@sandrodg73 *matching the phono stage to the cart, not the amp. A great cart needs a great phono stage to perform well.
Fezz vs Raven
Hello all. I'm starting to look into adding a turntable to my system. I would like to pair said turntable with an integrated tube amp. I want to get a set up that is good enough that I won't be looking to upgrade in a year. A Michell Technodec paired with a Fezz Evolution Titania was recomended to me by the gentleman at Auralhifi in Denver. Thinking is that that turntable and integrated tube amp are of high enough quality that they'll provide a listening experience that'll be hard to beat and keep me satisfied for years to come. Maybe not reference level but damn good. At the same price point as the Fezz is the Raven Nighthawk. Both have good reviews and seem solid. Does anyone have experience with these brands? What are your thoughts? My speakers are 95db sensitive with active woofers so won't take much to drive. Thanks for any input.
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I totally agree with @macg19 : your choice of phono stage should be led by the cart you’re using. That being said, I’ve heard great things about Schitt (in fact, the folks at Raven Audio often recommend them). FWIW, I used the onboard phono stage in my Technics 1500 SL turntable for the first year of my current setup (with a Nagaoka MP-200 cart) and my Raven Audio Osprey made that system sing! It sounded fantastic. When I upgraded my cart to the Nagaoka MP-500, I wanted a better phono stage (tube based with more gain as the mp-500 has a lower output than the mp-200), so I upgraded to a Quicksilver phono pre amp. Does it sound better? Absolutely. Is it a night and day difference? No. The mp-500 extracts more detail from the grooves and has better channel separation. The QS phono pre creates a thicker sound and much wider/more defined sound stage. But my system sounded great before upgrading. So, if I were you, I would go with the Raven and Schitt combo for now. Set a baseline/reference point of your system’s sound signature. You’ll get TONS of listening pleasure without breaking the bank and you’ll get to know what you’re looking for in your next upgrade (if you even need one at all). That will give you time to research and save for your next move. Most importantly, if you do finally upgrade either the cart or phono stage or both, you’ll be able to fully EXPERIENCE THE UPGRADE! Skipping straight to "the best" robs you of the journey of hearing your system get better and closer to your optimal sound over time. Just my two cents. Good luck! P.S. when we say, "the phono stage needs to match the cart," what we mean is there are several technical considerations that need to be right for your vinyl to sound good: MM vs MC carts are two different paradigms (they require very different gains and you have options for how to achieve the required gain), MM carts are sensitive to capacitance, different carts require different loading (i.e. impedance settings) that your phono pre will have to accommodate, certain carts sound better with a tube-based phono pre, while others prefer SS, etc, etc... |
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