phono preamp for the ortofon 2m bronze

For 1.5 yrs. I've been using the Schiit Mani phono preamp w/ an Ortofon 2m Blue on a Thorens TD203 turntable w/ a Kimber Kable PBJ interconnect. The combination is clear, detailed and fast with bold bass and easily surpasses my Marantz cc4001 cdp w/ Schiit Modi 3 DAC.

thanks for all the help from this great forum . I decided to go with antinn  suggestion on the arcam r phono. I did a lot of reading and with all the  reviews on the arcam and at the discounted price of $299.99 from $600.00 it was a steal. I received it today and gave it a 2 hour listen this is a nice preamp for the money. it will be very tuff to beat at the price . I was using a bugle 2  that my brother and I built. it is a very nice preamp but it did not move me that much so I stayed away from my vinyl. this arcam is a little warmer sound and has more bottom end, with better define highs. the bugle 2 does has better separation and a bit on the bright side for me which I did not like.  the adjustments on the back of the arcam are also nice for future use. it is a very well made piece and also has some weight to it . it does has a rubber bottom so I install isolation pads under it which right of the bat I heard it tighten up the bottom end . I am now thinking about an upgraded  linear power supply as they are on ebay for under $100 across the pond . it would be tough to built it for that price and it just might push this little wonder of the edge. I have a bp17 cubed preamp and a 14b cubed amp. and I still do not like my volume with the phono as compared to my cd transport and tuner. I know the phono is going to be lower but my cartridge puts out 5mv which is plenty high. maybe it might be my balanced cables with on the bryston amp it runs 6 dbs lower in the balanced mode . 

kully560,

If you check www.lowbeats.dem, they tested the 2M ortofon and they yielded 10 mv.  I ran the rPhono at 30db with the 2M black and plenty of gain with the volume conrol at a good level, the 2/3rds range.  Otherwise, if you dig deeper into this unit, and look at the circuit board photo you will see some real quality.  You will see some WIMA resistors which are high quality, and you will see some VISHAY components which are also superior items, and you will see that the electrolytic capacitors are rated 105C. The normal price point caps are rated 85C, the 105C higher rating with low op temperature is good reason to suspect the unit will last decades.  Also, if you pull the part number for the TI board, its cost is $50 on its own.  Also, of all the units you were reviewing, the rPhono has the largest power supply, 12vdc and 2amp equals 24watts.  All the other power supplies were only 0.5amps.  I did not want to do a hard sell, but thd Arcam is at $299 is a real steal.  Power Holding Inc is a seller of Keces power supplies from Tiawan, and they have a very nice 12vdc unit for $349. However, I am not sure of the real value.  Say what you wish of non-linear power supplies, but Sutherland has used them to great reviews, and if you zoom into some of their board photos and pull the vendor and part number, you will see an industrial item that costs less than $30 but has a mean time between failure (MTBF) of over 500,000 hrs.

I can not run the r phono at 30db, I tried it and the volume control would be at full level. at 40db my volume control is at full volume as compared to my cd player at 2/3 thirds volume.  50db gain gets distorted, the ortofon bronze should be at about 36db and I could not imagine being any lower in volume.  I can live with it at the 40db range and be very happy but it still bothers me why the big difference. I use the 120 capacitor setting which is great and any higher and things  start to get to bright. I did drop my tracking down to 1.45 grams which gave me a little clearer top end also.  have you given any thoughts about upgrading your power supply? 

kully560,

My version of the 2M BLACK is circa 2016, which would coincide with the version that lowbeats.de tested, and my preamp gain is only 6db.  I suspect your version of the 2M Bronze is more recent, and Ortofon may have corrected the output voltage to spec 5.5 mv, especially as evidenced by your Bryston preamp gain 12 db single ended, and 18 db balanced.  My 2M black was in need of a retip, but instead of replacing, I just purchased a new Soundsmith Carmen MK2 which Elusive Disk had on closeout at $699, and with future retip cost of only $199 beats the 2M black at $570, and just dialed in sounds great, and Soundsmith cartridges are known for their tolerance of record noise, which the Ortofon 2M Black is not.  Otherwise, for now all is bliss, and you know the old saying, if it's not broke, do not fix it.  However, if my upgrade itch flairs up, I would consider a power supply upgrade such as the Keces (my radar bleeps when buying some unknown foreign power source, no interest in a fire or being electocuted), but for now just enjoying the music.  Otherwise, this arrangement I have is for a 2nd tonearm (VPI JWM 10), that was done on a tight budget.  I did not want to replicate my primary.  My primary is VPI 12-3D, Soundsmith Paua and Moon LP5.3 with the external power supply.  Yes, the Paua/Moon sounds better than the Carmen/Arcam, but its not 4 times (list price difference), better.