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Vintage Phono Stage? pros and cons

With so many different phono stages out there, why buy new? There has to be some fantastic deals out there on vintage phono stages if you know your history of the giants going back in time. Do the new phono stages offer anything new? has the technology gotten better or is ease of flexibility the only thing that has improved? does the sound degrade over time?
musichead

Showing 3 responses by t_bone

t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Musichead,
You are right. If you know your history, you can get a killer phono stage for not huge money. I find the best ones are embedded in top-notch preamps from the late 1970s. I have one I will be hooking up again tonight. It is a joy.
Vintage pres (with decent phono stages) I currently own:
Jadis JP-80 (euphonic)
Pioneer C-Z1 (ridiculously transparent, not "solid state-y")
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Jaspert,
In your time using the Accuphase, did it compare well with other decent phono/pres? It was THE megabuck unit by Accuphase at the time and the one time I heard one years ago (as a pre) it was very nice, but I haven't heard one in 10+yrs. It has more buttons than I have ever seen on any other piece of gear, which is cool.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Mike,
Where do you think the difference comes from? Is it only in parts selection? Or is it a difference in physical implementation of the design, or is there a fundamental difference in circuit design which makes them quieter?
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