High Value Phono Stages

Peter in the Post is not Pete Millet, but a indidual very adept at electronics where Pre's - Phon's - DACs are concerned. 

Peter and two others at this group assessment have produced Pete Millet design Phon's. 

I have no issues with reports from this Group, and the most trusted person I know where Valves are concerned was present, with immaculate condition Valve to loan for the occasion, such Valve types really do create something very special.

The only downside is I missed this meet up.

Yes, I do believe Pete Millet's circuit has been published and is in the public domain.  Some guys on this side of the pond have also built it.  I have never heard an LR RiAA filter, but I do have experience with LCR RIAA filters, and I find them to be a bit superior to the conventional CR filter, for MM or high output cartridges. But that is a dangerous generalization unless one has heard a very wide variety of examples of each, and I have not.

The same individuals who have attended the Phon' demi', have also built both Pass and Millet - Korg B1 or Korg Pre's.

A Pass Model using very high quality components, was a Pre' that won through at a Pre Amp' Bake off, where models in the line up, were between £1500 - £8K (from recollection). Not bad for a £300ish build. The intent on the day was to select a Pre' for a system where the £8K was not classed as a constraint to a purchase. 

I also have a loan in my possession of a Balanced version of a Korg B1. This is being compared to Pre' designs that are turning up when I host a group meet up.

I really like how one pre' creates a soundstage that is so deep the horizon line is not discernible, another will add a few puffs into the Soundstage and create the perception of a more voluminous expanse, another will get you to the edge of the seat and have one picking out every detail. Where the Pre' really wins is showing how a certain design of Power Amp' can present the received signal from the Pre's and really allow them to be recognisable for their sonic influences. O would say today resulting from my experiences, every system deserves a second Pre' Option, especially a model that is quite a different impact on a Soundstage, not so much on the End Sound.

Speaker effiiency, impedance characteristics, crossover component quality, type of driver being used (electromagnetic vs electrostatic vs ribbon, etc), number of drivers, etc, together determine what amplifier is best.  Then I work backwards from the amplifier to upstream components. One can use all the profundities that the English language provides about an amplifier or any other electronic component, and those won’t paint a picture I can believe in until I hear it for myself in the context of the system and room that served as the reference for the flowery language.

Isn't the Korg B1 an electronic keyboard (piano)?

Each of us is bound to not having experiences by the shackles of avoidance we have attached to ourselves, or otherwise 'contempt prior to investigation'.

Even when the Tree falls in the wood, the noise is generally not heard my nearly everybody, but nearly everybody will strongly suggest there was a noise.

It is OK to believe, especially when somebody shares their experiences had, what is the realistic evaluation is that for another to equally mimic it, is quite unlikely.