2. analog
  3. 125723-119

Do they make a quiet great sounding phono pre amp??

Hi, I have purchased and listened to 3 phono preamps which are: A musical surroundings phonomena, musical surroundings Nova II, and a Manley labs Chinook. The Manely labs Chinook is by far bettter sounding then the first two (double the cost too). But, All three have given me nothing but trouble (noise,noise,noise even terrible clipped signals!), and 2 of them basically failed on me. So before I go DIGITAL, can someone please tell me who makes a phono preamp in the $2,000-$3,000 range (tube or solid state) that I can rely on, and sounds as good or better than the Chinook?? Thanks.


Matt M                                             
mattmiller

Showing 1 response by jasonsim

jasonsim
113 posts
 
I can only really recommend ones that I have used, but will suggest one that I haven't too.  At present I am using a Zesto Andros and it is really quiet. Really nice sound and I love that the settings can all be controlled without having to open up the box. The Zesto is more than what you want to spend though, otherwise it would be a great option.  Before the Zesto I was using a Sutherland Insight (solid state).  It was also very quiet. Not as musical as the Zesto, but really good and it's priced at around $1500.  The next step up would be a Sutherland 20/20. I think those are around $2300.  I have not listened to one, but that is probably the sweet spot in the Sutherland line. I would try one of them from a reputable dealer that has a generous return policy.

Jason
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