I am in agreement with the gent who said that he went with Whest.
I just sold a mint Whest Three Signature for under $2K, well under; that would have been by far your best bet in the range you wish to stay within. I have had a number of other phono preamps here over the past few years including the highly reviewed Gold Note PH10. None of them could come close to how quiet the Whest was or how much detail with an amazingly flat response it has. Like the other OP here, I upgraded to a new custom modified PS.30 RDT SE recently and it just took things up to a whole new upper level. With each upgrade in offerings from Whest, you get the ability to reveal even more information deep within the recording. Granted, this was nowhere near the price range you are seeking, but if you can find a Whest Three out there, you should grab it.
I’d spend some effort to locate a used Whest vs. buying something new in your price range. You will get far more for your money. |
I bought mine from Sounds Of Silence at a good price. Look them up they are located in NH |
What dealers sell Gold Note? |
I am digitalising vinyl aiming to transfer as much information from analog to digital, no coloration.
I ended up with Whest products. Whest Two, Whest PS.30 and finally upgraded to Whest PS.30DT SE.
Cartridge is Lyra Kleos.
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Gold note PH 10? Graham Slee? Whest? Tom Evans Microgroove plus. Are you buying new or second-hand. If new ask to borrow it. They are a very personal choice |
Unfortunately it is tube but there is an Aesthetix Rhea for 1800 on Audiomart. This is an absolutely superb phono- like an end of the line good. |
Rega Aria v2 MM/MC phono preamplifier. About $1500 new. |
If you are patient you might find a used Herron VTPH-2 for just a little more than 2k. They don’t come up very often. People tend to keep them. Excellent phono stage.
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The Rogue Triton 2 is very nice phono. More adjustments than the Triton 1 I also had.
This replaced a Heed Quasar ll.
I have had like 15 different phonos here over the years. All the usual suspects.
This is very good at $1295 . Running into a Rogue Cronus Mag 2.
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How about a TRON Convergence? would be in your budget, if you are in the UK. Not sure how much it is in the USA. You could ask Jeff Catalano at High-water Sound in NYC, as he is the USA TRON distributor. The TRON Convergence has been used recently at RMAF and other shows by Jeff, with many plaudits. |
Someone posted a rave review here for the SPL Phonos. |
At that price level, I compared these:
- Allnic
- Herron
- Sutherland
- Manley Chinook
Of the four, I found the Sutherland to be least desirable. There were a dozen of us in the listening session, and while the voting was close, the Manley was the winner. Everyone ranked them most to least favorite.
My personal impression was that they are all nice. The Herron and Sutherland were a bit more forward in the mid ranges, while the Manley exhibited the smoothest overall sound. I found it the most pleasant to listen to for the longer term of the four.
I don't have flowery language to use, but I can tell you that I've been living with the Manley for three years, and I have no desire to change... even after the shootout. And, you can get one under $2k lightly used. |
I wish that jmowbray had answered that question. I have a Cronus Magnum 2 with a Clearaudio performance dc turntable and my phonostages are both by Parks audio. I have the Budgie and the Puffin. Sometimes (most times) i feel as if im underserving the amp and table with budget phonostages.... but man the are really good.... i feel to balance my system out i should have an ares or an allnic h-1201 or even a manlrley Chinook and not just because of the higher price but i believe they must sound nicer even though i have no chance to listen to them.... it just makes sense why they would and the reviews back that up....i reallyvwant to stay all tube on my reference setup with the Cronus Magnum and Clearaudio table.... on my secondary setup with a rogue Sphinx 2, Technics SL-1600 & Klipsch Quartets... SS would be fine. |
