Not sure what your budget is but when you make small incremental steps you lose money and time. Since you own a Rega P8 consider a Rega Aura which might be the best all round phono stage under $10k. If you ever upgrade to a P10 or your turntable of choice the Aura will stay.
First phono stage upgrade
Hi everyone,
Looking for some perspective on upgrading my phono stage.
I got a Rega RP8 and a Vincent PHO 8 as a first step into analog a few years ago.
My Exact cartridge got damaged during a recent move so I sought out advice here on a replacement.
I traded in my Exact for the Ania Pro and arranged to sample some phono stages at a local shop.
After replacing the cartridge, they demoed my table with Musical Surrounding Nova III and a Black Ice Audio F159.
After several hours, the sales guy says they're closing up in a few minutes and asks if I would like to try these units at home.
I ended up taking just the Nova III with both the stock Wall Wart and optional ($650 ish) power supply.
I wanted to A/B test the power supplies first.
Then A/B test against the F159.
Are these units (or this "range") a good next step?
Am I shooting too high or low?
Still very new at this.
Thanks!
Showing 2 responses by dayglow
@lohanimal Yes, it is a bold statement. You can't hear everything! I have not heard a Whest product in over 10 years. I plan on attending the 2023 Florida Audio Expo and will be on the lookout for Whest. There could be some unknown very small company that's here today gone tomorrow that currently holds the < $10k phono crown. Since I own a Rega P9/RB1000 I respect the flagship Rega sound. Yes, Rega can be somewhat forward/aggressive but it lets you engage in your music regardless of genre. Many Audiophile speakers are overly polite adding a Rega P10 or an Aura phono stage could be the perfect balance. Just recently heard a Burmester Phono 100 in a >$200k system which was nearly perfect but lacked that bite and drive when vinyl was played. The Burmester 100 implemented in a different system might be sublime and destroy the Aura? Bottomline is the Aura($6695) might not win any beauty contest but is tough to beat in a low/mid true hi-end system. |