2. analog
  3. 1198867713

which would you replace first?

My father is looking to improove his Vinyl set-up which consists of Soutmaster (STOCK) a Benz MC cart (the $600 model...red "ACE"?) and a Musical Surroundings Phonomena stage with Kimber Hero cables. Between the stage and cart what would give most bang for the buck in the $1500 price range if we only want to replce 1 of the 2 at this time. Thanks as always...............HAPPY NEW YEAR
chadnliz

Showing 1 response by mingles

mingles
791 posts
 
I highly recommend a new phono stage. I had a Phonomena mated to a Denon DL-103R for about 6 months. The Phonomena was decent, but lacking in many important ways. I didn't realize this until I picked up a Wright WPP100c. That's when I discovered how magical a phono preamp could be. The comparison was like night and day. The Phonomena was politely quiet, but painfully two dimensional and lacked an ability to place music in space. The Wright was spacious and deep. Every time I swapped it back in, I was blown away by the sound stage. It was so much more three dimensional and realistic. The Phonomena was holding back my cartridge, and hence my whole analog system. If I were in your shoes, I'd look for an EAR 834P or any model of George Wright's phono stages.

There are some excellent recommendations in these forums:
Phono amp recommendations
best sub 1k phono stage?
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