im picking up my friends tomorrow to borrow for a little while, ill let everyone interested know what tubes are in it.
thanks everyone for the recommendations, im looking into all of them, other than the few line stage recommendations lol
Phono pre amp recommendations? - upgrading from ICON AUDIO PS1 MK II
hey everyone, I am kindly asking for your phono pre amp recommendations, especially if you have experience with my current amp (icon audio PS1 MKII).
for the first time in my audio journey right now my system is so close to perfect (to my ears) and im incredibly happy about that. my current set up is Marantz tt15 turntable with dynavector 20x2 cartridge, primaluna prologue premium integrated and elysian 4 speakers. its very transparent, detailed, smooth, open, and in my opinion pretty neutral. when I swapped out my phono pre amp for one that my friend made(also tube design), it was like everything came to life, I couldn’t believe I was listening to the same system as I was 5 minutes ago. everything had more weight, and was more life like, it was darker and yet more lively, the vocals jumped out in front: so detailed and life like yet smooth and warm and not edgy or sharp or fatiguing like I often hear. it is currently the sound I am chasing (my friend will not sell this amp, or make another one like it, some friend huh?).
can anyone recommend a phono pre in the 3-4k range that can accomplish most or at least some of these qualities? my conclusions are that the icon audio is great, tonnes of headroom, detail, smooth, super quiet, big soundstage, but that it is too neutral for my ears and system and not warm enough, or its too polite, it seems to disappear in the system which may be a great quality for some.
does anyone have experience with this amp and can make a recommendation for an amp that has more warmth richness and weight (and forwardness?) in the midrange without giving up the other qualities I mentioned? I’m not looking for that vintage mushy sweet tube sound, more looking for what I have with just a hint more of that magic lol.
a couple of amps I am looking into are the modwright ph9, lab12 melto 2, and Allnic h-5500 (although a bit out of my budget).
I would appreciate and advice you can give me or any experience you can share with me.
thanks so much
Showing 5 responses by palutena
after spending a good 3/4 hours with my friends phono pre amp, with more critical ears than the last time, there are things I like and dislike vs the icon audio ps1 MK II. there is less bass in the homemade amp but more upper bass (I think contributing to the warmer sound) it is less transparent, but its very smooth, no grainy-ness and less fatiguing to listen to (not that the icon is fatiguing at all, just more so) there seems to be more density in the sound with the homemade amp which is another thing that's a positive. and the instruments and vocals just seem so anchored in their position. the tonality of this amp is to die for, organic is the only word I can think of to describe. even though its not "detailed" im hearing things in ways I never heard before, such as the way a bass string vibrates and the note decays. pretty eye opening for me. however the big downfall which I didn't notice the first time is that the vocals are a little recessed compared to the icon. with the icon, the vocals are always either right in line with the speakers, or a good 4 inches in front of the speakers depending on the recording. with the homemade, its ,at best, in line with the speakers, or a good 4 inches behind the speakers again depending on the record. this is a pet peeve of mine in audio because the instruments playing in the left and right channels sound clearer sharper and closer to me than the vocals, and this doesn't portray a realistic performance in my opinion, and is a dead giveaway that im "listening to a system" and not "at the venue of the performance" which I like to feel (suspending belief a little bit of course). I have a chance to drive about an hour to audition the Allnic h-5500 at the very very top end of my budget. is it worth a listen? @j-wall can you comment specifically on the vocals of the Allnic? I don't mind if the entire presentation is a little laid back, but I don't want to feel the vocals recessed in comparison with everything else. I would appreciate your insight. thanks again everyone. I've gotten more help and suggestions than I thought! |
what is everyones thoughts on a used aesthetix rhea signature? slightly concerned about age of the unit, and the 3 stages of tube gain instead of transformers, is this a particularly noisy amp? every review states a sound signature that sounds like it would be perfect for what im looking for. and in my budget on the used market. thanks |
@tablejockey you had the rhea? how did you find the noise? |