Affordable phono stage

Having recently switched amps I'm now after an affordable phono stage. The rest of my system is a Garrard 401 with RB300 + Denon DL160, into a Promitheus TVC / Leak ST20 combo, into Tannoy Monitor Golds. The reason I list them is that I found another short thread on here that suggested that some phono stages might not have enough oomph when fed into a TVC.

Options I'm considering are:
(New)
Gram Amp 2
Cambridge Audio 640p
(2nd hand ebay)
Trichord Dino - not sure how much this will go for though
MF XLP

Dave

 

You really should try to get to the Dino, as it is very configurable and has the required oodles of gain for bridging the DL-160 to the TVC.

 

the heed audio phono stages are my faves.

or the jolida cheapy if you want to experiment.

if not the ca 640p is great for the money.

 

Out of those you name, the Trichord's clearly the one to go for. Regardless of what you end up bying, choose one you can play with, as the passive TVC will probably force you to. The 640p's a cracking phono-stage for the money but -unless you modify it- it doen not seem to play well with the DL-160, which turns edgy and bright. Believe it or nor not!
The Project Phono Box SE is a worthy contender here too, affordable, good-sounding and fully adjustable as well. The Trichord's more expensive, though also upgradeable via better PSU's and interconnects, so your investment's guaranteed.
My 2 pence worth Hope it helps...

Regards,

Vincula

 

I would go for a whestTWO as it's a league above the others. It uses a class-A discrete high current output section which is great for use with a transformer based preamp, is ultra quiet and has plenty of gain. I used one for a while with a transformer based preamp made in Thailand and it worked a treat.
The Dino would be my second, and the Cambridge a very far third, and like most manufacturers out there these days - you can sometimes pick up a whestTWO (b-graded) direct from the factory for about 1/2 the price or a touch more.

Rob.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think then I'll try for the Dino and see if it stays low enough for me to stretch to. If not then I'll see what other options come up on ebay - quite happy with second hand.

 

Also might want to have a look at: http://www.time-step.com/distribution/ant.html

Dave is both the UK distributor and retailer, pretty sure he sends them out on home trial. Works fine into the TVC.

 

That's interesting Coda II.... both Dave of Time-step and yourself are based in Devon..

 

there aren't many places to buy hi-fi down here, but yes Dave is a short walk from work for me

 

It's a very cynical world in which we live .

Anyway thanks for the suggestion Robert but I think the Kora 3T is still a little over budget, unless I could find a used one. I suppose I'm looking at £200 max but preferably £150 or even less - times are hard!

Dave

 

Cambridge 640P.
Use it from the box and it sounds great without mods.
It is well designed with care taken over the parts used, so don't assume that because the parts are marked in Chinese they need to be replaced.

 

Guys ... the OP has a DL-160, which needs more than the usual 40dB of gain, and he has a TVC, which also needs more. Together ...


So the Kora and 640 are unlikely to work well, unless you mod them for higher gain. Which is easy with the 640.

 

Question I've always meant to ask on this point:

put simply, if there's enough volume from the speakers does it actually matter what the gain of the phono stage is?

When I had a TVC, I'd play vinyl with the volume right round to 2 and 3 o' clock, ie very little attenuation from the TVC. By contrast CD was 7 - 8 o' clock. Given that TVCs have a bit of a reputation for being 'better' at lower attenuation levels, this (the vinyl situation) could be seen as being no bad thing.
From memory the ST20 doesn't need much input for max volume either.

 

It is commonly assumed that MCs with lower than typical MM output levels requiring more gain will be noisier as a result.
This isn't always the case becasue the high output MC has much lower internal impedance than a MM which actually reduces residual noise on the input. So in effect you can wind up the volume further and the hiss wont necessarily be higher than with a MM.

 

Well that's good to know, as I rashly bid on and won a Gram-Amp 2SE this morning for half retail price at £98 (yeah I know not a single person on here recommended it, but hey). It's described as a 'brand new but unwanted gift' from a seller with excellent feedback, so I thought I could give it a listen and sell it on for little or no loss if it doesn't work out. I'm still going to try for the Dino and if successful I'll be able to compare them directly and sell on the one I like less.

 

i really can't imagine a dino is going to be worse than ANY slee unit....

 

I take it you're not a big fan of Graham Slee stuff then .

They seem to have their fair share of enthusiastic users and the Gram amp 2 has won several awards, although admittedly not for a few years. I have a friend with a 2 and it always sounded nice to me in his system. But, I have few points of reference having never had a separate phono stage before, and am certainly happy to try others if they're within my price range....

 

Used to have a Graham Slee - thought it was rather good and very good vfm

 

not a fan at all
not a fan of the 640p either but did buy one just to see what the fuss was all about. Admittedly I found the 640p was better sounding in all departments to a work collegues ERA Gold V....and a hell of a lot cheaper. He ended up selling that EGV after that little demo for something completely different.