Telling us the rest of your Equipment would help. The Doge 8 has a Phono Stage, will you be utilising that? If you are not using Phono than I would definitely advise a dedicated Line only Pre-Amp. I have an earlier Doge 8, it's line stage is pretty good, although it need's careful matching with Power Amp, preferably something a little laid back, as it's a bit forward sounding and can get a bit fatiguing in the wrong set-up. If you were going to use the Phono Stage, the MM when modded is reasonable and it becomes a Bargain if both are used. If using Line Stage only you will do better for not much more money.
Havn't heard the Evo 300. The PL's I have heard have sounded ok.
Good Luck. |
About 6 years ago I contacted Doge asking why their kit isn't true balanced (which IMHO is where True Hi-end audio begins) . His answer was pathetic, more of an excuse for his mental laziness
If you've paid any attention, over the last decade more and more true balanced kit is finally available. My question is "What took so long?"
hth
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Tweak1 - sorry to burst your bubble, but if you seriously think that equipment needs to be balanced to be high end, you are seriously mistaken, balanced should really not be needed in home stereo, it was for the studio and concerts.
Think about it, for true balanced, everything has to be double, making equipment more than double expensive. Totally not needed, but it looks good in the leaflet from the manufacturer...
ps. I have myself some balanced equipment in my system 😜 |
Thanks for the reminder! My phono preamp is a Jolida d9II that has been upgraded and my amp is a rogue 100. So, yes. I am looking for a line stage preamp. My speakers are some older paradigm S8s. Big but pretty, and that makes my wife happy! My other requirement, another concession to the homestead, is I need an HT bypass. That excludes a number of older highly rated line stages.
For the balanced signal guys... the EVO 400 has balanced outputs for another grand, I spent that money already for power conditioning for my whole set-up. I have all balanced stuff in my studio, which is where it is really needed.
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gryphon
The fact that you have SOME balanced kit proves your ignorance on the subject. Considering that, most likely your reference balanced kit merely has balanced I/Os, which by no means makes it/them true balanced. But, even if they are, and you mixing them with unbalanced kit, you’ll never know what they bring to your experience
The truth is out there. You just have to look for it
hth
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Ignorance is on your part on this topic I am afraid, I have an fully balanced amp, but I did not buy it because it was a balanced amp but because it sound just the same using balanced cabling or rca cabling, please read up on the topic, and try to educate yourself, it is never too late. |
Actually single ended is the "purer" path, but if you have long cable runs, balanced is the way to go, even if the gear is not truly balanced, you still get the quiter cabling benefit. That being said, I do prefer using balanced cables if I have a choice due to being more robust connection.
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LOL, but you neglected to say whether your preamp and source was as well
Quite simply unbalanced circuit boards contain both channels (single ended?) which lends itself to cross talk and other electrical compromises that degrade the left/right channel purity. That's a fact jack
Dual mono balanced is even better as it utilizes separate power supplies as well
hth people who were confused between the two.
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But you are doubling everything to be true balanced, a product done properly, would you notice any difference in sound quality?
I am skeptical to that, for the money I think you get more single ended, if it is 0.001 or 0.00001, who cares!? |
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I recently tried to get work done on my older Doge 8 and have discovered that apparently there is no service for the brand in the US, despite what the website says. In fact, Doge does not have service manuals or a process for supportino anyone attempting repair. And my sense is it's not exactly a simple tube preamp that a competent tech could suss out, troubleshoot, and repair without documentation, but I could be mistaken about that. The products are apparently reliable, and I love the way mine sounds, but caveat emptor.
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You've never had a full discrete balanced system, so why would you say the difference is minuscule?
Just look at all the mono amps available. Do you really think they're just to drain your wallet? They would be if the rest of your kit was compromised as ALL single ended designs are. And in addition, the RCA connectors are another weak link
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