I have two vacuum tube phono stages in separate systems and both were previously mentioned. In my system with Harbeth M40.1 speakers, I have the original Zesto Andros. It’s so good that I haven’t had any desire to send it back to Zesto for upgrades. In my system with Klipsch Cornwall IVs, I have the Luxman EQ-500. The Luxman is a great phono stage and very quiet. I like them both and I would have a hard time picking just one. The rest of my equipment in each system is listed in my profile.
looking for separate tube phono stage for use with VAC Avatar SE integrated amp
Yes, the VAC Avatar SE integrated amp has a great phono stage built in. I know this because I'm using it to swap between a Miyajima Zero Mono cartridge and a Hana ML stereo cartridge. But now I want to add a separate tonearm.
System:
- Above mentioned VAC Avatar SE integrated amp - upgraded and has a pre-out.
- Slagle SUT.
- Garrard 401.
- Schick 12" tonearm with graphite removable head shells.
- Currently swapping between Miyajima Zero Mono and Hana ML stereo.
- Klipsch Forte III speakers.
- Morrow cables.
- Room: 12' x 11' 10' High office.
I'm experiencing crosstalk and finding out that "swappable" is not so swappable as I'm needing to reset things when I switch between cartridges. The idea is to get two tonearms and dedicate one to mono and one to stereo and just set it and forget it. Then I would only have to switch between phono and line on the integrated amp.
And now the question:
What would be a good tube phono stage for the above set up, and would it plug directly into one of the line in RCA inputs? I also have tap in/out, CD and pre-out available.
Thanks All in advance!