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I have my table now I need a phono, please help

I have just recently purchased a Michell Gyrodec with Orbe platter + SME V arm and Koetsu Black cart. I have a max budget of $1k but would much prefer to come well under that.

I am not opposed to buying used. I have been reading incessantly and I have narrowed my search to:

TUBE:

Ear 834p (priced nicely when used, easily modified, easy to resell)

Wright Sound WPP200C (couldn't find much on this amp, is it really quiet with low output MC's? reselling could be tough)

Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 (well received when originally released, upgrades available through Parts Connexion, does use the 6dj8 family of tubes which is known to be a noisy bunch, though the Phono 1 is said to be extremely quiet)

SS:

Ray Samuels Emmeline XR-2 (can handle nearly any cart out there, built very well, supposedly very very quiet, may be difficult to resell, price is right at my budget)

Audiomat Phono 1 (can handle any cart, very quiet unit, hard to find, not well known in North America, said to be an excellent all around performer)

Rogue Audio Stealth (can handle the carts, price is right new, sound may not be up to par with the other offerings above)

Dynavector P-75 (price is right, hands low output MC with some special mojo apparently, how is the noise floor?)

Grado PH-1 (price is right, handles both high and low output carts, though some have stated the gain is not enough for .4-.5 mV carts. May be a bit noisy compared to the other amps I am considering)

So that about sums it up. I am not interested in reselling per say, but I list that as something to think about since I most likely can't listen to the above phonos at any local dealer, though I do have a local dealer willing to order the Dynavector for me to listen to, obviously with the hope I will buy, but they are willing to get it in without an "in blood" commitment.

Thanks for any advice. I'm a complete newbie so please take that under consideration. Also, for the time being, I will be using the SME phono cable, I would rather invest much money in the phono and deal with cables later.

Cheers!
zanth

Showing 1 response by david12

david12
1,454 posts
 
I had problems with a Rosewood signature recently. Not really problems, but my phonostage then did'nt match, it was quite warm and so is the koetsu. I think a tube stage might be too much of a good thing. I settled on A 2nd hand Clearaudio reference, quite neutral and a lovely match. That may be too expensive, but I would be going for one of the SS options. The Clearaudio has a 57db gain which is enough, but I would say a minimum and the output is the same as your black, I believe.
I am not sure about other cartridges, but Koetsu's seem to like the right input impedence. The makers do'nt give much guidance, but 100ohms seems most peoples advise. Whatever you choose needs to be set for 100ohms, or adjustable. Hope thats useful.
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