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Phono Stage

I am getting near the end of my current system journey.  I have my digital (streaming) side set (for now). It sounds glorious to my old hearing aid assisted ears. And streaming is where I spend the vast majority of my listening. 
Regardless, I am now focusing on vinyl, with the recent addition of a P8. 
My analog side: Rega P8 w/ Hana ML > Rega Aria > Kimber KS1018 > BHK pre > Zavfino Fusion mk2 > Moon 330A > Transparent + > KEF Ref 3’s. If do a weak link analysis both chatGPT & Gemini say it  my phono stage.

So looking for potential replacements. As always I am very space constrained, (half wides are perfect) no tubes and looking to stay under $3,000 used. I like accuracy, clarity & cleanliness. 
My current candidates: 
Rega AOS

Gold Note PH10

Sutherland 20/20 w/LPS

Sutherland Little Loco

The Sutherland’s work because they are thin and con fit under my raised center channel speaker. The duo stack is too high  

Please let me know your thoughts and/or recommendations. Thanks!

 

signaforce
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,861 posts
 

@signaforce  should be great! Get your favorite records cleaned and ready to spin. Pretty sure you will be spending more time now listening to vinyl. Just don’t bother with the new digitally remastered stuff. Pure garbage in most cases. 

signaforce's avatar
signaforce OP
547 posts
 

Received my new PH10 today. Immediate impression was oh no… smaller and much lighter than the Aria it was replacing. Those worries were quickly set aside with the sound. It has a much blacker background, slight hiss is gone, & in its place a warm, detailed and airy sound. Excellent.
I will in fact be listening to more vinyl. Thanks!

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,861 posts
 

@signaforce

Excellent! Give it a day or so to settle from that road trip and it should sound even better!

signaforce's avatar
signaforce OP
547 posts
 

@audphile1 Thanks. 

Question for all. I have an excellent (Kimber KS1018) RCA cable I was using with my Aria. I had a decent (Zavfino Arcadia Mk2) spare XLR cable, I had planned to use with the PH10. However, I think the RCA sounds better… smoother, warmer, but still dynamic, probably due to the cable quality differences.  
So my short term plan is to use the RCA out. My question is medium or long term, should I move to XLR, perhaps with a KS1116  Thanks 


 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,861 posts
 

@signaforce 

Going with the ks1116 may improve things because it’s a better cable and PH10 offers +12db on XLR outs. That could give you better signal to noise ratio and better noise rejection. You can try your existing ks1116 if they reach from phono to pre and compare. 
Use the older Kimbers and enjoy the music for time being. when a good deal pops up on KS1116 make your move, provided you confirm that ks1116 is better. 

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