Looking for phono stage recommendations

What did you like about the Pass...and what was it lacking that you would like to get with a different product? How much gain do you anticipate you will need? Would you like a unit with balanced ins/outs?

There seems to be much praise over the new ARC PH5. I have not heard this. I had the PH2 for many years and liked it a lot as it was extremely low noise, very tonally coherent and with the bloomy ARC LS5 line stage, there was a very good 3-dimensional presentation. When I brought home the PH3, the sound was too fatiguing and forward to me.

If you can afford a BAT VK-P10, that is a mighty fine unit and goes for around $2k on the used market. This replaced the PH2 as the BAT had more gain. They were very similar tonally but the BAT had a little more dynamic authority; when you take the top off a BAT unit and see the power supply, you can see why this is the case.

If you can go up a little more, and you really like decay of the notes and awesome portrayal of space, the Aesthetix Io comes in. It is more susceptible to a higher noise floor so you have to put a lot of effort to find low-noise tubes and try many types. The Telefunken 12AX7's work beautifully here. The standard (non-signature) unit sells now and then in the $3k range.

The highly praised Counterpoint SA9 also comes around now and then in the $3k range but these don't last long at all on the market either.

So there's a handful of models to consider in the $2-3k range.

John

Sirspeedy - your comments on the Aesthetix gear raising the room temp gave me an incentive to do an experiment today. Unlike many other Audiogon members, I do NOT keep my tube gear on 24/7.

The system is in a basement room, 13x18x7.5, fully closed with only a stairway entry which can be closed off with a door atop the stairs. Before powering on any components, the room temp was 68 degrees; the thermostat is on the ground floor. The A/C has been running much of the day but there is only one very small ceiling vent which is above and just a little off axis of the CAT amps. The rest of the audio system is on the opposite end of the room.

The Callisto and the Io were powered on; I only have one power supply for each. An hour later, the room temp had risen to 69. I checked an hour later and still 69. And then another hour ..... still 69. From this I would conclude that the Aesthetix preamp components do little to affect room temp and again, this is a rather small and confined area. In a more open living room or family room setting, I suspect it would not be noticeable at all.

I then powered up the CAT amps. An hour later and the room climbed to 74! Another hour has passed and now the room is sitting at 75. Having 32 power tubes radiating makes for quite serious floor heaters. Clearly the amplifiers are an issue in this room whether it is summer or not. But at a local audiophile's home, I noticed how much heat the solid state Plinius amps were producing. It's the price some people pay for this kind of musicality. And there is much shared here about the Pass amps as serious floor heaters as well. So it's not only an issue with tube products. But I think that tube preamps are not going to influence room temps very much if at all.

John

Sirspeedy: Oh yes, having a room with an ambient temp much cooler than the rest of the house is a great benefit. But it's only a matter of time (3-4) hours until the amps take over the room. I then need to leave my basement to cool off when most people are heading to their basement to cool off. In any case, you and I are fortunate to have a dedicated room like this....heat and all.
John

Ah shucks, no tubes hah?