+1 Modwright PH 9.0X. I’m very satisfied with mine. Using w/ Koetsu Urushi Black, and others.
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
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My experience with turntable, cartridges and phono stages is that the phono stage can hold the sound back until they are of very high caliber. I have used a number of phono stages, but have the most extensive experience with Audio Research. One of Audio Research’s strengths has been Phono Stages, like Conrad Johnson and Zesto. I will say that noise that you can hear from a phonostage is very bad. While it can be covered up by the music, it is still detracting from the music. You will not hear it, but your system will sound better with out it. A phono stage should be silent. Each upgrade of the phonostage for me resulted in very large improvement in sound quality until I got to roughly the value of the tt + phono cartridge = the phono stage. . This has happened with my current system and its predecessor. Currently my Linn LP12 (near Klimax) and Koetsu Rosewood Signature cartridge is mated with an Audio Research Ref 3SE.... roughly $22K each. |
Very salient points thanks all. I'm going to keep an eye out for a used MW Phono Stage, sounds like it'll be up my alley. For the record (hehe) I'm not opposed to warm tone from my phono stage, it's just that with the tubes I had incorporated into the Trumpet MC and the cartridge it was too mid heavy. Well I had a lengthy listening session last night, and beforehand I was surprised to find a pair of Sylvania 12au7s I had forgotten about so I put those into the front-most row on the Trumpet and a BIG improvement in openness. Also I have added the SBooster to mine and yes, a worthy move. So in short I'm going to buy some more open sounding tubes and experiment further. The sound of the Hagerman is outstanding, of course I haven't tried something much more expensive but aside from @medium_grade who here has tried the Hagerman? I suspect once I arrive at the right tube set I'm going to be satisfied. The elevated noise floor isn't that bad truthfully. |
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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