Generally i agree with @mulveling . Jim Hagerman is living his best audio and music life on Island time. Very high value music and well engineered gear. The OP could stretch and get an ARC Ref phono 2 se or any number of super phono stages Lamm, CJ, Herron, etc… where you won’t have to imagine giant killer status.. ( i own 2 of the above )… but if my budget was constrained near $1K and i wanted tubes, the Hagerman would be on the list…
Phono stages: Hagerman and Sun Valley 1616 possible giant killers
In the course of researching phono stages I came across two that if all the comments are true might certainly be giant killers ( defined by yours truly in the 5000 dollar price range ). But alas, so much of what I read in reviews , both professional and audiogon users, doesn't always pan out.
So, has anyone had the opportunity to hear either the Hagerman Trumpet or the Sun Valley 1616? If so, I would be interested in your sonic thoughts.
As always, I appreciate your insights and would appreciate the absence of snark!
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thx.. i know @bkeske aka Brian @noromance also a Brian… I haven’t heard Brian K Hagerman but believe he has found a CBS Hytron he loves w variety of carts including a Benz. Maybe he will weigh in Welcome to another episode of Life of Brians…. |
I would definitely give Zesto a look/listen. Never heard but almost went with a Andros II. I have an EAR 834 clone and its warm sounding so maybe the newer EAR like the Classic or 88PB? Warmest I've had was the Tavish Adagio, but its also two box. I have a PH9.0XT and with Reflector and Siemens its pretty good. Probably not as warm as you'd like, but not as clinical as the stock tubes. sorry I couldn't respond via PM |
@mulveling oops. Thanks for the correction. That’s embarrassing. I always assumed Hagerman was a genius for pulling that off without FETs and using 6 tubes instead of the usual 3 in MM amps. Ah well... |
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