The Moon River 505 or
I own the MR 505 and it sounds wonderful! A definite cut above the Luxman EQ-500 that I also owned. Haven't heard the newest Luxman though, but it has received very favorable reviews.
Developing A Short List For A Phono Stage
Current phono stages are a Esoteric E-03 that has a Transfiguration Audio Proteus and Kiseki Blackheart Gen 1 going into it. Second phono stage is a deluxe Pete Millet with a HO Benz Micro Glider going into it.
I have a Denon DP75 and DP80 getting ready to be used. One cartridge is a Sumiko Blackbird Lo, the second one is not picket out yet, but will be a LOMC most likely.
My preamp has only one set of XLR inputs available now.
So the phono stage should have 2 inputs, and XLR outputs.
I do not mind shopping the used market. I need a quality phono stage, but does not need to be a flagship model, as these two tables are nice but not my reference ones. Well the DP80 could be one once done, so maybe I rebalance the system after that.
Have any candidates that meet these parameters?
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I went the SUT solution, Fidelity Research FRT-4, not only 3 inputs, front selectable, also PASS for MM, and 4 impedance/transformer settings. Captive RCA out, not XLR. Zero Noise. 3/10/30/100 ohms face designations (i.e. the coil's impedance) resultant impedances: 37/110/141/423 Respective X Factors (signal gain): 35.84x/20.68x/18.27x/10.55x.
https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11318 Entre has a similar more modern SUT with 3 inputs. ET 100. Usually a few for sale on hifishark, none now oddly.
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Just to solve 'only XLR available', for a captive rca cable I have tried RCA/XLR adapters. They worked, noise free. If RCA jacks out, they make rca/xlr cables. Others can tell you more, but you lose the potential higher signal strength 'real' xlr might have, and the special grounding/protection features of XLR, which we really don't need in our residential setups with short runs. I do like that most XLR connectors lock in place. |
My Scheu Analog motor pod has bad a failing power switch for a couple of years, and in the last 6 months it has gone downhill rapidly. I ordered a new switch when I also ordered two new armboards from the factory. I took the switch and motor pod to a local instrument shop, to see if their tech will replace it. There are no audio service shops without driving about 30 miles or more anymore. Really, this is a 3 position switch, and nothing different than what is on a guitar or musical instrument amplifier. Should be an easy repair. What I should do is move the Scheu while the motor pod is down and hook up the Denon/Dynavector/Blackbird up to the Esoteric phono stage and see what is really possible. But the Scheu weighs 85 pounds, and has two arms installed. It is not a table you move on a whim, you must have both commitment and fortitude to do the job. But I am tempted in order to know the possibility of this combination with a high quality phono stage. When I had my previous DP75 in the VPI plinth, I used an Acos GST-801 arm and had a ZYX 4D on it. This combo was played on the Esoteric, and sounded quite nice. I had several cartridges on it over the years, Ortofon, Ikeda, Audio Technica, and Benz Micro as I recall. The Acos was a capable arm. My previous Dynavector arms were installed on the Scheu table, but never a Denon...at least till now. The Sumiko Blackbird Lo has .7 mV output...and how do they call that a low output moving coil? The Millet phono stage is set at the higher gain, but I have no loading selection. Still it sounds pretty respectable, and quite listenable. But this combo is not ideal, it is just a stop gap till I get everything else sorted out. Still there is a lot to appreciate with how it plays together. |
Maybe an "older/used" FM Acoustic or even a VAC...something like this: https://www.stereophile.com/content/vac-renaissance-signature-mkii-preamplifier
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