Which phono stage is being utilized at the moment?
Will you be requiring multiple inputs?
Will balanced outputs be required?
Is rack room available for multiple boxes?
Many variables at play here. Please provide some clarity.
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I have a Michael Fidler MC phonostage, multiple inputs would be nice but realistically not in budget for foreseeable future. No rack, not room for multiple boxes
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When I had a Cadenza Black after a lot of experimentation I settled load impedance at 200 ohms. If you are happy with that cartridge you might want to rethink your budget for a new phono stage though. There is nothing wrong with what you suggest it seems to be over kill is all. With that said the MoFi would work well and would certainly be suitable if you later wanted to upgrade your cartridge to something like a Per Windfeld or even higher in the Ortofon range. Another option might be a Little Loco from Sutherland, not quite as expensive and very good sound. A word of caution, check compatibility with your cartridge this one is not a universal fit. Finally a favorite of mine is the PS Audio Stellar, a very flexible and neutral sounding phono stage. The company often offers refurb units at substantial discounts.
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Transistor or tube phono stage ? That's the first question.
Sutherland phono stages are usually very good but they might have very high output impedance and will not be electrically compatible with some line stage preamplifiers. I had this kind of fun with Sutherland designed Acoustech phono.
There are many excellent phono stages for $5k, both new and used, it is hard to advise.
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I would split your budget and get an SUT and a phono pre.
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For what it's worth, I'm running an Cadenza Black on a SME 309 arm on my GAE & going into a ModWright 9.0. I can change the impedance on the fly to dial in with any LP thats on my platter.
I never load under 100 with this cart & sometimes @ 250, all depends on the recording on the disc. Hope this helps.
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Yes that’s very helpful. Just getting an idea of what phono stage would be a good match for that cartridge and what load is the sweet spot is what I’m looking for
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I haven’t heard it but good reviews and has flexibility in settings so maybe worth a look Austin Audioworks Black Swan
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Used Audio Research PH or REF, Conrad Johnson, or Zesto. The highest level and most recent you can afford.
You can't go wrong with any of these. Very highest build quality and sonics.
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Music hall A3 tubed phono stage for far less than your 5k budget. It sounds great. Use an SUT with it. The adagio by Tavish is another for around $2300. I have their Tavish classic and it’s a very nice phono stage..spend what you save on records.
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I have a well tempered TT as well. Running a Dynavector XX-2 MKII cart into a Gold Note PH-10. Love it. Lots of load options on the fly. No complaints at all.
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Inna's remark that Sutherland phono stages tend to have a high output impedance caught my eye because as a rule solid state gear have a low output impedance. We can define "high output impedance" for SS as anything greater than 1000 ohms. (For tube gear, 1000 ohms or higher is not so unusual.) With an output Z of 1000 ohms, you can still drive an amplifier with an input impedance of 20K ohms, which is on the lower end as amplifiers go. John Atkinson tested the Sutherland Duo and published in Stereophile that it has an output Z of 199 ohms "at all audio frequencies". The Duo is one of Sutherland's best units, so maybe some others of their phono stages have a high output Z, but I don't know which one. Anyway, if the output Z is in similar territory to the Duo, any Sutherland phono stage should be able to drive anything. Inna and I had a contretemps in his thread on DD vs BD TTs. I feel bad about maybe being antagonistic in that context, and I apologize if I came off that way. This post is only to correct an issue related to Sutherland, not to bait Inna.
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Simmaudio MOON has some awesome phono stages that do not disappoint.
Regards
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Thank you guys for so much useful information. One can receive quite an education on these forums so it’s a lot for me to think about. Thanks again
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lewm, it's alright, you did sort of accuse me of being biased but I simply wanted to hear about people' different experiences.
Anyway, I was cautious about Sutherland phono stages and I didn't check their specs, that's for potential buyer to do, but I did have problems with Acoustech and eventually had to run it through Nakamichi cassette deck which has very high input impedance. Other than that it is an excellent phono stage, at least for MM cartridge. I got a very good sound with it out of my Nottingham.
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You might take a look at the McIntosh MP100: Moving Coil and Moving Magnet inputs with adjustable loading (6 settings each); balanced and unbalanced analog outputs; optical, coax and USB digital outputs; and a Mono switch for playing mono records to decrease noise and play the signal correctly.
Good reviews and less than half your budget...
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I have had several phono stages over the years and I’ve been very happy with the Modwright PH9.0XT. I purchased the unit new as a 9.0X and later upgraded the power supply to Tube Rectified. Easy “on the fly” adjustability on front faceplate. It’s around $5,500 new, but you can find them used at a discount from time to time. ModWright support is outstanding, which is why I decided to purchase their KWA150SE amplifier as well. Great people.
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Teac PE-505, comes in silver and beautiful black!
Professional grade phono pre, same tech as more expensive Esoteric offers!
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Allnic is also worth considering if you want tube phono. It's a serious company.
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