Jmowbray, I'm curious about why you prefer the Triton over the Ares for rock? I'm leaning towards getting an Ares over a Triton because I generally like the tube sound better, but I do listen to more rock, reggae, electronic and world music with the occasional jazz record thrown in. Also, what amp are you using with them (I'm using a Rogue Cronus Magnum w/ KT 120s)? |
Sutherland 20/20 is a great phono pre with a great deal of flexibility to accommodate a wide range of carts. I had little experience beyond the phono card in my integrated, but the Sutherland was a very large audible upgrade for me. Integrated was / is a Luxman 505u. It has been my favorite upgrade so far. |
musical surroundings nova phonomena excellent sound plenty of settings to suit your taste,,,battery charges when unit off ,you can switch to battery operation(does sound better)when listening .. |
Has anyone heard the Whest 30R? |
I am amazed at how good the Sim Audio lp 5.3rs, and I assume the lp310 are. Can definitely be had for under 2000. Quiet as, and detailed good tone top to bottom. |
Rogue Audio - Triton (SS) for $1K and Ares (tubed) for $2K. I own both - I use the Triton for rock and the Ares for jazz/acoustic. I'm very happy with the sound. Both of these have plenty of loading options. |
Are there anymore phono amps under 2k? |
The AYRE P-5xe is $2350 new and worth it. You should be able to find it used or demo for less. It is particularly good if you can run it balanced in as well as balanced out. |
The Liberty and the Musical Surrounding Nova looks interesting. Has anyone compared it's sonic signature to the other phono amps I'm looking at? How does the Nova sound compared to the Liberty or even the Sutherland 20/20? There's not any Audio stores near here so I depend on Audiogoner's opinions. |
I also like the Liberty B2B. It bested the Krell KPE Reference in my system. |
Sorry, I missed the detail in the post about ss amps. Yes, the Allnic and Herron are both tubes. The JLTI is SS and I liked it a lot, but there's not a universal view on those. I found it great with the rock, jazz and acoustic music I listen to, and it can be had for around $800 used (it's $1600 new).
Before I got the Allnic tube phono stage, I was also considering the JC-3 and Pass Labs, but I never actually heard either. Lots of good reviews, though. |
Pass Labs XOno used around $2000!
All the adjustments you would ever need for MM or MC cartridges.
Quiet, very detailed, and slightly warm IMO. High gain.
Super reliable. |
Musical Surroundings NOVA phono pre. It charges while not in use then when you turn it on it switches to battery mode. Super quiet and all the settings you could ever need,awesome sound! |
Vortex and Dazzlingmd, isn't the Allnic H1201 a tube phono stage? Zeal clearly stated in his original post that he was looking for a solid state phono preamp. I have not heard the Allnic, and I'm sure it is very good, but I did not recommend the Herron VTPH-1, which is also very good, because it also is a tube phono stage. |
Dazzlingmd is right, that H1201 is very nice. I liked it a little better than my $4300 Zesto Andros. There was one for sale at under $2k the other day on audio asylum. |
Jmcgrogan2,
You da man !
Good Listening
Peter |
I really liked the Avid Pulsus. Clear improvement over the SimAudio Moon 5.3LP with optional extenal power supply. Especially in treble and bass.
Have since moved on to a Musical Fidelity kW phono preamp, which is a beast. No longer made, and not sure what it goes for on the used market if you can track one down. kW gear shows the sonic benefit of having a nice burly power supply. |
I'll jump in here and beat Peter to the punch by recommending his Liberty Audio B2B-1 phono preamp. Mikey seemed to like it quite a bit. |
You might be able to find a used Allnic H1201 for around $2K. I have it and think it's phenomenal. I replaced a JLTI mkIV with the Allnic, and the JLTI is well within your price range. It's very detailed and quiet and dynamic, but doesn't have the full/rich sound of the Allnic in my opinion. But the JLTI was still quite a nice little phono stage. I almost pulled the trigger on a used Herron VTPH-1 phono stage before getting the Allnic. Used that's also in your price range and is supposed to be quite good. |
Other experienced A'gon members (no longer posting regularly) had recommended Heed Quasar when I was looking for a Lehman Black Cube replacement. I can't say "best" but it would be in your price range. |
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