High Value Phono Stages

The third arm in my collection of four arms is a 10.5" Audiomods Series Six Evolution arm that is terminated with a DIN plug and uses a Wireworld Micro Silver Eclipse 10 tonearm cable. I have a Benz Micro Glider H2 onit, and it feeds my onboard phono stage of the Trinov preamp. 

What I have discovered is that I am not a fan of meh level analog playback. I would sooner listen to my digital rig. Not that this combo sounded bad, it just was not special. 

So I wanted a high value phono stage. After a bit of reading back and forth on this thread, an opportunity presented itself. A fellow was selling a DIY phono stage based on Pete Millet boards and it uses inductors in the signal path, and has a robust power supply, quality resistors, and good internal cabling. I thought why not? Let us see what happens. 

I have it in the system for 3 days now, powered on 24/7. I have to say it exceeds my expectations, and is beautifully expressive, transparent, layered, and tonally balanced. There really is nothing to complain about sound wise. 

The one drawback is its got 45 and 55 dB of gain and 47K load, so its not meant for LOMC as it sits. I will need a head amp or SUT, and I am not fond of the clutter and extra boxes. But it is what it is. The sound is very enjoyable, and it is worth investing in. It deserves better than a Glider. 

55db should be enough for MC's in the 0.5mv range. Just comes back to how quiet the phono is.

@neonknight The power socket on the pmillet should have an insulation boot on it.

A bit of info recently passed to me by a group of which a few have moved on from Millet Design Phon's.

I am using a case  and other bits   plus valves I already had so total cost to me was £166 fully populated boards. The full kit (£479 kit or £849 assembled) has volume control selector switch ( line level non amplified plus phono) and a nice case with protruding valves.

https://the-ear.net/review-hardware/zinamp-phono-stage-vinyl-and-valves/

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I really enjoyed your phono stage Peter - a real giant killer. My preference was for the middle variant with your M1837's David. I thought that the final selection of valves with the Brimar was just a bit over the top dynamically for me.

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Peter’s phono was very impressive and one wonders why commercial phone stages cost so much. Maybe it’s to do with the bling factor, with the physical visual impression being an over riding factor against the modest “hidden away” look of the DIY box.  Certainly, the sound was extremely good.
David’s skill and judgment as an exert Tube-Roller came into the fore and the change in Tubes certainly displayed a change in sound - not necessarily better, but certainly different.  

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I thought that Peter's very modestly priced D.I.Y. phono stage served up an excellent performance on the day. In fact, I'm confident that any listener would be hard pressed to find fault with the presentation which was both detailed and organic. The bass in particular was a standout for me being surprisingly 'meaty' and articulate

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The MoFi MasterPhono is worth checking out. I also have an OL Agile which is a great tonearm.