How does Vendetta SCP phonos compare today?


With the performance of best of current SOTA phono preamplification? I have come across nothing but rave reviews, write-up about these units. Any insight/ experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Nil
nilthepill

Showing 1 response by rcprince

I had a B version of it years ago (there was a D revision at one point before production stopped, as I know it). It was extremely quiet and very revealing; I would not call it a warm or "musical" stage by any means, and if I recall correctly, while it was a favorite of many reviewers at TAS and Sounds Like, ol' HP felt it was a little too etched or "hi-fi" for his taste at the time. I wouldn't go so far as that, but I ultimately sold it because I liked the (tubed) Jadis JP80 phono stage a little better, and I needed the money from the Vendetta to afford the JP80. At the time, I still feel that it was one of the two or three best available commercially, and I would think it still compares favorably with many of the big names out there now, particularly among solid state units. However, there have been a lot of small but significant advances in solid state components over the intervening years, so the unit could be improved on. If John Curl is updating the design (there was talk he was doing so for a Blowtorch phono stage, I believe) or able to take an older unit and update it, then you could expect it to be among the best two or three available commercially now, period, IMHO.