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Trafomatic Audio Luna LCR phonostage

These days I am looking into tube phono stages a lot. Especially phonostages which are within $5-6k and that can serve in a serious high end system. While I know that solid state phonostages have traditionally been known for their low noise and high dynamic presentation, I still believe that harmonics that tubes preserve (and SS throw away) can be a great asset to the end result i.e music. And if well designed tubes can do low noise and high dynamic range too.

I know that an all-tube 70db phono gain is a steep challenge and while there are manufacturers who have attempted it (e.g Aesthetix, NVO), the response from the users have been mixed. I am more for the conventional approach of using a top quality tube MM stage with a top quality SUT (matched to the cartridge) or FET stage. In this realm there are not many serious options in the $5k range if I look around. The few that I have looked at are:

Allnic H1500 II SE
Luxman EQ-500
EAR 88PB
Herron VTPH-2 
Leben RS-30EQ

Then there are some full function tube preamps which do have very competitive in-built phonostages like the Shindo Masseto, Manley Steelhead, CAT Ultimate etc.

Here is another one that looks like very good contender for a top quality tube phonostage in this budget:
http://www.trafomaticaudio.com/products/luna/

An LCR design using an all-out tube design with interstage transformers and output transformers, so absolutely no capacitor in the path. MC stage is handled by Lundahl 1941 amorphous cobalt core SUTs. This looks like a no compromise assault for this price category. I have not yet heard it but whenever I have heard Trafomatic products I have always come back with a smile. They have been consistently balanced and musical without any typical voicing artifacts. They never sounded like a product that has been hastily put together or built out of a garage. For a tube amp I have never heard them having any hum or noise issues. In fact I have always found his amps to have a very matured sound. In that regards this is a phono stage I am excited about. If anyone gets an opportunity to hear them, do share your thoughts here.
pani

Showing 4 responses by pani

pani OP
1,214 posts
 
I agree that OTL amps are amazing if properly matched to the speakers. I am not sure what happens in the case of preamp though since most preamps are at the least capacitor coupled. 
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Dear Lewm, like you I too fail to understand why transformers (which involve Kms of wires) would be useful in the signal path however some of the best preamps and power amps I have heard are transformer coupled so I am ready accept that I don't know much. For instance the Wavac PR-Z1 is my reference for tube preamps and it is transformer coupled input to output. Similarly for solid state amplification the First Watt F6 is one of my reference and it too is transformer coupled input to output. I also like the top Audio Note preamps which are again transformer coupled. So I seem to have ample evidence that transformers has a case for itself when done right. 
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Lewm, loading a phono cartridge is a phenomena that is primarily for active MC stages. All this HF ringing and damping comes into picture when an active circuitry is amplifying the MC signal. It is more or less a band-aid in that context. When it comes to SUT, the primary job of an SUT is not exactly loading the cartridge but to convert the low-voltage-high-current cartridge signal into high-voltage-low-current one and feed the following MM stage with sufficient voltage gain to work on. In this process there is some loading due to the turns ratio in the SUT. But this is a much more of a natural thing which is not a band-aid. SUT matching is critical form the point of view of providing the right amount of voltage gain, not so much the loading aspect. That is also the reason cartridges behave very differently when "loaded" via resistors vs an SUT. So your concern about experimentation with loading while using SUT may not be that significant a concern actually. It will most probably just fall into place if the SUT is chosen to match the cartridge output to the requirements of the MM stage.

Regarding the Herron phonostage, I have heard it. It is nice for its asking price of $3.5k but I would not pay much more than that for it. I would not go into the details of how it sounded etc, it will probably drift the thread into a different discussion.

For the record, I do not have any DIY exposure into building equipments so I per se do not know how an interstage transformer would sound but I have noted that the best tube equipments are either pure OTL or loaded with high quality Iron wherever suitable. Trafomatic Audio uses all their transformers and chokes made by the designer (Sasa Cokic) himself. He is actually known to be a transformer Guru in the Europe. Whether his transformers are better than Slagle or not I cannot comment but whenever I have heard his amps I have always felt I am listening to a very good product.
pani OP
1,214 posts
 
Lewm, there are also phono stages like the 47 Labs phonocube which does not load the cart at all. I guess when we change the playing field in terms of coupling the cart to the phono, "loading" behaves differently.
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