Should I move on from my Hagerman Trumpet MC Phono Pre?
Hi all, currently I'm delighted with my Hagerman. Yes it can be a touch noisy at high volume but that goes away once the record begins and doesn't bother me. I've got it loaded with all NOS high end tubes and it sounds fab. However I recently picked up a Koetsu Urushi Wajima cartridge and I now find the plush midrange push of the Hagerman might be too much combined with the plush midrange push of the Urushi. FYI I'm running a stock SL-1200G into Rogue tube amplification. I'm going to try some OPEN / nicely bright 12au7 tubes to see if that can offset the lack of high end and a touch too much midrange emphasis I have now, but thought I'd also enquire about what folks thought about moving on from the Hagerman? I did get one suggestion of the Herron VTPH-2A but good luck finding one... thanks all. - Rich
Koetsu Urushi Wajima@$7K is entry into "major leagues." The Trumpet has great reviews for what it is. Your Technics/ Koetsu deserves a big league phono- not AA divison. Time to pony up... NOS tubes for tone controls only goes so far, especially with price point gear. Live on the edge - go ALL tube-no FET's and tube rectifier.
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Relative to what you have and might want to spend, sell the Trumpet, and as suggested look at a used Modwright 9X or Luxman EQ500. I found one of these for $2500. Comparable, subjectively "better" in some areas but MIC, which to many here, claim to avoid😂 The latest price bump puts it at $4500. Make it in the USA, it would be priced much more$$ https://www.ebay.com/itm/157060441509 https://www.hifinews.com/content/primaluna-evo-100-tube-phono-preamplifier Do the NOS tube thing, decent cable, now you have something that will approach $$ SOTA- as the Technics/Koetsu does. I have no doubt the Trumpet performs well, but all the tweaking won't match any of the above "next step" models which are can be had for a sane price.
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