I recently purchased the matching phono preamp PPA-2. The styling is a little utilitarian, but it is a phono preamp after all. The performance and sound quality is excellent so far. Sound quality is what I was after, so the styling of the casework was not a big deal. It's a phono preamp after all, not the centerpiece of the system. For a system centerpiece, I'm not so sure. The circuit topology for the PPA-2 phono preamp, and also the DPA-2, employ discrete differential JFET gain stages with servo controlled outputs. The electronics seem to be top notch. These new Alchemy components would cost quite a bit more with a bunch of expensive casework. Value-oriented audiophiles should give these Alchemy products serious consideration.
The PPA-2 hits most of my requirements for a phono stage for less than $1K and sounds better than anything else I have had in my system - and not by a small measure. There are a couple of little nits I could talk about that are probably just my own issues. The adjusters for input loading are on the back of the unit and very fiddly to adjust. But, they work and are very effective. I can live without a third input and an extra 6 dB of gain for the very low output MCs (I will use an SUT for those) .
The PPA-2 hits most of my requirements for a phono stage for less than $1K and sounds better than anything else I have had in my system - and not by a small measure. There are a couple of little nits I could talk about that are probably just my own issues. The adjusters for input loading are on the back of the unit and very fiddly to adjust. But, they work and are very effective. I can live without a third input and an extra 6 dB of gain for the very low output MCs (I will use an SUT for those) .