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Phono Stage upgrade to complement Dohmann Helix One Mk 2

Thanks to the recommendations from many users on this Audiogon blog, I think I was able to make a more informed purchase of a turntable, the Dohmann Helix One Mk 2.  I've really been enjoying the turntable for the past month!  

The next phase of my system now needs attention:  the phono stage.  Currently, I'm using a Manley Steelhead v2 running into an Ypsilon PST-100 Mk2 SE pre-amplifier (into Ypsilon Hyperion monoblocks, into Sound Lab M745PX electrostatic speakers). 

I've been told that I could really improve my system by upgrading the phono stage from the Manley Steelhead (although I've also been told that the Manley Steelhead is one of the best phono stages ever made).  
Interestingly, two of the top phono stages that I'm considering require a step-up transformer (SUT).  I'm not fully informed about any inherent advantages or disadvantages of using an SUT versus connecting directly to the phono stage itself.  

I suppose my current top two considerations for a phono stage are the Ypsilon VPS-100 and the EM/IA  LR Phono Corrector, both of which utilize an SUT.  I don't have a particular price range, but I find it hard to spend $100k on stereo components, so I'm probably looking in the $15k - $70k price range. 
Thanks. 

drbond

Showing 2 responses by cleeds

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cleeds
5,687 posts
 

lewm

... If you read the history of phono equalization, you find that the original tolerance for meeting the RIAA curve was +/-2db.

That is not at all how the curve was specified by RIAA or any of the standards organizations. It’s possible that some manufacturers allowed this tolerance, but it would have been a pretty sloppy tolerance, even then.

That was probably the margin for error of necessity, based on the microphones and the recording equipment up to and including the lathes available in the late 1950s.

None of that has anything to do with the RIAA curve, which is applied pretty much at the end of the chain, just before cutting the disc. Any errors in microphones or recording equipment would be corrected as needed in the mixdown and mastering, before the RIAA curve is applied.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,687 posts
 

mijostyn

Your opinion is the knee jerk reaction of a traditionalist. Your assumptions are patently false. You are entitled to stay where you are. There are people who prefer being dinosaurs and that is fine ...

Why so angry? Why are you so triggered by those whose opinions differ from yours? Why do you feel others need your permission to disagree?

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