaudio Smart V2, very nice budget level unit. Very well made, excellent sound stage and imaging, but not overly detailed; $700.
Gold Note PH10, nice case work, very fancy with a lot of 'gadgetry', but definitely quirky due to the internal microprocessor/relays which operate the settings and I found it to be very noisy with a lot of ground loop issues. The mid range is excellent, but lacks in the sound stage/imaging department and not terribly dynamic bass. But its a decent unit at around $1600.
Musical Surroundings Nova III with the optional Linear Power Supply. I was not overly impressed with the very basic zip cord power line from the LPS with the cheap low voltage barrel plug on the end for the main power source. Plus the LPS only weighed in at a pound or less, so what in the world is the main transformer? The performance on the low end is huge, lots of powerful bass and the upper end has a very expansive soundstage/imaging thing going on, a lot of this may be due to the 100K impedance offering which works well with my MM AT20ss cartridge. But the mids were not as pronounced as I would like to have heard. Cost with the LPS is around $2150.
Now using a Whest Three Signature Edition. Build quality is superb; excellent circuit board layout, top of the line components and I understand that they use Clarity Capacitors which are top notch. It only comes with an external high voltage dual mono power supply which is like a chunk of cement, it must weigh 5 pounds (it has a massive toroid multi-tapped transformer). The main power lines from the power supply to the preamp are a high end pair of 5 conductor XLR cables, one for each mono channel in the preamp. This unit is a dual mono phono stage.
Performance is mind blowing; best bass I have heard yet. It's not only dynamic and very powerful, it's extremely detailed and resolving. The same with the upper end with amazing spaciousness and imaging. But the best part of the Whest is the mids! It has the mids which the others I used don't. This thing makes me want to pony up the dough to get one of their super units at the mega buck level.....
For MM, there is only a 47K impedance setting and no capacitance loading changes available, however Whest told me that they 'trim' the input at 91pf and use no output capacitors. I was told there is no need to offer any other settings, only that I should make adjustments via very low capacitance phono cables which I plan on trying. There are multiple gain setting from 43db up to 72db. I am using 46db. Based on what I hear in my system, I have to agree that nothing needs to be played with.
Cost for the preamp with power supply $4K.
As good as the others are, I think you do end up getting what you pay for; that is a very good barometer.
Clearaudio Smart V2, very nice budget level unit. Very well made, excellent sound stage and imaging, but not overly detailed; $700.
Gold Note PH10, nice case work, very fancy with a lot of 'gadgetry', but definitely quirky due to the internal microprocessor/relays which operate the settings and I found it to be very noisy with a lot of ground loop issues. The mid range is excellent, but lacks in the sound stage/imaging department and not terribly dynamic bass. But its a decent unit at around $1600.
Musical Surroundings Nova III with the optional Linear Power Supply. I was not overly impressed with the very basic zip cord power line from the LPS with the cheap low voltage barrel plug on the end for the main power source. Plus the LPS only weighed in at a pound or less, so what in the world is the main transformer? The performance on the low end is huge, lots of powerful bass and the upper end has a very expansive soundstage/imaging thing going on, a lot of this may be due to the 100K impedance offering which works well with my MM AT20ss cartridge. But the mids were not as pronounced as I would like to have heard. Cost with the LPS is around $2150.
Now using a Whest Three Signature Edition. Build quality is superb; excellent circuit board layout, top of the line components and I understand that they use Clarity Capacitors which are top notch. It only comes with an external high voltage dual mono power supply which is like a chunk of cement, it must weigh 5 pounds (it has a massive toroid multi-tapped transformer). The main power lines from the power supply to the preamp are a high end pair of 5 conductor XLR cables, one for each mono channel in the preamp. This unit is a dual mono phono stage.
Performance is mind blowing; best bass I have heard yet. It's not only dynamic and very powerful, it's extremely detailed and resolving. The same with the upper end with amazing spaciousness and imaging. But the best part of the Whest is the mids! It has the mids which the others I used don't. This thing makes me want to pony up the dough to get one of their super units at the mega buck level.....
For MM, there is only a 47K impedance setting and no capacitance loading changes available, however Whest told me that they 'trim' the input at 91pf and use no output capacitors. I was told there is no need to offer any other settings, only that I should make adjustments via very low capacitance phono cables which I plan on trying. There are multiple gain setting from 43db up to 72db. I am using 46db. Based on what I hear in my system, I have to agree that nothing needs to be played with.
Cost for the preamp with power supply $4K.
As good as the others are, I think you do end up getting what you pay for; that is a very good barometer.