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Phono stage recommendations

G

gary yeowell

pfm Member
Any recommendations for phono stages in the £500-£1500 range??

System is Rega P9/RB900/Ortofon Kontrapunkt A into Naim 72/110 and SL2.

Stages i am trying at the moment: Rega Aria. Fast, funky and fun.

Trilogy 907 (ex demo at £1500 so still possible in budget) natural, lovely timing and less up front than the Rega, still with all the fun.

Not tried in built Naim cards, but would like to just to see where they fit in the scheme of things, and would likely Hicap the 72 if internal cards were used.

Suggestions welcome.
 
You'll find the Trilogy very hard to beat Gary, it's a favourite here, should you want one do let me know.

Heed Quasar is very nice, very good for it's price, slightly on the rich warm side, quite lush like a robust blackcurrenty red!

Trichord Dino with NCPSU and upgrade cable is also good, same zone as the Heed, bit leaner and faster, very quiet.

I've had them all, way better than Stagline and also I prefer them to DV P75.

Linn Linto is very good if you can find one.

Of course you'll need come see us when you realise you need a Sondek up top!

Cheers,

Mark
 
Cheers Mark! Yes i suspect the Trilogy will be hard to beat. Never really got on with the P75, always preferred the Naim cards or Prefix, less hifi, more music.

:D you know i love the Sondek, but am surprised how the P9 is working with the current setup..... Very very groovy in the Sondek style but with bass lines better defined. SL2's are rocking! If i was using the Kans, i think i'd prefer the fatter LP12.
 
gary yeowell said:
Any recommendations for phono stages in the £500-£1500 range??

System is Rega P9/RB900/Ortofon Kontrapunkt A into Naim 72/110 and SL2.

Stages i am trying at the moment: Rega Aria. Fast, funky and fun.

Trilogy 907 (ex demo at £1500 so still possible in budget) natural, lovely timing and less up front than the Rega, still with all the fun.

Not tried in built Naim cards, but would like to just to see where they fit in the scheme of things, and would likely Hicap the 72 if internal cards were used.

Suggestions welcome.
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Hi Gary,

Tom Evans Microgrove Plus X.

We have their superb Groove for £1,395 (ex-demo) already set-up for your MC cartridge, so you're welcome to try at home.

Peter
 
I'm very pleased with my Trichord Dino mk2 which I'm using with a home-made upgrade PSU (roughly equivalent to the Dino+).

The standard toroid transformer power supply really limits the performance so make sure you audition one with a decent PSU!

I agree with Mark's statement about the sound, they are very tight, fast and clean sounding phonostages.

BTW, The upgrade cables are very expensive and you can buy the same connectors from online and make your own out of decent 4 core copper cable for peanuts.
 
+1 For the microgroove I've got one after trying a P75, trichord Dino and lehmann black cube amongst others.

I've got it with a Rega RP6 plus ZYX R50 cart and it sounds fantastic.

Haven't heard one myself but the arkless stage gets a lot of good reviews here.
 
You should find a well-specced Whest for that kind of money - well worth a listen. I have the PS 30 RDT and have never regretted buying it - Kuzma Stabi and Stogi TT 12" Arm with Ortofon Cadenza Blue - inky blackness, tonal neutrality. Stunning!

I saw a PS 30 R knocking about on one of the hifi fora in the last couple of days for about a grand IIRC.

Peter
 
Is DIY an option?

If so then you could build a Paradise or easily mod a 2nd hand Eastern Electric Minimax.

I might even sell the SuPrefix/TPX2 combo if I can get the Minimax to a point where I'm happy with it (Russian caps are still breaking in)

Dan
 
gary yeowell said:
Any recommendations for phono stages in the £500-£1500 range??

System is Rega P9/RB900/Ortofon Kontrapunkt A into Naim 72/110 and SL2.

Stages i am trying at the moment: Rega Aria. Fast, funky and fun.

Trilogy 907 (ex demo at £1500 so still possible in budget) natural, lovely timing and less up front than the Rega, still with all the fun.

Not tried in built Naim cards, but would like to just to see where they fit in the scheme of things, and would likely Hicap the 72 if internal cards were used.

Suggestions welcome.
Click to expand...


Im using a stageline with a hicap dr and sounds great .

My system is , Naim 202/250 Roksan Xerxes and XX2 dynavector and Kudos Super 10's
 
Self build definitely NOT an option i'm afraid. I wouldn't know one end of a soldering iron to the other! Ok bit of an exaggeration but not so far from the truth.
 
thebiglebowski said:
+1 For the microgroove I've got one after trying a P75, trichord Dino and lehmann black cube amongst others.

I've got it with a Rega RP6 plus ZYX R50 cart and it sounds fantastic.

Haven't heard one myself but the arkless stage gets a lot of good reviews here.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
The "Turbo" version at £330 would be the best bet for the OP if considering stages at those prices. It leaves plenty of change for records as well!
 
bodicus said:
The Groove will kill most other stages...instantly! Stunning piece of kit.
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If staying strictly to your budget then I would recommend a used Art Audio Vinyl 1, EAR 834P or a used Tron 7. I would rate these significantly preferable to the tricords, p75's, lehmanns, stagelines, prefix's, PS30r, microgroove/groove etc..

If you can stretch your budget a little then the £1995 Allnic 1201 is comparable in performance to the £4500 Groove SRX (and the whest RDT SE). An awful lot of stage for the money and does some things as well as the £4500 Allnic H1500. The Aurorasound Vida for a bit more again is also very good I am told although ironically just about the only pre on this thread that I have not sold/heard.

Happy hunting, phono stages are a lot of fun and they also make an enormous difference to the whole system. I usually advise spending the same or a similar amount on the phono as the deck/arm/cart as you will often achieve an overall better result, comprimising on the cart and arm budget if necessary. Outside of the popular uk brands the performance ceiling for phonostages has greatly increased over the last few years and the top end of what is possible in terms of preserving that signal is now up to $30,000 or $40,000 from the likes of ARC, Vitus, Allnic, Zanden etc. i.e. its not something that should be skimped on.
 
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