Phono stage comparisons

Darlington Labs MP8.

MC and MM capable

Internal EQ.

Multiple settings accommodate any cartridge.

Dead quiet and very musical.

Thanks all for the thoughtful responses. I went ahead with the Sutherland. Hopefully will pick it up tonight and get it set up soon. The Phonomena 2 is the best I’ve had out of several budget phono stages.  I can see the chinook or a different tube phono stage in my future.  For now, looking forward to seeing some improvement with the 20/20!

Happy listening 

I always recommend getting return option on anything involving Phono, it is about ’preferred’ not necessarily ’better’.

Think long, possible future cartridges, (preferred, alternate, stereo, mono) possible two tonearms, PASS for MM, a few optional gains, a few optional loads, and possibly two inputs, external front selectable the easiest.

It’s very nice to be able to play friend’s cartridges occasionally, gonna hear one here friday.

The Sutherland, you need to remove it’s cover and change jumpers to change settings, fine for any single cartridge, but not good for alternates.

In my case MM Phono EQ via tube preamp's MM Phono Stage; MM Pass and MC Options via passive Step Up Transformer

My loading is directly tied to the 4 optional gains, so I must choose cartridges that fit those specifics, separate gain and load is needed for some cartridges with let’s say ’quirky’ rather than ’difficult’ combo of coil impedance and signal strength.

I had a Musical Surroundings Nova III and went to a Chinook. Big improvement. The Nova never felt full sounding and very paper thin, I even had the power supply. Loved the Chinook and it allowed air around instruments and tube rolling was fun. Great starting point. I now run a transimpedance phono, so the Sutherland should be very nice as well. 

If you enjoy tube gear Tavish Designs Adagio is all tube with 44 db gain for MM cartridges and it cost less than Manley .   

Thanks for the replies.  Rega P6 with MM Exact cart.  I do enjoy tube gear so certainly not ruling the Chinook out.  I don't have an uber detailed system and prefer it that way.  But yes, noise floor can be a problem. 

As of now, the Stellar is off the table.  I may just go for the Sutherland and see how I like it.  That leaves me cash to add another sub.  ;-)

I can always wait for another Chinook (or better) in the future.   

Thanks

Are you using a MM or MC cartridge ?

Don't let price be the determining factor. IMO the biggest issue with phono preamps is the noise floor. At the lower price point SS is a much safer(quieter) choice than tube phono stages. If still considering the Manley Chinook you must demo the current replacement, the Manley Oasis which claims a much lower noise floor.

sutherland