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Tube Phono-Stage question.

I recently purchased a REGA P5 TT and had a Benz-Micro Glider installed. I have been using a NAD PP2 phono stage with the rest of my gear. I paid about $129 dollars for this phono-stage and was happy with its performance for the price. However, I recently visited my local dealer and he gave me a brand new and unused Pro-Ject Tube Box II to demo. I instantly liked the sound of the tubes! The sound-stage was much larger and wider! Although, after switching back to the NAD I noticed that the bass from the NAD was much more clear than the tube phono stage. I know absolutely nothing about tubes. My question is if the tubes sound will improve over time? Will the bass become more clear and tight over time? Everything else sounds great, but the bass just sounds a wee bit mushy. Given the difference in price I am not sure it is worth the additional investment. The Tube Box II retails for $450 dollars! I want to improve my sound, but am not sure what to do at the moment! I don't really want to spend for than $500 dollars. Thanks for any information or recommendations!

Speakers: Wilson Sophia's Series 1
Amp: Mark Levinson 331
Pre-Amp: Ayre Acoustics K1XE
TT: REGA P5
Cartridge: Benz-Micro Glider
Phono Stage: NAD PP2 (Looking to upgrade)
Current Demo: Pro-Ject Tube Box II (Have been using for about 3 days now)
rick_hilton

Showing 1 response by undertow

undertow
1,033 posts
 
Well was going to chime in earlier but figured why, since you said you would rather NOT pay 500 for something, however now you are saying you have 500 to play with…. Anyway you want the best Tube based unit at 500 or 2000 on the market right now with all the adjustments of a good MC and MM stage with extra power (gain), Look up the Jolida JD-9a it’s a newer unit and only been around for a short period of time, but you will find a bunch of reviews… Mine after modifications seen in link below has not been matched by anything I have heard or played with up to 5000, which even in bone stock form is not a slouch of a unit.

check out mine and look it up on google and your basic audio review sites including 6moons and several others for more info and good positive feedback on the unit, they come up rare used and normally used go for about only 50 to 100 bucks less than new which is only 449.00, I have the newer version and of course it is tweaked out. But to also answer your question the phono stage will have a large impact on your analog experience, and I have not found any Solid state units yet that were totally dimensional with good bass impact as a good tube unit, as a matter of fact most tube units I have used have far greater bass load and punch. This one happens to be of a rarer breed its a Hybrid so you could say you get the best of both worlds.

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=62730.msg567889#msg567889

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