2. amps-preamps
  3. 173341-145008

$1,500 phono upgrade worth it?

I'm having the itch to upgrade my phono stage. I currently have a Rega P6,  Ania Pro cart, and Rega Fono MC stage. I find that the stage is generally pretty noisy with a noticeable hiss. The table can't be grounded in stock configuration from Rega, so I don't think it's that. I do have a dedicated line run from my panel to the plug. I don't think it's picking up any interference. The phono is run into a Primaluna Evo 300 integrated; which is dead silent when streaming.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out, is the $1,500 figure going to make a noticeable difference? Do I even need to go that high? Given my current configuration, I can't see stepping up much higher than that. At some point I'm only going to get so much out of the ancillary components to justify going way above them with the stage.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Cheers and happy holidays!!

ecrotty

Showing 1 response by artemus_5

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artemus_5
1,992 posts
 

What I can't figure out is the noticeable hum when I turn on the stage with nothing playing

I agree with @ghdprentice. The phono pre is very important and one at 3 times the cost of the present one will be a big upgrade IMO. However, if you have a ground loop problem which I suspect is the problem, the problem will still exist with a different phono pre.

As usual, @millercarbon  has given good advice on how to go about tracking and eliminating the problem. This should be your 1st priority. Then the new phono stage

Then there is the hiss you say is present. If you have the gain set too high and have high sensitivity speakers, you are more likely to have hiss. This is a good reason to list your system so that others can help troubleshoot the problems.

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