After a few questions for Jim I ordered a Trumpet MC this weekend. But it will not fit in the available shelf in my Target rack so out shopping this week for a small stand to place the unit on.
Regarding the dampers, I got some silicone O-rings of appropriate size at a marine supply store many years ago. They were of mixed benefit with various components and individual tubes over the years.
Unfortunately the outboard PS a friend built for my JLTi does not match the Trumpet. Jim said some owners found improvements with a Sbooster in place of the wall wart, but I've not seen anything online with that.
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I have not looked at this post for a while. Sorry so late with response. No need for matched quad, though I did opt for matched pairs. Another thing I have noticed is that if your tubes are microphonic, and most older tubes are to at least some degree, it will show up at higher volumes. Not a huge deal but worth noting, some damping and isolation help with this as the chassis seems to be pretty resonant. Tube dampers of various kinds made no difference for me. One of these days I will buy a pair of Tele to try in the v1 position…
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@oceaniac, thanks for your review. I too am a bit late in finding it.
It was particularly interesting since I've listened to a JLTi for several years myself. Mine is I believe version 2, the last before moving to Austria. However while they maintained at the time a wall wart was perfectly adequate, a friend built a fully regulated outboard power supply for mine which certainly upped the performance.
So while I've been content with my JLTi +OPS, your comments are intriguing. Now I plan to contact Hagerman for more information, including comparison with his Achiever. I only have a few 78s but do have many early LPS (pre about 1970) and have read several labels failed to adopt the RIAA by 1967 or so.
If my JLTi +OPS can be upgraded for such a reasonable amount I'm certainly interested.
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Thanks so much for the quick and thoughtful response. Glad to hear that 48 db would be OK for a 2M Bronze, and interesting to see those other stages with even higher gain.
Yeah, I'm trying to decide between the MC and MM version of the Trumpet.
I like the idea of the flexibility of the MC version, though realistically, as I said, I think I'm going to be sticking to MM carts for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, I like the purity of the MM version's signal path, and if I did change my mind and decide to use an MC cart at some point, I could just get a SUT or head amp (the ones Hagerman makes look interesting). I don't love the look of the empty/plugged controls on the MM chassis, though to be fair, I haven't really seen a good image of the MM version. It definitely seems less popular, or at least less discussed and photographed.
Do you have experience with the Cornet MM as a point of comparison?
Thanks again for the guidance.
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Hi y'all, chiming in late on this thread, but I'm currently considering buying a Trumpet.
I'm curious if any of you have been running an MM cart on the Trumpet MC. The lowest setting of 48 db of gain seems like too much for most MM carts, especially my favored one, the Ortofon 2M Bronze (5mv output). (I've used MC carts in the past, and they can be wonderful, of course, but at this point in my life I've pretty much settled on MM for my system, for lifestyle/pragmatic reasons.) Maybe the Trumpet design allows for sufficient overload and headroom, and high gain is not an issue?
48dB is fine for MM as long as the stage has enough overload margin. Yes I've used it with an Ortofon 2M Blue, and it sounded fantastic - really good pairing actually, since the Ortofon benefits from the Trumpet's warmth and body. You'd be fine with the Trumpet MC here.
OR you could purchase the "MM only" version to save 100 bucks AND it forgoes the JFET stage, which is used as a 0-gain buffer in the MC version's 48 dB setting (i.e. it's not bypassable). So the MM version has a cleaner signal path for MM carts. The MM version is also what you'd want to use with a SUT, if going that route for MC cartridges.
Just for comparison, there are some high-end phono stages with even higher MM gains: Audio Research Reference 3 is 52dB XLR / 46dB RCA, and Pass Labs XP-17 is 56dB XLR / 50dB RCA.
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Hi y'all, chiming in late on this thread, but I'm currently considering buying a Trumpet.
