The Paradox Phono 70 Signature phono preamplifier is a sonic bargain, but has very limited adjustments. Very positive online reviews. Not sure if too powerful for your PC1 cart.
Solid State Phono Stages
I used to be an all-tube guy, but I’ve now ventured into the realm of high-end solid state with T+A and no longer have any itch to go back heavily into tubes. Now, the only tubes I have left in my system are in my Modwright PH9.0X phono, and from what I’ve demoed against it, it seems to be a giant killer. I do love it, but I’m curious to try a higher end solid state phono stage to see what more noise and more music might sound like. Unfortunately T+A does not have a standalone phono stage, so I’m looking at other manufacturers and open to other opinions.
I currently have a Clearaudio Innovation Wood table and Air Tight PC-1s cartridge. i listen to a wide range of music, from Zeppelin to Vivaldi to Beck to Coltrane to Yello. The stage would ideally have between 65-74db of gain, maybe adjustable to 60db at minimum, and have variable impedance values. A balanced output stage would be ideal. I don’t ever really plan to have a second arm, but most stages that retail over $7K tend to have multiple inputs anyways.
My budget would be at tops ~$8K for a used unit. The unit that is sticking out to me from what I’m reading about is the Simaudio Moon 810LP. Another high on the list is the Esoteric E-02. I’ve also come across the Pass XP-27, the Gold Note PH-1000.
I’m looking for a stage with some personality in its character, not one that is overly refined. I’d love for it to be dynamic and bold when it should be, and also gentle and refined when it should be.
The only solid state stages I’ve ever owned and tried were the Pass Labs Xono, which was clean sounding but a little noisy and brittle sounding compared to a PS Audio Stellar Phono. I’ve liked all my tube phono stages better than both of those units.
I’ve also considered going further up the tube stage route, looking at Doshi 3.0, Aesthetix IO Eclipse, but I’m hesitant unless I can hear those in place.
What solid stage phono stages have you loved, and what have you compared them to?
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+1 for a transimpedance stage. With a 2.5 Ω impedance your cartridge is a perfect candidate. I had Esoteric e-02, Allnic 3000, and also had the Sutherland Loco. I've also had a Channel D Lino C which was good but not as good as the others, but it has been a while and it was an earlier model so can't really compare it. The Loco is balanced in but can be used with RCA-XLR adapters or the input jacks can be changed to RCA. I’ve talked to Ron Sutherland about and he is OK with the mod if done with quality connectors by a qualified tech... it is very easy to do. But I sold it in favor of the B.M.C. MCCI Signature ULN - Balanced Moving Coil Phono Amp. At basically half the price of the Loco I preferred not only for sound but it is much more flexible in terms of gain, RIAA selection, and a few other options. It does require XLR in so quality adapters would be needed unless you change your cable.
http://bmc-audio.com/index.php/bmc-phono-mcci-30.html
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Ron Sutherland is a great guy, and all he does is design phono stages. I would challenge the thought of having a long cord between the phono stage and the preamp though. You want cables to be as short as possible. If you don't need balanced/XLR, that opens other options for you like the Sutherland DUO. Plus you'll save a nice chunk of change. Also, van den Hul should be on your list. |
- 172 posts total