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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 topoxforddoc

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topoxforddoc
353 posts
 
Other choices include the new baby TRON phono stage - the Convergence. This comes either as MC only or MM only. They are built to order. You should be able to specify a 1:20 internal transformer, which should suit your Denon perfectly. I have compared this in my home system to my TRON Seven Reference and I would say that it delivers 90% of the performance for a tiny fraction of the Seven cost. The really good news is that the cost is GBP1000 i.e. less than USD1400 given the precipitous fall in the value of Sterling.
An other alternative might be the Paradise DIY 4 box phono stage (size of Naim shoe box units). That is also said to be stunning. One of the guys on Pink Fish builds these for forum members for about GBP1500.
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