Hagerman Trumpet MC review

Disclaimer.  This is far from a “scientific” evaluation.  Just my personal experience on my system.  See my other threads for a system outline.

The Hagerman Trumpet replaces a JLTi v.3 that has been my phono stage for about 15 years now.  So went from solid state to tubes.  I won’t go into detail on either as the specs are available online.

The Trumpet runs 4 12ax7 and 2 12au7 tubes and since it relies on the tubes for input, gain, phase splitting and output, it is a tube rollers dream.  Right out of the box even with stock tubes (4 Mullard ax7 and two EH au7 reissues) it blew the JLTi away.  Soundstage was wider and deeper with a more 3D presence.  There was more separation and definition between instruments, more “air” and timbre was more accurate.  It was not a small change, even in my far from perfect room.  Vocals were more natural and there was less “smearing”.  A pet peeve of mine is when instruments get up and walk around the stage, especially apparent in classical music.  The JLTi did have the upper hand in a couple of areas, it was quieter, and faster (attack and decay/transients), but not huge advantage for either of these.  The JLTi got a lot of high praise from the usual crowd when introduced, so this is no small feat for the Hagerman which, if inflation is factored in sells for about 1/4 to 1/3 of what the JLTi v3 would sell for now.  There was also less “hash” with the Trumpet, but still some there.  Then I rolled in some nice old tubes.  Au7’s are Mazda “pinched waist” from the 1960’s, in the v2 sockets are a pair of Mazda nickel plates from the late 60’s and in the v1 are a pair of Siemens long black plates from 1960.  What a difference, soundstage goes way beyond the speakers, you can really hear the hall in classical or live recordings, extended FR, just all around more.  Hash is gone, though this may have been a burn in issue.  In short, I would highly recommend giving this pre a try.  It is truly amazing and the customer service is exemplary.  If there is anything I missed or you want to know, just respond.