Hovland HP-100 phono vs Audio Research REF Phono 2

The Ref Phono Two goes back to the dealer in the morning and I will miss it big time! It's a very impressive piece of gear in my view. I've owned the Hovland HP-100 for almost six years and it is a fine piece of gear too, but I don't think that it is quite up in the same class overall as the Ref Two. The Ref Two seems so much more powerful and three dimensional; it injected several more layers of depth in the sound field and painted a larger and more defined picture of the players, the instruments, and the entire sound stage. The outlines of instruments like guitars and pianos just seemed more real, better defined in all dimensions and just more in the room. Bass on the Ref Two is stronger, more powerful; it can grunt!

Perhaps only on the top did the Hovland compete; I think that the Hovland is a tab bit more 'beautiful' on top, a little less detailed and less analytical, a bit softer and sweeter to my ear.

I would still like to audition the VTL 6.5 and the Joule Electra PS-4 Marianne Electra Memorial All Tube Phono Stage; perhaps one of them can unseat the Ref Two, but for now I have my doubts.

If you have other top performers that I should put on my audition short list, please tell me what they are!

Stickman,

I am a little bit confused about the comparison. Are you comparing the stand-alone Ref. 2 phonostage (feeding what linestage?) to the built-in phonostage of the Hovland? Are you looking for recommendations for just a phonostage or for a combination of phonostage and a linestage? Do you like the Hovland as a linestage (i.e., when used with a CD player or other line level source).

I am less familiar with the HP-100 than with the HP-200. A friend's HP-200 sounded dramatically better when the tubes in the phono section were replaced with NOS 12AX7s (Amperex Bugle Boys). The sound became much more dynamic and the soundstage expanded. Before you consider replacing the HP-100, you should experiment with alternative tubes.

I'd try and audition the TRON Seven phono stage from Jeff at Highwater Sound, NYC. Top class phono stage by boutique top class British designer, Graham Tricker. Here's a review on 6moons.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/tron2/seven.html

Graham builds them himself to order (no outsourcing to China). As a result, you can have a bespoke one built with upgrades and matching to your cart.

Best wishes,

Charlie

I am running the Ref Phono Two into the Hovland line stage (my Hovland has had the gain cut down to 6db on the line stage. I used the 'tape monitor' input on the Hovland because it is direct and by passes the selector switch on the Hovland. The results were outstanding! I was very impressed with the Audio Research Ref Two Phono; most of all it added a large dose of authority to the sound; more like an amplifier upgrade than a change in phono stage. All the other improvements were there too: more depth, more detail, bigger sound, more grunt and power in the mid-bass and down, better attack, and better longer decay.

I've tried some NOS Mullards for Hovland in the Linestage and Phono stage (purchased from Upscale Audio)... I was disappointed because they quickly became too noisy. Last time I re-tubed I purchased all the tubes directly from Hovland.