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Time for a (reasonably priced) phono preamp...

My aging Adcom pre-amp's phono stage has begun to buzz, and rather than try and fix it I'm thinking of merely adding a dedicated phono pre-amp.  I mostly spin jazz LPs – deep Blue Note collection acquired over the dark years when CDs reigned supreme – with the occasional rock and classical opera LP thrown in.  My turntable is a vintage Thorens TD160 with a  Clearaudio Concept MM cartridge accompanied by Thiel speakers of nearly 30 year vintage!  My final list for the pre-amp are: Musical Fidelity LX2, Parasound ZPhono, Clearaudio Nano V2 and Schitt Mani, which sells for less than half of all the others.  I'm curious whether the Clearaudio would match better with the cartridge I have, or whether perhaps I should just buy either the Musical Fidelity or Schitt and save my pennies for an upgraded cartridge.  Obviously the Parasound has a pedigree when it comes to making affordable high end equipment, but at $600 I would want it to be a significant upgrade from the others...   I've thought of just buying all four and testing them out, but I assume that some vinyl enthusiast more versed in the ways of high-end sound reproduction on this forum would be able to offer his or her expert guidance before I start down this long and winding road!   
pcln
10 responses Add your response
looscannon
60 posts
 
I'll put my vote in for the Parasound. They always make a high value product.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Not being in the market for a budget phono stage I have no opinion on what to get. But being a very long term user I know it can sometimes seem like its old gear when really its just old connections. I would at a minimum disconnect everything in the front end, clean with a clean cotton cloth and alcohol, and see what that does. Interconnect ends, RCA on the amp, power cords first. Then cartridge pins if its been years. Or at least pull on the clips with some tweezers to confirm they still fit nice and tight.

Hopefully you come back saying "Every contact in my whole system is cleaned every year Miller, that's not it." But if not then it was worth doing anyway as it will benefit your whole system.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
The manufacturer’s specs for your cartridge include a load capacitance recommendation of 100 pf. That is a very low number, and the capacitance of the phono cable and tonearm wiring may exceed that amount even without adding in the input capacitance of the phono stage.

So in choosing between these phono stages a factor that should be considered is their input capacitance, which should be as low as possible. If that number isn’t specified for each of the phono stages you are considering I suggest that you contact the manufacturer(s) and ask.

For a moving magnet cartridge, btw, load capacitance affects transient response and tonality in the upper treble region.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,601 posts
 
one word for you... lehmann  :)

no affiliation, just good info from personal experience

there is a black cube se right now on usam
geof3
1,122 posts
 
Yeah, I just bought a Lehmann Black Cube with the big remote power source. Awesome for the $$$. If you can find an older, gently used one, you would be right in your price range. They have the “entry” Black Cube that seems to be getting good reviews.
hagtech
163 posts
 
Cornet3 is right up your alley.  Check it out!
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,463 posts
 
I am an MF dealer and Musical Fidelity is excellent quality and a good value.  

That being said, you are missing Vincent on your list.  The PHO-8 was was phenomenal and Vincent just replaced it with a new model.

I would go with one or the other.  
pcln OP
2 posts
 
All these comments have been helpful; I've considered the Vincent, but don't quite think I have the room to accommodate the two box design.  Another phono preamp on my radar, which meet the load capacitance specs, is the Mobile Fidelity studio phono, which is made in the USA; has anyone here had good luck with this and would it be well suited to my system?  
big_greg
6,554 posts
 
If you can find a used Musical Surroundings Nova Phonomena, that's a great unit, very quiet with lots of gain and loading settings.  The Parks Puffin is also a great value and won't take up much space if that's an issue.
aberyclark
1,355 posts
 
I have a ELAC PPA-2 and it sounds fantastic. Much better build quality and sound vs the MOFI phono pre I had before it.
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