@jerrym121 that seems like a lot of work for me to tackle? Great idea though thanks!
Recommended phono stage to go with McIntosh
Hello-
Looking into upgrading a few elements in my system and would like to hear everyone’s comments/suggestions on how to best move forward. System looks like this:
Piega C10 Ltds speakers
McIntosh Mc402 amp. Possibly adding an extra to run mono as the Piegas like their juice.
McIntosh C2200 preamp
Technics 1200 GR turntable with stock arm
Lehmannaudio Black Cube 2
Carts are MoFi Master Tracker and Vasari Gold Note
Chords are Audience and Shunyata
Upgrading the phono stage, arm and carts at some time. I only have MM carts now. McIntosh does have a recently introduced phono stage, not sure how good it is. Budget for the phono stage is $3000?
Your thoughts suggestions on how to move forward. Thanks!
Looking into upgrading a few elements in my system and would like to hear everyone’s comments/suggestions on how to best move forward. System looks like this:
Piega C10 Ltds speakers
McIntosh Mc402 amp. Possibly adding an extra to run mono as the Piegas like their juice.
McIntosh C2200 preamp
Technics 1200 GR turntable with stock arm
Lehmannaudio Black Cube 2
Carts are MoFi Master Tracker and Vasari Gold Note
Chords are Audience and Shunyata
Upgrading the phono stage, arm and carts at some time. I only have MM carts now. McIntosh does have a recently introduced phono stage, not sure how good it is. Budget for the phono stage is $3000?
Your thoughts suggestions on how to move forward. Thanks!
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- 36 posts total
Another alternative that no one has mentioned: You could consider swapping your C2200 for a C2300. That gets you one of the very best MM and MC phono stages ever made. Good enough that it made Harry Pearson’s reference system for a year or so shortly after it was introduced. I thought it was simply excellent if not an ideal match for my lifestyle (moved to a C50 instead). It allows for on-th-fly load changes and is otherwise identical to the C2200. Well within your budget, too. You just might have to be a little patient for one to show up either here or through Audio Classics. Another +1 for A-C here, BTW. If you want to combine a DAC into the box, you could also look at a C2500. That has the C50 DAC, which works just fine for my purposes although some don’t like the lack of DSD or all-in-one configuration. My 2 cents, anyway. Good luck and happy listening! |
@knollbrent Before jumping into the higher cost of the Herron (wonderful unit), consider your needs. Your opening post said you were only MM carts at this time. Most of us started out this way, including me. I had a MM only phono stage as part of a couple of preamps, one was a McIntosh. Both of the built in phono stages were ok but not as good as stand-alone units. When I decided to get into MC carts I bought a Bobs Devices SUT which I still use today. This allows you to get the best MM only phono stage. I researched and asked Don Sachs to built me his custom MM phono stage. I opted for upgraded parts and a nice cherry wood case. The unit is amazing and Don helped me fine tune the loading settings to match what the SUT was doing for the couple of MC carts I use. Don is better known for his amazing preamp line stage and amplifier, but his phono stage is great and totally silent. Pricing is between $995 and about $1,200 (like mine). Sadly, the SUT put me back as much as the phono stage, but the two together are very good. You could start with just the phono stage as long as stay with MM carts. As to the idea of having too many tubes, all my electronics are tube driven. Everything is clean and clear. It just depends on what you pick, including tube choices. http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom%20tube%20phono%20stage.html |
match the phono preamp to your target cartridge in terms of gain and loading options. match your target cartridge to your turntable tonearm in terms of system effective mass, cartridge compliance and calculated resonance frequency. getting these things right will do more for your sound quality than trying to pick brand x to match brand y. |
- 36 posts total