2. analog
  3. 1411076098

Time to blast off from Rhea

I made an impulse purchase 1.5 years ago of a Rhea phono preamp. I have a low output MC cartridge, and was actually saving for an AR Reference 2. The dealer sold me his demo for a good discount. Upon getting it home, with my smaller room and efficient speakers, heard the noise. Dealer not willing to take it back as it was a demo sale. I replaced all the tubes with a set from Jim Mcshane which made the situation tolerable, but with limited use, these tubes became intolerably noisy. Put in some vintage RCA tubes in the V1/V2 and it sounds great again. Is this just the price to pay for pure tube amplification of 56 db? Should I just sell it, and buy the Parasound JC3 and be done with it?
tennisdoc40

Showing 4 responses by jperry

jperry
2,468 posts
 
An all tube phono preamp amplifying a LOMC, and using high efficiency speakers is probably going to have some tube rush.

I have 2 suggestions for you. Talk to Andy at Vintage Tube Services, if you have not already done so; and try a SUT, maybe Bob's Devices, with your Rhea. It obliviously will not be all tube phono amplification any longer, but if you like the sound of the Rhea, it may be a good solution.
jperry
2,468 posts
 
I think the Herron and am sure the Audio Research phono stages use a FET front end for the additional MC gain.
jperry
2,468 posts
 
If you do not want to deal with tubes in your phono preamp, I recommend you look for a Klyne phono preamp instead of the Parasound JC-3. Superb build quality and very quiet.

If you want a John Curl design you could look for a Vendetta phono preamp. They sell fast and they are not cheap. It may take a long time to find one.
jperry
2,468 posts
 
If you like the Spectral phono get a SUT for the LOMC and call it good.
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