Suggestions for phono preamp for LOMC's

I had a bunch of phono preamps. I last had a Modwright 9.0X good preamp but it cannot compete with the one I have now.

My system is pretty good right now. I have the VPI Classic 1 turntable with a Unami Blue Cart. Amplification is a Plinius SA102A that has been "upgraded by Ralph Abramo, Plinius Audio Sales and Repair, (949) 357-3858 and the US distributor. Pre Amp is a AR REf 3. Speakers are Canton Ref 3K.

Phono Preamp is DSA Phono One (used). Now for about $3000 you can get a 10 year old phono preamp designed and built by Doug Hurburt of DSA. The bad thing is at that age they might be on the cusp of needing some TLC. The great thing is that Doug will go through it with a fine tooth comb and make it new again for very reasonable money. So, for short money, less than $4000 you can has a world class $12,000 phono preamp that will work with ANY cartridge. And the sound is wonderful. Find some reviews on the internet. I am a very happy guy.

PS Audio Stellar Phono

Paradox Phono 70 - maybe Signature upgrade

I’m also going to highly recommend the Paradoxpulse Phono 70.

My first higher-end phono stage was the Manley Chinook. Sold it after realizing my preamp’s built-in MC phono section was superior (McIntosh C52).

Then recently acquired the Phono 70 and now that has far surpassed the C52 phono section. I didn’t think it was going to but I thought I could find out for myself with their 30 day trial period.

I’ve been so impressed that I have since ordered the Signature version.

Pappas3278,

Thanks for the recommendation!  The Phono 70 is a very interesting phono stage.

@bobheinatz 

Here's a tip for buyers of phono sections that can work with LOMC cartridges.

If it has provisions for a loading resistor for the cartridge, its a pretty good bet the designer didn't think thru the implications of an inductive source (the cartridge) being in parallel with the capacitance of the tonearm cable.

FWIW, the understanding of this is taught in the first week of any electronics class.

The two (inductance and capacitance) together form an electrical resonance, usually at a fairly high frequency which could be 1-5 MHz. It can also be as much as 30dB higher output than the cartridge output itself. If the phono section wasn't designed to handle this energy with grace, it won't sound right; hence the 'cartridge loading' resistor. The RFI (since that is what this resonance is) can intermodulate with the input signal, causing harshness and brightness. The loading resistor detunes the resonance and so knocks out the RFI, but it also causes the cantilever to be stiffer, since the extra work to drive that low resistance load of the 'cartridge loading resistor' might be over 2 orders magnitude higher. 

I've found that if the phono section design took this phenomena into account, one side benefit is less ticks and pops which can be otherwise caused by the input of the phono section overloading from the RFI. Its nice to play entire LP sides without a tick or pop!