I own the Black Cube and have been VERY pleased with it. I bought mine used for $450 and think it's a superb buy at that price. I find the comments about "compression" of the audio signal by the Cube interesting, since I have NOT experienced such a phenomenon. To the contrary, I think the dynamics of this preamp are excellent. I am using a Shure V15VxMR cartridge, which has sufficient voltage output that I use the lower gain setting on the Cube. Are the people who think the Cube compresses the signal using low-output MC cartridges?
Budget phono stage- advice appreciated
I would appreciate any opinions/advice you may have. I need to add an outboard phono stage to my home office system. The system as is stands right now: Audio Refinement Complete Integrated, Magnum Dynalab tuner, Oracle Alexandria/Sumiko/Grado Platinum, NAD Reference Series CD Player, Totem Rokk speakers. I considered adding the NAD PP-1 phono stage, but my local NAD dealer tells me it's barely adequate, he recommended the Creek OBH-8. I've read mixed reviews on the Creek. I don't want to spend a lot of money on the phono stage, it's really casual listening while I work. Ideas? Thanks, Jeff