From what Brent at VAC told me, their stand-alone phonostage will be a two-box, four-input affair retailing for around the price of a current Sig mk IIa preamp without the phono option, so it'll be pricey. It will integrate into the Sig mk IIa as a three-box preamp with the PS driving both linestage and phonostage. Target date is maybe next summer but that could easily change and probably will. I have a MC/MC phono in my Phi Beta preamp and it is wonderful. I've come to prefer it to my Steelhead II. The new VAC phono is supposed to be essentially the same circuit. |
Alonksi,
I've come to prefer the VAC phono but it's really a matter of splitting hairs and I wouldn't say the VAC is "better" than the Manley. In some ways, like dynamics, the Manley brings more. The VAC is a little more organic. Different presentations, different tubes. So I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the Chinook. I haven't heard it but reliable ears tell me it's remarkably close to the Steelhead, which means it must be very good. And the price is sweet. |
As Clio09 said, the K&K Maxxed Out is terrific, especially at its price point. I owned one before I got the Manley. It's a little leaner but does everything well and is very flexible. Kevin Carter is a prince. The Zesto is also supposed to be excellent if a little richer sounding--probably closer to the VAC sound than the Manley. You have some great choices in the $2-3K range.
I should probably add that my VAC phono is different than stock because it has interior screw terminals that allow me to slide in resistors of any value (I use nude Vishays) to fine-tune loading. So cartridges that have odd loading requirements sound better into it than the Manley, which is versatile but limited in loading choices. |
Loading varies with the phono stage, the overall system, and one's taste, of course. And like anything in vinyl, it can always be optimized by fine changes, IMO. Whether one really needs to is another question. Playing with this VAC, I find changes of 15 ohms to make worthwhile differences so I've blown a load of cash on Vishays from Michael Percy, mainly because it's so easy to experiment. but I could have gotten by with fewer options.
I'd guess your Ortofon would be quite happy at 100 ohms. Would it be happier at 125? Maybe but it might very well not matter. I have two Ortofons and I like them both at 25 x DCR.
BTW, how do you like the Bronze? I've been interested in that cartridge--seems like it would be very meaty and musical with good detail.
VAC did the mod. It was Brent's clever idea and he did a beautiful job. Resistor value x 10 gives me loading value, so it's a breeze.
Best,
Bill
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Alsonski, I found the Steelhead RC to sound better through my VAC preamp than directly into the amps. It's good but the VAC adds something special. |
I recommend calling VAC to find out about the differences between the RenIII and SigIIa phono stages. I might be wrong, but I think the line stages themselves are pretty different, with the SigIIa being lower gain. Another question for VAC.
And as I said above, I find the phono in my Phi Beta, which is the SigIIa circuit, to easily compete with my Manley Steelhead II. Don't know about the Pass. I did audition the Allnic at home a few years ago, although my system was quite different then, and I passed on it. I found it extremely liquid but ultimately somewhat colored and it hummed like mad. I preferred the Steelhead anyway. YMMV. |
Alon, that's a great recommendation for the Bronze and confirms what I'd imagined. The Replicant 100 stylus, of which I'm a big fan, on an aluminum cantilever suggests exactly what you describe--great detail combined with lots of body and tonal richness. Cool that Kevin is on to it. Thanks!
Bill |
Mulveling and Alonski,
Have you guys checked out the Miyajima Kansui? Like the Bronze and Kontra C, it uses an aluminum cantilever with an advanced stylus shape, in this case Shibata. The Kansui has great slam and a liquid, dimensional midrange you can walk through.HF extension and is very good if not state of the art. It's extremely natural sounding and reminds me of a more refined version of the SPU Royal GMII, which also uses the Replicant 100 (very similar to the FG 80 of the C) on aluminum. Something about that combo is very satisfying. I actually prefer the Kansui to the A90, which is itself terrific but has a very different presentation. Might be up your allies.... |
Well, to use the Steelhead as a linestage through its variable outputs sends the signal through additional internal circuitry, volume control, a series of other switches, and different outputs. So it's not as direct as you might think. And it does not add gain, according to the manual, so that's quite different than running the phono stage through fixed outputs into a preamp that provides pure class A gain executed to an extremely high standard. The VAC does not add coloration, at least I don't hear any in mine; it's very neutral. But it does provide far more body and dimensionality, power and extension to the sound, filling out soundstage in all directions. The sound blooms. My first impression upon hearing the VAC was that a light had been turned on inside the music, illuminating it from within like a magic lantern, casting the illusion of live music into the room. That was going from the Steelhead as a line stage--which was quite good itself. The VAC is just better than the Steelhead as a linestage in all the ways you look for, so much better that an additional set of good ICs doesn't reduce the performance gap. |
Alon,
Thanks for the compliment. I was mainly just talking about the differences between running the Steelhead as a preamp vs. through my preamp. The latter sounds better, and my post tried to speculate as to why. I didn't mean to generalize beyond the two components. It may well be that some other phono stage (e.g. an IO Signature, as Jwm recommends) with a volume control would be much better than the Steelhead direct, or the Steelhead through VAC preamp, for that matter. No reason why it couldn't be, as Al says.
Bill |
