advertisement


Phono stage recommendation

Darren L said:
Yep, having said that nearly every phono stage on this thread has had rave reviews, I honestly don't think that I have read or heard of any of them being 'bad' phonostages, in fact they're probably all excellent whether Tron, T.E.A.D, Trichord, EAR, RSL, Aurorasound or Bigbottle, just different, real nice choice to have.
Click to expand...
I can’t comment from myself for I have not heard any Bigbottle esp.the Bb3. But according to one who owns it. It’s way better than the EAR 834 and Icon Audio PS2 and PS3 mk2. Another gentleman on the other forum mentioned to me that his Bb2 beats his Triology 907. I take these comments with a pinch of salt as it’s subjective but if that’s the case these Bigbottle ps are something special for the price imo. So good luck to me:). Cheers
 
BruceFlea said:
It’s the RSL that’s coming on demo to me, iceman16 has the BB mk3 on order, like you I’ll be very interested how he goes on with it.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see, a bit of a mix up on my part, I'd be interested to hear what both of you think, the RSL has certainly had some good feedback on here.
 
G T Audio said:
Might be worth reading Page 12 as well.

Did Paul mention that he had to spend about £300 on rare Telefunken tubes to reduce the level of microphony to an acceptable level and his didn't eliminate it either?

The design appears to be very sensitive to the valves used. He contacted me about the level of noise coming from the MC JFET stage some weeks ago as he was concerned about it. I suggested he might want to connect more than one JFET in parallel to reduce the noise which is basic electronics for low noise operation. This apparently was fed back and is now implemented into the now "Mk4 design". I suggest the discussion on this phono stage is best in the DIY section because it is clearly an ongoing development and not a serious production item, unlike the other phono stages mentioned earlier in the thread.
Click to expand...
I think you should
G T Audio said:
Might be worth reading Page 12 as well.

Did Paul mention that he had to spend about £300 on rare Telefunken tubes to reduce the level of microphony to an acceptable level and his didn't eliminate it either?

The design appears to be very sensitive to the valves used. He contacted me about the level of noise coming from the MC JFET stage some weeks ago as he was concerned about it. I suggested he might want to connect more than one JFET in parallel to reduce the noise which is basic electronics for low noise operation. This apparently was fed back and is now implemented into the now "Mk4 design". I suggest the discussion on this phono stage is best in the DIY section because it is clearly an ongoing development and not a serious production item, unlike the other phono stages mentioned earlier in the thread.
Click to expand...
Sorry I can’t comment on that Im afraid. Cheers.
 
<moderating>

Sime posts deleted. Looks like there has been some covert spamming occuring here, plus one member started making threats of legal action so has been removed from the site permanently.
 
I’m very happy with my Brinkmann Fein, but they are not easy to find. I thought it was significantly better than the EAR 834p that it replaced.
 
Tony L said:
<moderating>

Sime posts deleted. Looks like there has been some covert spamming occuring here, plus one member started making threats of legal action so has been removed from the site permanently.
Click to expand...

Tony
What on earth was the basis for the supposed legal action? The only thing I can think of is that the OP has got a Big Bottle phono stage, which, AFAIK, is a prototype and not a full blown safety checked product. If the OP recommends the purchase of this device on this forum, does this leave the OP open to legal charges?

If so, if I recommend to someone that they should blow their phono stage out of their arse, am I liable for legal action for possible injury?

Should every recommendation be accompanied by safety information, like don't use it as a lawn mower and don't take a bath with it while it's switched on?

Speaking from personal experience I know that the Law is an Ass but this is ridiculous. When we post on here we are not the same as a journalist working for a newspaper, we are the same as someone taking out a small ad in the newspaper. Surely.
 
Just a threat from a member here, I don’t take kindly to that so hoofed him out permanently and deleted the content. Life is way too short for that bullshit. I know nothing about the phono stage in question, I’d never even heard of it, and I’ve forgotten now as I hoofed everything off the thread!
 
I have the Gold Note PH10 and added the PSU10 when it was released. Punches way above it's price level and as mentioned earlier in the thread very adjustable. Lovely company to deal with too.
 