I'm curious if any of you have been running an MM cart on the Trumpet MC. The lowest setting of 48 db of gain seems like too much for most MM carts, especially my favored one, the Ortofon 2M Bronze (5mv output). (I've used MC carts in the past, and they can be wonderful, of course, but at this point in my life I've pretty much settled on MM for my system, for lifestyle/pragmatic reasons.) Maybe the Trumpet design allows for sufficient overload and headroom, and high gain is not an issue?
I'm wondering if I should opt instead for the Trumpet MM version, which has a more reasonable 44 db of all-tube gain (and 50 pf capacitance instead of 150 pf) and excludes the JFET headamp stage. Or perhaps I should just get the Cornet MM instead ... is the Trumpet overkill for an MM cart?
Any thoughts? Thanks very much in advance.
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Question for the tube rollers.
Do the 12 AX7's need a match quad? or just a two matched pairs?
The 12ax7's are getting a bit pricey
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Great review- thanks for sharing
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I can confirm after over 30 phono preamps over the years with some being close to 10k, the Trumpet is a technical marvel and I have no idea how Jim squeezed so much performance out of this pre at this price point?!? Dead quiet on 103dB sensitive speakers and single-ended tube pre/amp.
One thing I would recommend are Telefunken smooth plate ECC83's up front and ECC82's in rear slots. The change is unbelievable in terms of SQ. I can also recommend Seimans/Halske ECC83 up front as well for detail freaks (I like smooth tube sound). These are gorgeous sounding, just a different presentation.
I want to try Tesla ECC83's as I've read these are Tele ecc803s (https://www.jacmusic.com/techcorner/ARTICLES/English/Portraits/E83CC/ECC83-part-numbering1.html) and an SBooster linear power supply.
This pre is one of my prized budget finds of all time. No BS! It's the real deal!
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Has anyone compared it the Modwright Ph9.0 X?
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I found out that Siemens did make a long black plate in 1958 through 1960. It is very rare.
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Regarding the Siemens tubes. I at first thought the dates read 1956, but the codes are tough for me to read, so they could be that instead of 1960. I went with the more conservative reading. Purchased fro Brent Jessee years ago. Still going strong. I don’t live where I can audition equipment without actually buying, so take everything I say with some salt (;-).
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Great review! I agree - been recommending this phono stage for a while now. Big fan of all Hagerman analog gear, in general. His Piccolo head-amps (including the current-based Zero) are amazing for the money, and warmer than other JFET based stages (which I sometimes find a bit sterile). The "house sound" is always warm (but not too warm) and musical. You get a bit more noise floor than some other brands, but it doesn’t bother me and I find the trade-off worth it.
I was looking for his older Trumpet Reference and finally found one - it’s amazing. Though to be sure, all of his Trumpet versions, including the little MC, are very similar in sound.
ALSO agree Mazdas are exceptional in this phono, to really bring out the detail and dynamics. It responds very well to tube rolling.
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Thanks for the review. I too have a JLTi mk 4 which I bought new many years back. There was a big shootout of several phono preamps with The JLTi at least tied as best. most of the others cost a lot more. But I get the urge to look elsewhere. I thought about the JLTi Mk 5 but Joe Rasmussen is in Australia which makes service quite a hassle in the USA. I have been looking at the Allnic, Zesto, ModWright, et al. So your post is quite intriguing. Did you audition any other phono preamps? The 30 day $$$ back is very tempting. I like the small size too. Looks like it will fit right where the JLTi now resides. Thanaks
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@oceanica i sure appreciate this review--ive been window shopping this phono amp for a coupla years. your impressions with different tubes give me a head stsart should i pick one up. those mazda are exceptional tubes, and i got a couple myself.
btw siemens never made a 60s black plate 12AX7, and iirc they switched to short plates in 59. im real curious as to what it is, tho. wish this forum allowed pics.
happy listening!
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I went through 54 tube phono stages before settling on a Cornet II
just the right balance for my system
The Project was okay
the Wright WP200 was too dark
The Bottlehead Seduction too sweet
the Cornet II just right. lol
ps cant remember the first one
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Thanks for the review. The Coronet is on my short list. Hagerman is a class act, and a gifted designer. Even my modified Bugle 3 is on the impressive side.
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