tube or solid state phono-amp ?

I think you can find your desired sound / SQ in either category. Tubed, SS, SS that sound tubey, tubes that sound SS.

There are a number of low priced phono stages (and tables) you could start with, and play around with vinyl for awhile. See if the romance continues with the rituals needed. If vinyl and you continue the relationship, then auditions might be in order to choose a higher end models.

You could do a decent starter system, table, cartridge, phono stage, record cleaner machine, brush, needle cleaner, and records...

I bought a few of my favorites in new vinyl, and trolled used stores, for awhile. I started with a semi broken table from my dad’s attic, and his old records, a Cambridge Audio phono stage, and the VPI record cleaner.

It worked for me, a 61 year old guy, who grew up with records. I built a DIY kit - K&K Audio Maxxed Out Phono Amp, with silver Lundahl MC input transformers. It used at FET/tube hybrid design. Hard to beat. No longer available.

It will depend on your preferences though. The phono side of audio is the most subjective, IMO.

aKnyght said:

maybe you two should get a room? ...or, at least do us all a favor and just PM each other with all this pillow talk. :heart:

now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

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More importantly, you are stepping over to the vinyl rabbit hole... I can tell you from recent personal experience, the hole is deep and dark and definitely knows how to steal your wallet ....

Oh, you might want to consider Moon by SimAudio. I really like my Neo 310LP, and I have seen reviews where they put the 810 against most anything out there... even their little guy is pretty amazing for how cheap it is!!!!

One of the key things missing in this discussion is MM vs. MC. I assume that everyone is talking about MC so let me start there.

Technically due to high voltage noise from ALL tube amplification stages, large geometry Solid State front ends or step up transformers will have the edge in terms of noise performance with MC cartridges. That’s a given. Everything else will be in the specific implementation.

W9TR said:

One of the key things missing in this discussion is MM vs. MC. I assume that everyone is talking about MC so let me start there.

Technically due to high voltage noise from ALL tube amplification stages, large geometry Solid State front ends or step up transformers will have the edge in terms of noise performance with MC cartridges. That’s a given. Everything else will be in the specific implementation.

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thanks for pointing this out. pretty much all the tube phono-amps -- or at least the ones i have been paying attention to -- have internal step-up transformers as the first MC gain stage.

although, i do see a number long-established and highly-regarded manufacturers only make phono-amps for MM as a matter of design choice requiring an external SUT for MC. i must say, i find this traditionalist approach somehow quite attractive... thoughts by those here using this method would be welcome!

I sometimes circle the hole on a new phono stage. For me it would have to be all in one. I don't want cables and extra boxes. I gather my Allnic H1201 is pretty good for the money. Just what am I going to get that is that much better in my budget. And then do I go SS or Tube. All my gear is tube. It may be nice to have some SS. But if I go SS, am I trying to make my TT sound more like my pretty darn good digital front end. I have considered Zesto or Audiospecial phonolab. But am I getting better, or just a little different. I have kind of hit a point where I don't feel much interest in something new unless its going to be a lot better. Spending money for a small change or horizontal move is a non starter at this point.

You never mentioned your budget.

Lots of good insights provided by many on this thread. There are fantastic SS and Tube PPs in the market. Just go out and listen. Hope your dealer(s) allow for some home listening.

pretty hard to demo in the current environment, but home demos are possible for a few i have been looking at. in terms of budget, $6-7K msrp is the high end of what i have been considering ...but, i agree there are many nice PPs well below that.

Randy Myers said:

More importantly, you are stepping over to the vinyl rabbit hole... I can tell you from recent personal experience, the hole is deep and dark and definitely knows how to steal your wallet ....

Oh, you might want to consider Moon by SimAudio. I really like my Neo 310LP, and I have seen reviews where they put the 810 against most anything out there... even their little guy is pretty amazing for how cheap it is!!!!

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Agree on the Moon by Simaudio. I just bought Moon 610LP phono (solid state) with the 820S power supply. Great great phono preamp in my opinion.


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Wow, that is awesome! Loving my 310 and I realize 610 is a major upgrade, especially with that power supply. Very nice!

It would depend on the rest of your system and what you value. If you want ultimate quiet and high resolution, SS may be the way to go. If you favor a big sound stage, tonality, "air" around instruments and a more relaxed presentation, then tubes. Tubes will need replacing at some point however, but you can also chnage tubes to modify the sound of your phono stage. With SS, you are locked into that particular sound.

RPM-123 said:

Tubes will need replacing at some point however, but you can also chnage tubes to modify the sound of your phono stage. With SS, you are locked into that particular sound.

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Preamp tubes last around 10,000 hours. Usually. I have owned my preamp 6 years and play thousands of hours each year. Still on the first set of tubes and they sound no different than a replacement set. They probably have 15,000 hours on them. My phono pre has about 6000 hours on them. Still perfect condition.

Power tubes is a different story. And some brands drive their tubes harder than others.

Kingrex said:

Preamp tubes last around 10,000 hours. Usually. I have owned my preamp 6 years and play thousands of hours each year. Still on the first set of tubes and they sound no different than a replacement set. They probably have 15,000 hours on them. My phono pre has about 6000 hours on them. Still perfect condition.

Power tubes is a different story. And some brands drive their tubes harder than others.

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This is true... I never had an issue with a tube in a pre-amp, but I did have power amp tubes require replacing. A friend of mine has some rather large VTL amps and he has to replace a few tubes every year. I have never seen an amp go through tubes like his does. His matching VTL pre never has had a tube go bad.

Kingrex said:

Preamp tubes last around 10,000 hours. Usually. I have owned my preamp 6 years and play thousands of hours each year. Still on the first set of tubes and they sound no different than a replacement set. They probably have 15,000 hours on them. My phono pre has about 6000 hours on them. Still perfect condition.

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Hi everyone, I'm new to these shores.
Having said that, I can echo Kingrex above regrading pre amps tubes.
Re, the original question, one of the best phono stages I have ever had was inside a CAT Ultimate pre; not to bore you with hi-end speak, the sound was outstanding on all fronts. The all-time best phono I have listened to is the FMA Phonomaster followed closely by the smaller FM122: the CAT comes close in resolution and dynamics --- and the noise is negligible.
All of which doesn't really answer the question: tube OR ss...
I'd say either can do the job, the best tube designs usually combine a warmish hue with explosive dynamics

Here is another opinion from Switzerland.

this exceptional phono amplifier which works on batteries and completely with silver wire (even the toroidal transformers).

A sound with ultra realistic stamps, absolute transparency, sound that hovers in your living room. I am parting with it because I unfortunately need to reduce my stereo, 2 children and soon less space. End of an era, I had finally found my sound...so goes life.

This is the personal version of Serge Schmidlin from Audio Consulting that he sold me in 2015 when he created the Meteor. I cannot send it because it is optimized as much as possible and no parts are firmly fixed in order to avoid unnecessary stress. Serge used it for his tests, hence the side with holes (there are speaker sockets that were there, I can put them back if necessary). One of the best phonographs in the world!

The fellow above also had the FMA 122.