Help me choosing Phono Preamp


Hi,

I need suggestion in choosing a quality phono stage (SS or tube, new/used) under $3000 to mate with Denon DL-103 cartridge. The cartridge has very low output voltage around 0.18mV. Few pre I considered are Manley Chinook, EAR 834P, Liberty B2B-1, and MF MX-VYNL. All of them seem to require a step up transformer to work with DL-103. I don't like the idea of outboard transformer, and also I want to keep number of boxes as minimum as possible. Is there any outstanding pre out there (full function or stand alone phono stage) with input sensitivity close to 0.15 V to work with DL-103 ? Other qualities of the preamp I am looking for are: utterly transparent, extreme resolution, but not lean/thin/weak in sound, MC and MM both options will be a plus . Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sunny

topmostaudio

Showing 1 response by rwhowe11

Tavish Design  - Did you see the review in Stereophile? The Tavish Design Adagio compares favorably to a Shindo pre-amp costing 10x more.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-162

A less expensive model - http://www.cnet.com/news/ibm-engineer-designs-and-hand-builds-affordable-tube-audio-gear/

And the owner/designer uses a Denon DL103, among other carts, so his gear will work well with it.