Suggestions on Phono Stage

any body else using/used/heard the project tube box. I have one and to my ears it sounds great although it's difficult to tell just how good it is as it was part of a three fold up grade - new cart, lingo two. It is a great looking bit of kit as well and strikes me as a bit of a bargain at 300ukp

 

I took your suggestion and wnt back to the shop, salesman agreed all was not right and spent about 20 minutes playing music and making adjustments, and checking alignment, VTA, etc. Problem was VTA set too low and now all is well again (almost). Listening through the built in MF phono stage, the soundstage still felt small through the B&W 805 Sigs we used. Sound was also a little flat, so we changed over to the Acoustic Signature stage ($A1200) I had heard when demoing the T/T originally.

Playing Tracey Chapman - Mountains o' Things, all of a sudden the soundstage increased dramatically, most noticeably in height. Sounds became more clear and the edge in Chapmans voice was much more in evidence. In addition, bass was tighter and more controlled, with transients being particularly impressive. The differences were not subtle. The only downside to this stage was an increase in surface noise, but a tradeoff I could live with. Putting things in perspective, this stage costs more than the T/T and arm combination so one would hope for a significant improvement over a built in stage in an integrated amp.

I have decided to put the stage on hold for a while due to financial pressures from the better half. Tivoli Hi-Fi also showed me a prototype of a new battery powered stage being developed by Garrot Bros. which will be on sale in the new year. They claim it will better the stages they sell for about $A2,000 and sell for less than $A1,500. Gives me something to look forward to.

Meanwhile, things sound much better at home - the substitution of my Dynaudio Contours improving things considerably from the B&W's used in the shop.

Many thanks to all for your suggestions.