Phono Pre Amp Recommendation


I am more of a digital enthusiast than analog, but I do listen to vinyl.
After abandoning Vinyl at the dawn of the CD era (largely because my lp collection was destroyed in a flood and when I tried to replace it I found the stores had switched to the polycarbonate antichrist), I bought a Pro-Ject Debut about 10 years ago. While it reawakened my appreciation for vinyl it's limitations
were became soon apparent and seven years ago I bought a Rega P-5 with with it's stock mm Exacta cartridge. After a few budget phono preamps (Project, then a disasterous flirt with tubes with the Bellari), I settled in with PS Audio pre amp, which has multiple settings for mm and mc.
All was well until the stylus on the cartridge went kablooey. After dithering for a while I decided that I would use the opportunity to upgrade and try the world of mc cartridges. I got a good deal on a Clearaudio Concept table and mc Cartridge.
I appreciate the wealth of low level detail, improvement in speed stability, and blacker backgrounds that the Clearaudio brings to the party compared to the Rega. However, I think that despite it's issues, I enjoyed the Rega more. The music sounded warmer, more alive, and with a good soundstage. The Clearaudio sounds dry, analytical, less expansive and just less fun.
I was wondering if perhaps adding a tubed phono preamp might solve this. As I mentioned, my one experience with a tubed preamp was the Bellari, which made everything sound like Topio Gigio with laryngitis. Having just shelled out for the table, my budget would be $500 to $1k, max.
I listen primarily to classical music (99%).
Rest of the system: Speakers B&W 803-D
PreAmp-Ayre 5xe
Power Amp--Parasound
DAC-PSAudio DLIII
CD/SACD--Denon "Anniversary Edition"
NAD Universal Player (no Blu Ray) feeds the DLIII for CDs
DVD-Audio.
Squeezebox, mainly for Internet Radio, haven't embraced downloading.
I've been looking at the Jolida phono preamp, which with or without modifications, fits the budget.
As i said at the beginning, most of my listening and expertise is digital, so I am really hoping for some good feedback from the analog lovers here.
richardfinegold
I run a Delos into a Chinook and the 0.6 mV is quite sufficient for the 60 db of gain. 0.3 mV should be fine.
Kgturner- Could you tell me if the Chinook has ample gain for your low output DV20X. Thanks in advance !
Hello Richard - It might not be the cartridge that needs break in so much as the phono cable. Keep in mind that your cartridge is now only putting out mV level signal and the cable is going to take a LONG time to become conditioned fully due to the signal level of the cartridge. Be patient and things WILL sound better!
Sound has definitely improved. At the time of my original post, I only had 5 hours listening time on the cartridge. Now after about 15 hours it is much more lively, if still a bit dry.
This is my first experience with an mc cart. My previous two tables were mm--Pro-Ject Debut and Rega P-5. I don't remember any particular break in issues.They both retained the same sound from the get go.
Are mcs more prone to slow break in, or does it depend on the individual cartridge?
I am using the GCPH with a Shelter 501 and it sounds great. I would not change it.
Maybe it is a break in thing. It is starting to improve the more that I listen to it, although it is still on the dry side, soundstage has definitely opened up. I'll give it more time and report back. Thank you to everybody.
Interesting. I also lost most of my LP collection (in 1979) to a flood.

After 3 years with a Cambridge 640P I upgraded 3/11 to the Jolida JD9A. I happened to have some NOS Sylvania Gold 5751s and replaced the stock 12AX7s with those. I also put Herbies tube dampers on them, placed Vibrapods under the feet, and swapped in a Zu BoK power cord. I'm really happy with this preamp. As some have pointed out to me, the tubes in this preamp power the buffer stage. Gain is supplied by op amps. Even so, the phono stage is on a full-sized chassis and has a nice big power supply compared to the wall warts that often accompany phono stages in this price range. Furthermore, possibly the best feature of the JD9A is its high level of configurability, with three gain levels, two output levels, and a wide range of capacitance settings for MM/MI carts and resistance settings for MC carts.

Now, if you liked the Rega MM cart better than the MC but still want an improvement, upgrade to an Audio Technica AT150MLX. This cart is *easily* the equal of the Rega Exact, but is available for less (check lpgear.com) and has a replaceable stylus. Set the capacitance on the JD9A to 147 pF for this cart and you're good to go.
Richard:

Why would you change your pre-amp and not the cartridge? If the PS Audio (GCPH???) sounded fine with the mm cart, perhaps a HO mc might be a better compromise?

Also, seems like your budget would better fit a cartridge change vs a pre-amp change as to move up from a GCPH may require a bit more than $500-1000.
Just curious, what is your TT sitting on? It's true that the MC's lose a little bit of warmth. You need to go up in price to get more warmth. However, there are a lot of classical vinyl junkies out there who would not give up their Clearaudio cartridges. I certainly wouldn't give mine up. When I upgraded my TT support, increase in bass depth and warmth blew my mind. Just my 2 cents.
In that price range, I'd seriously consider a Ray Samuels Audio F-117 Nighthawk. I've owned one and only recently replaced it with a Manley Chinook.