Looking for a new phono preamp


Hi,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Here's the deal. I'd like to find a new phono preamp. I'd prefer solid state, tubes get noisy too fast. My latest cartridge is an AT-ART9XA. I'm currently running thru a sut into a cj pv10a with phono stage, but I have just got my hands on a Bel Canto pre5 that the new phono pre will be paired with.

I've got a hard upper limit of $2.5k, less is OK for the right unit. I'm looking to buy new. Dealers around me aren't really set up to demo vinyl, so I'm hoping the collective experience in here can at least point me in the right direction. Hopefully, it would have a one month return policy so I can try out the preamp.

TIA.

PsychoicReaction
psychoticreaction

Showing 3 responses by mijostyn

The best phono stage for that money is handily the Channel D Lino C 2.0.
It has no competition, none. Unfortunately, you would have to change cartridges. Your AT's impedance is 12 ohms which is too high for a current mode phono stage. It has to be less than 10 ohms, the lower the better. Read about it!  http://www.channld.com/seta/linoC2.html
It is the best until you get to much more expensive phono stages like the CH or the Channel D L20. Also current mode units. Current mode phono stages are more dynamic and have a gain of about 80 dB. Yes, you have to use a cartridge with a low impedance which happen to be among the best moving coil cartridges out there like the Lyra's, the Air Tights, many Ortofons, My Sonic Labs, Koetsu and so forth. The performance exceeds anything you will get from a normal voltage mode phono stage. You get the dynamics of a good moving magnet cartridge and the sparkle of a moving coil and because a current mode phono stage electrically dampens the cartridge they track even better. Read the reviews and other people's comments. If you do not want the best sound you can get even if you have the money to do so....I find that odd but it is a free country. I do not have a Lino 2.0 but I have my eye on the L20 which stands a good chance of being the best phono stage made. It is certainly the quietest. 
I do not have to listen to all the phone stages mentioned above and I do not care what other people except trusted friends hear. It does not take a genius to now that a modern jet liner is a much better and safer plane than an old DC 4. Occasionally people smarter than I am come up with a better way of doing things. This is one of those instances. 
@clearthinker, nice of you to follow me around. I suppose you need the exercise.
I was at a demonstration Where the Lino C was being compared with the Herron VTPA-2, a tube phonostage $1000 more expensive than the LinoC. The cartridge being used was a Lyra Kleos a medium low impedance cartridge at 5 ohms. It was being used because it was not ultra low (the lower the better) and it is medium priced. It was loaded with 100 ohms. This was not mentioned but I drifted behind the setup and checked out the Herrons load jacks. I do not know what tubes were being used but I suspect whatever is supplied by Herron. The Lino C made it seem like there was something wrong with the Herron. Not kidding.
If I were to recommend a voltage mode phono stage in this price range it would be the Parasound JC3+. John Curl is the master of voltage mode phono stages. This unit would cost $9K if made by any one else. 
As for airplanes you must be pretty young. You don't remember the older planes. They had 10 times as many problems as new planes. I would get in a 737 Max long before I would get in a DC 4. American pilots had no problem managing the Max. It was only foreign pilots that crashed. All they had to do was turn the auto pilot off. This is not an excuse for Boing.
They will pay dearly for this one and should. The FAA should have been notified of the problem. Instead it was covered up. I also said modern jet liners. There are always anecdotes. Nice of you to pick one out. Would you like me to tell you which thread I'm going to next?