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Tube phono preamp help please.

Looking for a new tube phono preamp. Only caveats - must be silver or wood (to match components) and be $500 or so or under. Looking at Pro-ject Tube Box II SE or Consonance PM-6. Is there anything else I should look at? Please keep conditions in mind. Many thanks!

JP
jpstereo
9 responses Add your response
narrod
1,064 posts
 
Check out the Jolida tube model.
jpstereo OP
53 posts
 
By the way, I am using a Technics SL-1200 MKII with Ortofon 2M Red cartridge!
mingles
791 posts
 
Bottlehead Seduction with 36 dB gain is very well regarded in the $500 or less range. Your Ortofon 2M Red with 5.5 mV output will match with it fine.

Check the forums: Bottlehead Seduction Phono Stage question
stick70
64 posts
 
I second the Jolida. Cool part with tubes is you can roll them to (in some cases) achieve better sonics. Also Rogue is another to look into. Very close to the Jolida. Bellari VP 129 is another lower cost option. For slightly more you can pick up a used ARC PH3.
grinnell
1,073 posts
 
I have a Pro-ject Tube Box SE and i upgraded to it from a Zphono. Good move love the sound but at 4x the price with about 2-3 times the sound improvement.
sns
3,003 posts
 
I'd pick the Tube Box over the Jolida, warmer and more musical in my setup. The Bellari is also a contender at a much lower price.
bdgregory
1,708 posts
 
I agree with the Jolida JD9a. I bought mine from the ebay seller below - it was shipped to me directly from Jolida. I haven't tried the Pro-ject, but did have the Bellari (don't recommend it), and other phono stages. I'm very happy with my Jolida.

Jolida JD9A
bobgates
535 posts
 
I've owned both the Jolida and the Pro-ject. I personally liked the Pro-ject the best.
ihcho's avatar
ihcho
609 posts
 
My Yaqin MS-12B outperforms Bellari.
With tubes changed to Telefunken 12AX7 and RCA 12AU7, it sounds even better. With new tubes, it would be around $400. Yes, it is silver.
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