The Parasound JC3+ is an excellent phono stage that can be found on the used market for around $2,500. This could be the ultimate solution as it is very flexible.
Regards
Alessandro
Phono Stage with XLR outs
Taking another stab at vinyl after about a year break. Not going too fancy but would like a phono stage with both RCA and XLR outputs. My amp, Boulder 866, only accepts XLR. I do have a set of Cardas adapters but thinking to do it right.
Budget - under $1500 used or new.
Table - Clearaudio Concept with Hana ML moving coil cartridge.
Not trying to compete with my Meitner MA3i digital front end. Just looking for good natural presentation.
Contenders - Pro-Ject DS3 B, Black Ice Audio Fusion, McIntosh MP100
Any other candidates that I should consider?
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- 128 posts total
You have received a lot of great suggestions. I'll add one more: the SPL Phonos Duo. I have the "standard" version of this unit and I think it's the best SS phono stage I have ever used. Made in Germany by one of the best audio engineering companies in the business. Their gear is well made (bulletproof), sounds great (very true and neutral) and has a small small footprint. Highly recommended.
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audphile, Since Whest uses an add-on circuit to convert the SE output to balanced, I am not sure there would be any difference in the gain, either way. Do you think you hear a difference, in terms of gain? In any case, the added gain from the balanced outputs would be no problem. Just use the attenuator to compensate. You can't hurt anything. |
@lewm I 100% hear the difference in gain. With 65db it sounded aggressive, the instruments took on a “processed” quality and the overall presentation was way too dramatic with overdone dynamics. With more hours on both the cartridge and the Whest, the combo is shining. My only concern is - will I like the sonic characteristics of it in a long run. It’s super clean, low noise, low distortion, quiet and natural sounding but the cleanliness of it makes it sound like a good and refined digital front end. Very modern type of sound. I attribute it to the Clearaudio Concept table and the Whest. I remember using Sutherland 20/20 with Mofi UltraDeck and same cartridge gave me more of a traditional analog sound. Nevertheless I like it and have been enjoying listening to my record collection once again. I have probably under 30hrs on the cartridge snd it is still breaking in. Bass is coming around now. It’s actually mind boggling how good this combination is. Let’s see if it passes the test of time. |
- 128 posts total