What's A Good Upgrade From A Manley Steelhead?

@mulveling Great information, thanks. I guess the Steelhead retrieves detail sufficiently, does most things very well, but doesn't imbue the sound with the typical midrange bloom and presence that I expect from tube gear. It's a little bit solid-state sounding, as others have alluded to here and elsewhere. @whart above describes it as 'a slight electronic glaze', which I think is a fair assessment, with emphasis on 'slight'. It hasn't responded particularly well to tube-rolling, the tubes I've tried haven't really tilted it away from neutrality to something with a bit more bloom.

With this in mind, I've been reluctant to try an ARC phono as my experience with their preamps and power amps over the years has left me with the impression that their gear is voiced a little on the lean side, a little neutral perhaps. Maybe I need to reassess. 

Cheers

Rooze

Dear @ghdprentice : " my rule is double the cost or it is likely a sideways step. "

Well, it looks as you really don’t read yet the link of the PS Audio Stellar phono stage that comes with a  low price tag of 2.5k and using Ortofon Diamond and Lyra Atlas, SAT tonearm, Continnum TT , Mr. Fremer compares it to over 20 times price tag with phono stages like Dartzeel and the same CH that drbond own which who you agree, go figure.

Fremer " insert " the Stellar in a cost no object room/system and performed at that levels. Of course that if you " insert " the Stellar in a mid-fi system it does not converts the system in a cost no object.

Your rule? fine with me.

R.

@ghdprentice Thanks for the info on the ARC phonostages. As I mentioned in a post from a few moments ago, I've had a long-standing impression that ARC gear is voiced to be very neutral, not at all tubey in any sense. In that way, it's similar to the Steelhead, which also sounds more neutral than other tube'd phonostages I've heard. I'm looking for a little more bloom, more substance - meat on the bones etc, without any loss of detail or dynamics. Given this, do you still think it's worthwhile checking out ARC? 

@rooze 

While you might not realize it, the Steelehad is definitely "tubey" in sound, compared a neutral.  I had a Steelhead for 15 years, and really enjoyed it.  It's a great phono stage.  As you mention, perhaps, you should tube roll:  the 5687 and the 6922 both make a sonic difference.  But you'll probably need to spend $1,000 in 6922 to get a real improvement (early 1960's Siemens CCa tubes).  The currrent based phono stages are much more neutral and precise sonically, so don't go that route if you're looking for more bloom.  Regardless, enjoy your listening.  

@rauliruegas I agree, I'm also skeptical of the 2x rule (which isn't a rule, I guess...it's just a loose guideline). The 2x doesn't really take into account the used marketplaces and how different gear retains its value over time, nor how equipment is sold in the first instance, i.e factory direct or through an importer-distributor-dealer model. Nor does it take into account the rare occasion when a low-cost item appears to knock the spots off gear costing way, way more - perhaps as with the PS Audio Stellar Phono that you kindly linked to.

I just read Mr. Fremer's review of the PS Audio kit that you posted. It reminded me a little of reviews I've read of the iFi iPhono3 Black Label, which I tinkered with a year or so ago and wrote about on my blog. That's a fantastic little box that punches way beyond its price of a measly $1000 or so.

It boils down to how much extra we're willing to pay for that last couple percent of performance. Some of Fremer's comments about the PS Audio kit suggested it might lack a little low-end oomph and authority. That could be enough for some folks to pony up the extra cash for something 3 or 4 times more expensive, or even more.

I don't have any answers here, other than cite the well-worn idiom: to each his own.

Thanks for posting the link to the review.

Cheers