I recently built an Emerald mc/mm phono for Rosewind. 2 box build, easy to set up with loading plugs for the mc input and sounded very good indeed. Best little SS phono I've heard in a while. Build cost about £600 including choice parts and nice cases.
 
I can second that description. I have read up on the Emerald which in effect sounds similar to a phonoclone mc stage on top of a very good mm stage. I haven't put that much music through the Emerald phono stage due to a bit of house renewal - new solid oak floor in the livingroom. But I will make sure to do that soon.
 
Wine Man said:
I have the Gold Note PH10 and added the PSU10 when it was released. Punches way above it's price level and as mentioned earlier in the thread very adjustable. Lovely company to deal with too.
Click to expand...

Scores big across the board but so easy to optimise for different carts and EQ using the screen. Soundwise it's fantastic and was a worthwhile step-up on the other stages I listened to a few months back.
 
Another vote for the TRON Convergence - really top class phono stage, which has won awards as part of the best sounding systems at RMAF over the last couple of years. A £1200 + phono stage which holds company with £5k+ phono stages on truly high end systems. It’s beautifully built and British throughout.
 
Out of the most common suggestions I have owned:

Lehmann Black Cube SE
Dynavector P75
Trilogy 906
Arkless 640 (original, not the latest version)
NVA Phono 1
Tron Convergence
Pure Sound P10
Plus probably a few others I've forgotten.

I then loaned the demo RSL unit when it first did the rounds about 18 months ago(?) and it was in another league compared to all of the above and I bought one immediately, it's still here with no interest in swapping it.

None of the regular ones made much of an impression aside from the P75 in "Dr T" mode, I bet Jez's current incarnation also sounds pretty good.
 
matt j said:
Out of the most common suggestions I have owned:

Lehmann Black Cube SE
Dynavector P75
Trilogy 906
Arkless 640 (original, not the latest version)
NVA Phono 1
Tron Convergence
Pure Sound P10
Plus probably a few others I've forgotten.

I then loaned the demo RSL unit when it first did the rounds about 18 months ago(?) and it was in another league compared to all of the above and I bought one immediately, it's still here with no interest in swapping it.

None of the regular ones made much of an impression aside from the P75 in "Dr T" mode, I bet Jez's current incarnation also sounds pretty good.
Click to expand...

How did you get on with the NVA Matt?
 
matt j said:
Out of the most common suggestions I have owned:

Lehmann Black Cube SE
Dynavector P75
Trilogy 906
Arkless 640 (original, not the latest version)
NVA Phono 1
Tron Convergence
Pure Sound P10
Plus probably a few others I've forgotten.

I then loaned the demo RSL unit when it first did the rounds about 18 months ago(?) and it was in another league compared to all of the above and I bought one immediately, it's still here with no interest in swapping it.

None of the regular ones made much of an impression aside from the P75 in "Dr T" mode, I bet Jez's current incarnation also sounds pretty good.
Click to expand...

Makes for interesting reading! Which model of the Tron Convergence did you own?
 
If anyone wishes to try the latest moving coil only Arkless GTI transimpedance phono stage (same tech as the DV P75 in "DrT" mode and the RSL unit) there is a demo unit available. Thread here https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/thr...-current-input-version-interest-check.237350/

Two reviews V the DV P75 in that thread, one reckons mine is much better than the P75 and the other that they are hard to tell apart... go figure... In a private correspondence a fishie who had tried both said he reckoned mine sounded very similar to the RSL (no names no pack drill) but, before someone else gets it in, "I would say that wouldn't I":rolleyes::D

It is £285 for standard version and £380 for Turbo version plus you need to obtain a donor Cambridge Audio 640P or 651P and S/H ones bizarrely seem to have gone from around £40 - 60 to around £80 -£100 just lately... It still works out less than half the price of other transimpedance stages though.

NB Although you can try the demo unit immediately it will be prob October before I take on any more conversions as I need to make a space for other work between completing this batch and starting any more;)

Edit: In a new post in the thread above by the fishie with the demo unit on loan ATM he says he doesn't know if he'll be able to face his DV P75 after having the Arkless GTI on loan and has bought two new MC carts to use with it:) He has ordered an Arkless GTI for when the next batch gets done.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top